Compare and Contrast in Non-Fiction

Nonfiction Text Structures - C+C, P/S

All about the "Problem/Solution" and the "Compare and Contrast" styles of nonfiction text

Compare and Contrast

• Compare and Contrast articles are articles that show how two (or more) things are similar or different.

• Items should be compared using the same criteria: for example, comparing athletes should use the same kinds of stats, comparing games should use the same sales/ratings/tech data, comparing cars should use stats like miles per gallon, etc.

• It is usually invalid to compare or contrast two items using different criteria. Like if I judged two student papers, one just on their message and one just on their use of topic sentences, that would be an unfair comparison of those students. Or if I used total points for one NBA player but I used total blocks for another, that also would be an invalid comparison.

Identifying Compare and Contrast Articles

There are keywords that sometimes show up in articles that may suggest something is a Compare and Contrast article. Note that not every time you see these words does it mean there's comparing and contrasting, but these can be a helpful starting point.

Words include: like, similar to, also, unlike, similarly, in the same way, likewise, again, compared to, in contrast, in like manner, contrasted with, on the contrary, however, although, yet, even though, still, but, nevertheless, conversely, at the same time, regardless, despite, while, on the one hand … on the other hand.

Problem and Solution

• Problem and Solution style articles are nonfiction pieces that give you a problem and then also give you real (or possible) solutions.

• The "problems" in articles like this could range from car issues, to tech troubleshooting, to large societal or scientific issues like racism, climate change, poverty, education, etc.

• Solutions are broken down into two types: solutions that are KNOWN and have been proven to work, and others that may just be theories or ideas.

Identifying Problem and Solution Articles

Just like in compare and contrast, there are certain words that can help you identify if something is a problem and solution article.

In addition to works like "problem, issue, question, solution, fix, answer", these are some other keywords that may suggest you are looking at a problem/solution article: dilemma, issue, solve, address, challenge, proposal, difficulties, resolution, repair, remedy, answer, since, as a result, in order to, because, cause