東京理科大学 A英3: Comparison-contrast organization (Part 2): Point-by-point style

Hello!

How are you? This is Part 2 of my posts on organizing your ideas and content for comparison-contrast writing. Here I will show you point-by-point organization. 

If you want to show how two things are similar, point-by-point organization is a better way for your organization. Let's take a look at this example of a composition in this style: 

Point-by-point organization

In this first paragraph, you show the first point of comparison-contrast (A1-B1): 

Australian and American elementary school education may seem on the surface to be very different, but there are some striking similarities that reflect parallels in the societies of both countries. 

To begin with, Australian children begin primary (elementary) school at around age 6, like their American counterparts, and begin classes towards the end of summer just before the beginning of autumn like American children – even though because of the reversal of the seasons in the southern hemisphere, Australian children would generally begin school in mid-to-late February, whereas most American children start at the beginning of September, during the northern hemisphere change of season from summer to fall. 

The second paragraph shows a second point of comparison-contrast (A2-B2):

The school day is also similar and is generally structured in ways parallel to each other. There is emphasis on the cultivation of childrens’ individual development, but with some group activities and interaction, and there is no organized extracurricular study after regular school hours. Children are free to go home directly after school, though they are also free to participate in sports or artistic activities if they so choose. 

The third paragraph shows a third point of comparison-contrast (A3-B3):

Another similarity is in how a sense of civic pride and national awareness plays a role within the curriculum in the systems of both countries. American elementary school children recite a Pledge of Allegience at the beginning of every school day – a vow of honor towards the American flag, which is draped in the corner of every typical American elementary classroom near the chalkboard. By contrast, while there is no Pledge of Allegience to the Australian flag that children in Australian primary schools have to recite, there are school ceremonies that show important events in Australian history, such as the first European sighting of the Australian continent by Dutch explorers in the early 17th century. These are similar to the stories American children learn about the exploration and settlement of the American continent in the same period.

The fourth paragraph shows a fourth point of comparison-contrast (A4-B4):

A final point of comparison is the societal makeup of Australian and American elementary school students. As both Australia and the U.S. have immigrant heritages, the ethnic and religious backgrounds of the children in both countries can be diverse, and teachers and school administrators have to be sensitive to such differences. As a result, there have sometimes been some controversies as to how to present certain points of history to children within the curricula in both countries.

Now here are the concluding sentences:

In the end, the similarities between Australian and American childhood educational systems become more clear when we see how they reflect their respective societies.

I hope this can help you with another option for your organization of content in your comparison-contrast writing. Check out Part 1 above for a review of the block organizational style for comparison-contrast. 

Image: "Line Sheet With Pen" (courtesy of adamr)/FreeDigitalPhotos.net