Comparison and Contrast

Objectives:

For this exam, studentswill

¦ Use the writing process to draft and revise a comparison and contrastessay

¦ Write an effective thesisstatement

¦ Identify, define, and analyze literaryelements

¦ Develop critical readingskills

¦ Use responsible research methods to locate appropriate secondarysources

¦ Use Modern Language Association (MLA) citation and documentation style to reference secondary source mate- rial correctly andappropriately

Introduction

For decades, the film industry has adapted beloved books into movies. When a book is adapted into a film, the story reaches a wider audience and provides a new perspective on the text. In this assignment, you will use comparison and contrast techniques to reveal the ways the plot, characters, and theme of a story are impacted as elements of the narra- tivechange.

Topic: To compare and contrast a book and a film based on that book

Purpose: To show how the changes made affect the story's plot, characters, and theme in significantways

Method:

¦ To prepare an outline or graphic organizer that will serve as the foundation for an 1,800-2,000 word comparison and contrastessay

¦ To begin the research process by preparing a bibliogra- phy in Modern Language Association citation and documentation format that consists of at least six sources

¦ 2 primary sources: the book and thefilm

¦ 4 secondary sources: book and film reviews, cri- tiques, articles about the book and film, profiles of the author and/or the director and actors that focus on the content of thework.

Audience: Junior and senior-level distance education stu- dents enrolled at Penn FosterCollege

The WritingProcess

Plan and Prewrite

1. Watch the Comparison and Contrast lecture notes video on your My Courses page. This video reviews the essay requirements and comparison and contrasttechniques.

2. Read the book and watch the film you've chosen to write about.

3. Develop the content for your outline/graphic organizer by freewriting about the changes you've noticed. Review pages 366-369 of your textbook and identify a few bases ofcomparison:

a. Are there scenes omitted or added? How does this affect the sequence ofevents?

b. What is the central conflict of the book? The film? How do the author and the director present the con- flict? Are the stakes higher in one or theother?

c. Is the main character's personality different in the film? How is it different? How does it affect the way we understand his/hercharacter?

i. Is the narrator of the story the same? Does any element of the story change because we can't be in the narrator's head at all times? How does this change our understanding of the characters or the story?

d. How is theme revealed throughout the book and the film?

4. Now that you've compared and contrasted the book and the film, freewrite on what the significance of these changes are to help you develop your ideas for the thesis statement.

5. Work through the Guided Writing Assignment for Comparison and Contrast prewriting on page 381 of your textbook. This assignment will help you determine your purpose and focus for your comparison and contrast essay.

Research

1. The book and the film are your primary sources and count as two sources in your bibliography and toward the research requirement for your essay. Be sure that you have carefully noted where you found them, either online or in a physical copy/inprint.

2. You'll need a minimum of four other sources. These sources can be reviews, articles, andinterviewsrelated to the book andfilm.

3. Go to the library.

a. Use Expanded Academic ASAP, which is a subscrip- tion-only database available in Penn Foster's digital library. You can access the database by clicking on the Library Services link in your Student Portal. See the "Academic Support and Online Resources" sec- tion in the introduction to this studyguide.

4. Search online, but remember that you'll need to evaluate your sources carefully; review page 569-573 in your text- book. The following are examples of qualitysources.

a. Reviews by book and filmcritics

b. Interviews with the author and/or the director and actors

c. Profiles by journalists and other professionalwriters

Prepare Your Outline/GraphicOrganizer

You may choose to submit either a formal outline or a graphic organizer for this assignment. Your outline or graphic organizer should be sufficiently detailed to illustrate your plan for your essay. It should be as detailed aspossible.

Reread page 144-146 in your textbook on graphic organizers andoutlines.

1. This assignment (both prewriting and essay) requires you analyze the significance of the differences between the book and the film. Please review pages 372-374 in your textbook for the characteristics of a comparison and con- trast essay and two sample graphicorganizers.

2. Be sure to state your main points, secondary points, and supporting evidence. Include any references to second- ary sources as well, and use MLA parenthetical citation to link them to your annotatedbibliography.

3. Revise your work to ensure that your thesis statement, main points, evidence, and secondary sources all work together to address the purpose of theassignment.