Writing Practice
Choose one of the following topics.
1. Compare and contrast the way food is served and eaten in the United States with food customs in your country.
2. Compare and contrast behavior expected from a guest or host in your country with that in the United States.
3. Compare the experience if eating in a restaurant in your country with eating in one in the United States.
1. Pre-writing.
Work with a partner, a group, or alone
a. Brainstorm the topic. Choose a pre-writing brainstorming technique you prefer. ( See page 208. )
b. Brainstorm for similarities and differences
c. Work on a thesis statement.
2. Outlining.
a. Organize your ideas.
Step 1: Writh your thesis statement.
Step 2: Choose three good points of conparison and contrast from your brainstorming activity.
Step 3: Remember to order each point with its similarities and differences.
b. Make a more detailed outline. The essay outline on page 22 will help you.
3. Write a rough draft.
4. Revise your rough draft.
Using the checklist below, check your rough draft or let your partner check it.
Essay Checklist
Essay Organization
Introduction: __does it include general statements?
__Is there a thesis statement?
Body: __Are paragraphs ordered by points, with similarities and differences for each point?
__Are different transitions used to show comparison and contrast?
Conclusion: __Does it summarize main points or state your thesis again in other words?
__Is there a final comment on the topic?
Paragraph Organization
Topic Sentences: __Does each body paragraph have a topic sentence with a controlling idea?
Supporting Sentences:__Is each paragraph about one main idea?
Do yuor sentence support your topic sentence?
__Do you have specific details or examples to support what you have said?
5. Edit your essay.
Work with a partner or a teacher to edit your assay. Correct spelling, punctuation, vocabulary, or incomplete sentences.
Example:
Error: Whenever they drank tea politely.
Correct: Whenever they drank tea, they were very polite.
When you find a mistake of this type, you can make it with the symbol "frag" (fragment). Look at page 207 for other symbols to use when editing your work.
6. Write your final copy.