STUDYING EXAMPLE COMPARISON ESSAY

A Tale of Two Cities

"Where do you come from?" is a question many Americans can' t answer.

So many Americans were born one place, lived a few years in another, went to elementary school in a third town, and so on. In my native country, we usually live in the town where we are born all our lives, but my family is different. We moved from one small town to another when I was 12 years old. For this reason, I have two "home towns." Although the inhabitants of the two towns think that they have nothing in common, in my opinion, they have far more similarities than differences.

The first obvious similarity lies in the location of the two cities. They are both seaside towns, lying on the south coast of Norway. They are sheltered by a large group of islands and backed by hills that cover them from the cold winter winds. There are a few minor differences in their location, of course: Kristiansand, my childhood city, spreads out onto many of the protecting islands, while Arendal, my teenage town, needs all the cover it can get from its islands.

Secondly, both Kristiansand and Arendal are small. Compared to the great continental cities of Paris and Rome, they are not even dots on a map. Kristiansand is a little larger with 40,000 inhabitants, while Arendal has only about 35,000, but neither can be called a metropolis.

Furthermore, at least to à visitor, they are quite similar in their natural beauty. The islands are rough and rocky. The houses of both towns are mostly small wood structures painted white, and the vegetation is almost exactly the same: birches, a few fir trees, low bushes, and moss. In addition, the ocean influences the lifestyle of both towns, and the weather forecast is the major topic of conversation.

The economics of the two towns is also based on the same business: tourism. Both native Norwegians and foreigners go on summer vacation to the two cities, and in winter, business is very slow. Of course, there are a few differences here as well. In Arendal, there are still several fishermen making a living from the sea, while Kristiansand is a busy port for large commercial ships. Still, I doubt that either city could support the population it has without the tourists.

Finally, despite the opinions of the natives of Kristiansand and Arendal, I think that the people there are very similar. Because of the size of the towns, people are mostly interested in what their neighbors do and say, and they don't care very much about what is happening in the big world. In addition, the inhabitants of the two towns have a love-hate relationship with the necessary tourists. These tourists bring in business and money in the summer, so the natives smile at them when they meet them. However, behind their backs, the townspeople wish that they would spend their money and go home.

Thus, while there are a few differences between Arendal and Kristiansand, I think that the similarities are by far more obvious. In location, size, scenery, business, and inhabitants they are very much alike. Although I sometimes feel they are too small for me, they are my home towns, and there is no place like home.

Task 7. To understand the content and organization of the essay better, answer the following questions:

1. What is the organization of the essay?

2. What is the writer’s main message in this essay?

3. How is the introduction begun?

4. Find the thesis statement of the essay.

5. What subjects for comparison are announced in the introduction?

6. How do you know that this is a comparison essay?

7. How the subjects are compared in the body paragraphs?

8. What connecting words are used? Underline them.

9. What is the conclusion?

Date: 2014-12-29; view: 1209