comparison

Definition:

A rhetorical strategy in which a writer examines similarities and/or differences between two people, places, ideas, or things. One of the basic rhetorical exercises known as the progymnasmata. See also:

• 40 Essay Topics: Comparison & Contrast
• Comparison in Lee's "Appetite"
• Watching Baseball, Playing Softball
• Comparison in Sarah Vowell's Place Description
• Contrast in Rybczynski's "Home"
• "Laughter," by Joseph Addison
• Jean Shepherd's Use of Contrast and Hyperbole
• Metaphors and Comparisons in Porter's "The Necessary Enemy"
• "Two Ways of Seeing a River," by Mark Twain
• What Is an Analogy?

Etymology:

From the Latin, "compare"

Examples and Observations:

• To gain the most from your use of comparison and contrast, . . . you need to
  • establish a clear basis for comparison;
  • make a thorough and specific presentation; and
  • provide an effective arrangement for the material.
  (W.J. Kelly, Strategy and Structure, Allyn and Bacon, 1999)



• "Ordering detail in a comparison-contrast essay requires some thought. One possible arrangement is the block pattern whereby all the points about one subject are made (in a block) then all the points about the other subject are made (in a second block). . . .
  
  "A second possible arrangement for the details of comparison-contrast is the alternating pattern, whereby a point is made for one subject, then for the other. A second point is made for the first subject, then for the other. This alternating pattern continues until all the points are made for both subjects. . . .
  
  "In general, the block method works better for essays with fewer points of comparison or contrast that are not extensively developed . . ..
  
  "An alternating pattern is usually a better choice for an essay with many points of comparison and contrast or an essay with extensively developed ideas."
  (Barbara Fine Clouse, Patterns for a Purpose, McGraw-Hill, 2003)

Pronunciation: kom-PAR-eh-son

Also Known As: comparison and contrast