ORGANIZING YOUR ESSAY:

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1 Name: Date: To Kill a Mockingbird Comparison or Contrast Essay novel to movie DIRECTIONS: You need to decide how to organize your comparison or contrast essay prior to actually starting your writing. There are two helpful ways to organize this type of essay: the Block Method and the Point by Point Method. You may use either one is not necessarily better than the other just make sure to follow the format provided to you. BLOCK METHOD: Discuss all of the features of one subject then all of the features of the second subject. In this method, discuss the same features, in the same order, for the second subject as you did the first. This method typically emphasizes the subjects rather than the features. ORGANIZING YOUR ESSAY: Paragraph 1: Paragraph 2: Paragraph 3: Paragraph 4: Paragraph 5: Paragraph 6: Paragraph 7: Paragraph 8: ADDITIONAL ROOM FOR NOTES: 53

2 POINT BY POINT METHOD: Discuss a feature of one subject then the same feature of the second subject. After this, move to the next feature, then the next and so on This method typically emphasizes the features rather than the subjects. ORGANIZING YOUR ESSAY: Paragraph 1: Paragraph 5: Paragraph 2: Paragraph 6: Paragraph 3: Paragraph 7: Paragraph 4: Paragraph 8: ADDITIONAL ROOM FOR NOTES: 54

3 DEVELOPING YOUR INTRODUCTORY PARAGRAPH: The introductory paragraph of a thesis based comparison/contrast essay should state some background information (story title and author, movie s director Robert Mulligan), as well as the features and subjects that will be compared or contrasted. It must: Identify what people, things or ideas you will be comparing or contrasting. Identify whether you will be comparing or contrasting Be general rather than specific o Your body paragraphs will provide the support for your thesis statement, therefore you should not include support within your intro paragraph EXAMPLE: (by Feross Aboukhadijeh an actual AP exam response) Langston Hughes was a central figure in the Harlem Renaissance, the flowering of African-American literature and artistic forms in Manhattan during the 1920s. Not only did his writing promote African- American culture, but it also sought to bring attention to the plight of the African-Americans suffering injustice and repression. His poems I, Too and Theme for English B both advanced his political views of equal civil rights and treatment under the law for African-Americans. Both poems use first-person voices; however, the I is different for each poem, in order to fulfill Hughes purpose for the poem. YOUR ORIGINAL INTRODUCTORY PARAGRAPH: 55

4 DEVELOPING YOUR CONCLUDING PARAGRAPH: A concluding paragraph should do exactly what it sounds like it should conclude your essay. It is not difficult to create a concluding paragraph, and many times it should be able to be created before you ve even written the rest of your essay. Your concluding paragraph should: Restate and reinforce your introductory paragraph. Include the features and subjects that you have compared or contrasted in the same order that you have used them throughout the essay. Not be specific just like your intro, it should be general in nature. Not include any new material or material that needs to be cited. EXAMPLE: (from the same AP essay) Although both of these poems by Langston Hughes make use of first-person voices, they each make use of voice to different ends. Nonetheless, both poems draw attention to the plight of the African-American people, albeit in different manners. Both poems cry out for civil rights and equality in a time when African-Americans were treated neither civilly nor equally. YOUR ORIGINAL CONCLUDING PARAGRAPH: 56

5 TRANSITION WORDS AND PHRASES: In order to provide smooth transitions for your reader, utilize transition words and phrases throughout the essay. These transition words or phrases should appear in the topic sentence of the appropriate paragraphs. TRANSITIONS USED FOR COMPARING: similarly as well as in a similar fashion compared to have in common so too in a like manner all are just as likewise the same as also in the same way equally TRANSITIONS USED FOR CONTRASTING: on the other hand even though although rather than contrasting nevertheless on the contrary in spite of as opposed to conversely but however still yet notwithstanding Please understand that there are certainly more examples than what you have been provided 57

6 example: intro: It is difficult for a director to adapt a well-known novel to a movie. When a novel is as loved as much as To Kill a Mockingbird is, readers attach themselves to the image of the characters, the setting and even elements of the plot that the author has created. Unfortunately, not all movies can perfectly mirror the novel that they have been adapted from. In the case of To Kill a Mockingbird, director Robert Mulligan simply had to cut certain scenes in order to create a movie that wasn t six hours long. Unfortunately, many of these cuts leave the careful reader disappointed when watching the film version of Harper Lee s novel. Specifically, leaving Cal s visit to the church out, cutting the character of Aunt Alexandra altogether, and completely eliminating the character of Mr. Dolphus Raymond took a great deal away from the movie. body paragraph 1: Calpurnia, who emerges as a mother figure to Jem and Scout, is a vital element to the story. Just as these two young children learn many lessons from their father, Atticus, they also learn about the world in which they live (the South of the 1930s) through the eyes of an African American woman. More specifically, they are able to learn about how life is from Cal s perspective. It is in their visit to the First Purchase Church that Jem s and Scout s eyes are truly opened for the first time. They learn that Cal has skills and is respected. Most importantly, they learn just how much reverence the members of this church specifically the African Americans of this community have for their father. While this may seem obvious, they also learn from Reverend Sykes that This church has no better friend than your daddy (Lee 123). This may not seem like that big of a deal to the casual reader, however, Reverend Sykes statement is vital; it continues to demonstrate to both Jem and Scout that their father is a respected man. 58

7 During a time in which both children are coming of age and emulating their father, this is very important for them to hear. body paragraph 2: It has to be extremely difficult to make decisions as to what to keep and what to cut when adapting a novel to a movie. Unfortunately, leaving Cal s visit to the church out of the movie leaves the viewer with an incomplete picture of a very important character in the story. In addition, the movie s value is lessened by not providing a much needed outside view of Atticus. While Mulligan certainly had to make some edits to his film, leaving this section out truly hurt his production; fundamental information about Cal as well as the maturation process of Jem and Scout were eliminated. concluding paragraph: Even though Robert Mulligan s movie version of the novel To Kill a Mockingbird was a worthy one, it was not nearly as good as it could have been had it included several elements of Harper Lee s creation. Unfortunately, leaving out Cal s visit to First Purchase, as well as the introduction of both Aunt Alexandra and Mr. Dolphus Raymond, leaves the movie as an ineffective version of the movie. While it s certainly understandable that some cuts or edits must take place due to a movie s length, leaving these three elements out really hurt the quality of this interpretation of Harper Lee s classic coming of age tale. 59