Technical Writing Comparing

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Technical Writing- Comparing
PROVIDENCE UNIVERSITY
College of Management

• Wu-Lin Chen (wlchen_at_pu.edu.tw)
• Department of Computer Science and Information
  Management

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Comparison

• Comparisons enable us to solve problems.
• Comparisons provide a new perspective on
  information.
• Comparisons are a part of every aspect of
  science.
• Comparing is examining two or more items to
  discover their similarities and differences.

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Compare

• Comparing similarities
• iron pyrite is often called fools gold because
  of its color to gold.
• color iron pyrite gold
• Like iron it aluminum is soft
• softness iron aluminum

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Compare

• Contrasting differences
• Iron, the most widely used metal
• use iron gt all other metals
• Pure iron is a relatively soft
• softness iron gt many other metals
• Aluminum is the most abundant metal
• abundance aluminum gt all other metals
• in contrast to iron and steel, aluminum is very
  light and more resistant to corrosion
• lightness aluminum gt iron and steel
• resistance to corrosion aluminum gt iron and steel

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Sentence Patterns

• Comparing similarities

like similar to comparable to as important as
Magnesium is
aluminum.
resembles parallels
aluminum in many ways.
Magnesium
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Sentence Patterns (cont.)

• Contrasting differences

is unlike is different from differs from
Iron
aluminum.
Unlike iron, In contrast to iron, Compared to
iron, In comparison to iron,
aluminum is light.
heavier than less abundant than not as soft as
aluminum.
Iron is
relatively comparatively
soft metal.
Iron is a
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Table

• Tables, charts, and graphs are most commonly
  tools used in comparison.
• They organize information and enable us to see
  comparisons readily.

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Creating Comparisons

• Start comparisons with what they have in common.
• Include at least one way the items are similar
  and one way they are different.
• For example compare tea and coffee
• Both coffee and tea are drinks, but coffee is
  made from a bean and tea is prepared from leaves.

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Creating Comparisons (cont.)

• a telescope and a microscope
• Telescopes and microscopes are instruments that
  are used to see objects not visible to the naked
  eye. Telescopes are used for distance and
  microscope for things too small to see.
• a computer and a calculator
• in class practice

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Like and As

• Comparisons frequently used the words like and
  as.
• Like is used before a noun or pronoun.
• He thinks like a scientist.
• As is used if the noun or pronoun is followed
  immediately by a verb.
• Dont do as I do, do as I say.
• As is also used before and after an adjective.
• Silver is not as malleable as gold.

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Speed Up Reading

• Skimming
• Read the title and any subtitle
• Read the introduction
• Read the first sentence of every paragraph
• Read the summary or conclusion at the end of the
  passage

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Writing Skills

• Two basic methods of comparing items
• Method 1 Describe the characteristics of the
  first item and then the characteristics of the
  second.
• Method 2 Compare both items one characteristics
  at a time.