杨颖莉
比较和对照是批判性思维的重要组成部分，也是大学阶段需要发展的思维能力之一。为了作出一个合理的决策，人们往往需要对两种事物或可能性的利弊进行对比，最后得出一个确定的结论。比较和对比类的文章通过对两者或两者以上的事物或观点进行综合分析，比较相似性和差异，进而得出一个论点。比较(Comparison)主要比较两种或几种事物的相似性，而对照(contrast)则强调事物之间的差异。以下几个题目就是典型的比较/对照类文章的题目：
1. Compare the forms of government of Great Britain and the United States.
2. Compare the novel “the Great Gatsby” and the movie “the Great Gatsby”
3. Compare and contrast methods for promoting a new business, product, or service.
4. Would you prefer online shopping or shopping at brick-and-mortar stores?
在写比较/对照类文章之前，作者首先要思考两个（或多个）事物需要比较的角度或特征，然后通过维恩图或者其他图表方式，把事物的相似性和不同点简要列举出来，为下一步的文章写作做好铺垫。例如，要比较超市和便利店，我们可以从位置、价格、服务、产品、环境这几个方面进行比较。图表将要比较内容的相似性和差异点逐一列出，也可以视为文章的大纲。
| Supermarket | Convenience store |
location | suburb | close to home |
price | cheaper | more expensive |
service | shuttle bus | no special service |
products | more variety | less variety |
environment | noisy, spacious | small, cozy |
比较/对照类文章有两种文章结构形式，一种是块状比较法(Block method)，一种是逐点比较法(point-by-point method)。块状比较法就是将A事物的所有特征在一段进行描述，再对应描述B事物的特征。需要注意，两种事物的特征必须一一对应，这样才能比较出相似点与不同点。而逐点比较法是根据事物的几个特征进行分段，每段分别描述A事物及B事物的某个特征，如下图所示。
在选好文章布局方式以后，还要注意，比较/对照类文章和其他类型的文章一样，要有清晰明确的主旨句，每段要有主题句，结尾需要重申主题，得出结论。在每段的主题句中，要把本段比较的特征/角度作为主题词强调出来，以便读者清楚地了解作者所要比较的内容，如：
1. To begin with, the two ways of advertising appeal to people’s different senses.
2. Furthermore, the production processes of these two types of advertising are dissimilar.
3. Apart from the differences in the audience’s experience and the production processes, the two types of advertising also differ in the accessibility to audiences.
在写比较/对照类文章时，由于要对两种事物进行比较，经常会使用比较级，如：
Shanghai’s metro is objectively newer and nicer than Beijing’s. While Beijing opened its first metro line under Mao in the early 1970s, Line 1 of the Shanghai metro dates back to only 1995. This being said, you could argue that the Beijing metro has more character than the Shanghai one.
此外，在比较/对照文章中，表示相似性和不同点的常用标记性短语如下。同学们可以在写文章的过程中有意识地使用这些短语，使文章内容衔接更加连贯。
Comparison | Contrast |
similarly likewise also, too, as, just as both…and not only… but also neither… nor like (+ noun) just like (+ noun) similar to (+ noun) the same as (be) alike to compare (to/with) | however, nevertheless, nonetheless, still although, even though, though but, yet despite (+noun) in spite of (+noun) in contrast, in (by) comparison on the other hand on the contrary while differ (from) compare (to/with) be different from be dissimilar unlike |
References:
1. comparison and contrast - Yahoo Image Search Results https://images.search.yahoo.com/search/images?p=comparison+and+contrast&fr=yfp-t&imgurl=http://www.assignmentpoint.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/comparison-and-contrast.png#id=1&iurl=http://www.assignmentpoint.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/comparison-and-contrast.png&action=click
2. https://leaveyourdailyhell.com/2011/11/18/city-wars-beijing-vs-shanghai/
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