GRAPHIC ORGANIZERS FOR

COMPARISON CONTRAST
ESSAYS
ENGLISH III
WHY TO USE A GRAPHIC ORGANIZER?
 To put your ideas about the topic or problem in
order.
 To change complex and messy information into
an organized, well structured text.
 To compress. To focus. To make interpretation,
understanding and insight much easier.

A Picture is Worth . . .

a Thousand Words:
COMPARE/CONTRAST 1

Name 1 Name 2
Characteristic 1
Characteristic 2 used to
Characteristic 3 show
similarities
and
differences
Subject Similarities Differences
Name 1 vs. Name
2
EXAMPLE
Oranges Apples
Characteristic 1 Used to make juice Used to make juice
and sauce and sauce
Characteristic 2 It is a tropical fruit It is a temperate fruit
Characteristic 3 It grows in trees and It grows in trees and
it is commercialized it is commercialized
EXAMPLE

Subject Similarities Differences

Apples vs. Both are tree fruit Oranges are
Oranges grown tropical. Apples
commercially are temperate.
Apple juice and Apple juice has
orange juice no pulp. Orange
juice has pulp.
Sauce Pulp and peeling
from oranges are
used to make
sauce. Apple
sauce contains
only the pulp of
the apple.
COMPARE AND CONTRAST 2
 Although apples and oranges
are both popular fruits used
commercially, they have major
differences in their usage.

Oranges Apples

No
Pulp is Juice
pulp is
used
used

Pulp and Sauce

peeling Pulp
are used is
used
Fruit
Tropical grown
in Temperate
fruit
trees fruit
VENN DIAGRAM
 The Venn Diagram is made
up of two or more
overlapping circles. It
often shows relationships
between sets.
 It is useful for examining
similarities and differences
in characters, stories, etc.
 It organizes thoughts or
textual quotations before
writing a compare/contrast
essay.
Tropical
Temperate
Juice uses
Juice uses
pulp and
no pulp
peeling

Both are tree fruit. They are used

commercially. Sauce is made from them.