Composition I Darrel Kessler
Week 9 IW Assignment Worksheet
Instructions:
As you did in Week 3, please fill in the answers to the prompts on this worksheet and save them as a Word doc. You are only filling in the blue areas! Then, attach your completed worksheet to your drop box submission.
You will work to create your thesis statement and a basic outline for a comparison/contrast essay. There are two patterns from which to choose, and you will select ONE below.
Creating a Thesis Statement and Basic Outline for the Comparison/Contrast Essay
I.) First, you’ll choose two items to compare and contrast. There are some great examples of items to compare/contrast on pages 229-230 in our textbook, especially #9, #10, #11, #12, #14, and #15.
Fill in the two items that you will compare/contrast.
A.) Atari
B.) Xbox One
II.) Next, you will identify three criteria that you’ll use to evaluate each of the items. Think about three qualities or characteristics of the two items that you can evaluate to choose the better item. For example, in the Week 10 Sample essay, the writer compares/contrasts the cost, nutrition and taste of two types of bread.
Fill in the three evaluative criteria you will use to decide which of your two selected items is better.
1.) Graphics and animations
2.) The speed of game loading
3.) The use of internet and gaming
III.) Now, you will create your thesis statement. The thesis statement of a comparison/contrast essay sets up the path of the paper just like a traditional thesis statement. However, it is based on your opinion about which of two selected items is better. For example, an effective thesis statement for a comparison/contrast essay would be the following:
Although whole wheat bread appears to be healthier, white bread actually takes the cake when it comes to cost, nutrition and taste.
Notice that this thesis statement clearly mentions the two items (whole wheat bread and white bread) and the three evaluative criteria (cost, nutrition, taste); and it makes a clear selection about which bread is better.
Your thesis statement may be as simple as filling in this model:
Based on (criteria #1), (criteria #2,) and (criteria #3), item A is preferable to (or better than) item B.
Write your thesis statement here:
Video gaming has changed a lot over the years since the Atari was first released in 1977. Today we have systems such as the Xbox one. The Atari and Xbox one both serve the same purpose of entertainment, but video gaming has come a long way since September of 1977.
IV.) Finally, you will create a basic outline based on your thesis statement. Please choose ONE of the organizational patterns and fill in the outline with your information. (See pp. 226- 228 for details about the two patterns.)
**Point-by-Point (Addresses each evaluative criteria first for item A and then for item B. See p. 226.)
