Using Comparison-Contrast, Cause-Effect, and Argument to Create Logical Connections in Your Paper, Essay, or Report

Without techniques of comparison-contrast, cause-effect, and argument, no lawyer would ever win a case and no salesperson would ever close a deal. These techniques of logical thought are also essential in the academic world.

When you compare alternatives, when you look for causes and effects, or when you argue for a particular course of action, you are using logic to explore connections between ideas. If you logic is thin or your connections weak, your reader will notice. The methods in this chapter call for national thought and careful planning. The skills that go along with these methods of development - pinpointing differences and similarities, discovering reasons, predicting results, and arguing an issue logically - are essential. These higher-order tools of thought can help you in the college classroom and beyond.

Comparison-Contrast

One of the most effective ways of describing that is unfamiliar to your reader is by comparing or contrasting it with something familiar. When you make a comparison, you show how two things are similar. If a friend asks you about a class you are taking, you may describe it y comparing it to a class that the two of you have taken together. When you contrast two things, you show how they are different. If you are asked on a political science exam to discuss the legislative and judicial branches of the government, you may contrast the ways each branch shapes the country's laws. In an English class you might use both comparison and contrast to show how two writers develop similar themes in different ways. Used alone or together, comparison and contrast are useful tools for any writer.

Setting up a Comparison-Contrast Paragraph

The first step in setting up a comparison-contrast paragraph is to choose points of comparison or contrast and to decide whether to compare or contrast. One way to decide is through prewriting. Prewriting can help you determine whether your primary focus is on comparison or on contrast.

The next step in planning the comparison-contrast paragraph is to decide whether to use a point-by-point pattern, each point of comparison or contrast is considered separately.

Another way of presenting a comparison or contrast is in a block pattern. In this pattern, information about one subject is presented in one big block, followed by information about the other subject in the second block.

Cause and Effect

When you look for the causes of an event, you are looking for the reasons it happened. In other words, you are looking for answers to why questions. Why did your last romantic relationship end badly? Why is your Uncle Fred's car still humming along at 150,000 miles? Why are so many schools plagued by violence?

When you look for the effects of an action, you are looking for its results. You are answering the question What would happen if? What would happen if every community had a neighborhood watch? What would happen if you decided to devote just one hour a day to an important long term goal? What is the effect of regular maintenance on an automobile?

When you explore both cause and effect, you look at both the reason and the result. You may explore actual cause and effect, as in "Uncle Fred performs all scheduled maintenance on his car and changes the oil every 3,000 miles; as a result, his car is still going strong at 150,000 miles." You may also explore hypothetical cause and effect, as in "Many members of my generation are bored and cynical because everything - material possessions, good grades, and even the respect of others, has come to them too easily."

Identifying Causes and Effects

A cause is a reason. If you are asking a "why" question, the answer is probably a cause. Why do toilets flush in counterclockwise spiral above the equator and in a clockwise spiral below it? Why did I do so poorly on my history test? Why did the chicken cross the road? From the scientific to the silly, these "why" questions can be answered by finding reasons or causes.

An effect is a result. If you ask "What will happen if..." or "what were the results of..." then your answer is an effect. What would the results be if the speed limit were lowered by ten miles per hour? What would happen if I set aside an hour a day to exercise? What would happen if I threw these new red socks into the washer with my white underwear? When you answer these and other "what if" questions, your answer is an effect.

Argument

Though the word argument is sometimes used to mean a heated discussion or even a shouting match, the argument you make in a paragraph is of a cooler sort. Using pen and paper to explain your stand on an issue has its advantages: no one will interrupt you or try to outshoot you. However, a good argument is more than just your opinion on an issue. It is your convincing, well-supported opinion. What matters is not which side you take, but how well and how strongly you support your views. Logic, a strong regard for truth, and solid examples are your allies in constructing an argument paragraph.

Taking Sides

It has been said that there are two sides to every argument. Your paragraph, however, should favor just one side. In an argument paragraph, it is important to make your position clear, and that means starting with a strong topic sentence.

Will You Change Anyone's Mind?

A good argument is aimed at changing people's views. On some topics, a convincing argument may change someone's mind. On other topics, though, you will find it next to impossible to sway an opinion that may have been molded by a lifetime of experience. Particularly on such hot-button issues as abortion, assisted suicide, or the death penalty, the best you can realistically hope for is to open a window to your view point. In this case, success means coaxing your reader to look through that window long enough to say, "I see what you mean, and I understand your point of view."