YeunJi Lee Posted April 19, 2011 Report Share Posted April 19, 2011 HellooooMay exam is not so far away! help me pleaseNow I'm getting used to a question answering for one leader (for topic 3 SPS)but I'm having trouble in answering 'compare and contrast' question.Last time when I took the test, I just wrote down toooo much information that I didnt have time to writ the third paragraph...1) So, how many points do I have to mention for each point to compare and contrast?For example, say that I'm comparing and contrasting social policy of two leaders, and I chose one specific social policy 'women'...If I mention one similarity(society was conservative)and elaborate and two differences (conservative/liberal view of the policy; different aim) and elaborate, would it be too much? Can I put all this information in one paragraph? I think it's too much.. isn't it?And I have a question about 'examine' type of question2) If the question is 'examine the role of education for two single party states leaders', what kind of outline do I have to use? I'm completely lost... help me please! Reply Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
AGBellamy Posted April 19, 2011 Report Share Posted April 19, 2011 Compare and Contrast:1. Introduction-Introduce the leaders/parties you are going to be studying-Mention a couple of their policies which you know you can compare-Mention a couple of their policies which you know you can contrast-What is your argument?2. Paragraph 1-This paragraph should be dedicate to the comparison of the leaders/parties and should be split into 2 sub-paragraphs.-SP1: Introduce the 1st 'compare' policy -SP2: Introduce the 2nd 'compare' policy-How are they similar?3. Paragraph 2-Again, this should be split into 2 sub-paragraphs-SP1: Introduce the 1st 'contrast' policy-How did it effect the state/people/economy, etc?-SP2: Introduce the 2nd 'contrast' policy-How did it effect the state/people/economy, etc?4. Conclusion-What was your argument, again?-Summarise anything that goes FOR your argument-Does what you've argued fit into your argument?-End with a conclusive statement 1 Reply Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
YeunJi Lee Posted April 19, 2011 Author Report Share Posted April 19, 2011 But my teacher said that I have to compare and contrast each policy in one paragraph and I have to have three of them... What should i do? Reply Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
AGBellamy Posted April 19, 2011 Report Share Posted April 19, 2011 Write the essay as you feel best-. The structure I gave you is how I'm going to write it in May, because that's how I find it easier to write. One gigantic paragraph on everything is going to lead to chaos, and you don't have to use one policy per command term- you can choose however many you want, just as long as you compare and contrast them across both parties. The 'sub-paragraphs' will act as a logical guide in how you face your argument. If you're comparing three policies, write three logical paragraphs, each contending with a comparison across the parties. Do the same for the contrast. Remember that you have 45 minutes per essay, and in your conclusion you have to face your initial argument. Reply Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Proletariat Posted April 20, 2011 Report Share Posted April 20, 2011 In all subjects, comparison essays typically have one of two structures: either point or block.In point, the essay is structured around your points of discussion. Each paragraph is about one particular aspect, or point. If your essay is about two leaders' policies regarding women, you might want to organize your points into themes (women's right to education, women in the economy, etc.), or time periods, or desired/realized results, whatever. In block, the first half of your body is one side of your comparison equation, and the second half is the other. In your case, the first half of your essay would be an examination of one leader, and the second half would be the other. The vast majority of the time, I personally end up using the point format, since it's simply more coherent for me. However, my WL1 was block because it was much, much easier to read that way.Tbh, I'm not sure what HG is attempting to suggest. As for length, there's no such thing as too much. All you have to worry about is the time. When you're writing an essay in 45min, it's all about stream-of-consciousness scribbling and adjusting on the fly. The only suggestion I'd give is to take the minute before starting your essay to sketch out a rough outline in point-form, and to be flexible in trimming and reconfiguring that outline as you write. Reply Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
AGBellamy Posted April 21, 2011 Report Share Posted April 21, 2011 @Proletariat: I think I was trying to combine the point and block options you were talking about *looks back at post* Yeah, I can see how that's confusing. My teacher tells us to use SEX (statement, evidence, explanation) and what I've suggested tends to be the general way to write an essay using that, although it's probably more like point because 'sub-paragraphs' are considered to be individual paragraphs on their own, but block comes in because they're all put together.... It could have been easier just to say all of that in the beginning Reply Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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