Compare and Contrast Essays

     In the essay “Columbus and the Moon” the author Tom Wolfe compared the space race between the United States and the Soviet Union to send an astronaut to the moon to the sea race between Spain and Portugal to create the first shipping lane to Asia. Wolfe achieved his goal by comparing the similarities of the two expeditions. Wolfe used a point by point structure, although some of the paragraphs included both sides of the comparison. While other paragraphs made a point and the comparison was made in the following paragraph.  

     In the essay “Life in a Bundle of Letters” the author Ellen Goodman compared handwritten letters to telephone calls. Goodman achieved her goal by describing her feelings of nostalgia for the handwritten letter and contrasted this to the modern telephone call. Goodman also used a point by point structure for her essay. What I noticed about her essay was that the paragraphs were between three to six sentences. They are shorter than the paragraphs that I have used in the past. Goodman contrasted her ideas quickly in each paragraph and moved on to the next idea.

     Both of these essays gave me examples of the point to point structure and different ways that I can use them when writing my essay.