course materials

1. You will be selecting & reading 2 topically related Scientific American
articles
You will be selecting & reading 2 topically related Scientific American articles (for example,
twoarticles that discuss current research findings about aspects of dinosaur life), (in PDF
format), and composing a compare & contrast essay analyzing similarities and differencesin
their central pointsWrite an introduction summarizing the article in your own words,
highlighting topics or sections fromthe article that were of particular interest to you,
introducing the reader to the overall topic orsubject of the research articles. Briefly outline
the specific data, findings, or research conclusionsthat you will be comparing &
contrasting.Begin with a ‘hook’ sentence and detail specific to your topic. Your hook can be a
paraphrasedquote, question, anecdote, anything you see fit for the particular research
subject you arewriting aboutSpecific subjects to compare and contrast – of course, you
cannot start writing aboutsimilarities and differences between two research articles out of
the blue. That is why youshould set out a sentence or two to mention specific topics you will
compare under the centralthemeThesis statement – this marks the tone of the essay and
catches the reader’s attention. Itfocuses your ideas into one or two sentences. It should
present the topic of your paper andalso make a comment about your position in relation to
the topic.Body ParagraphsThe total number of body paragraphs will depend on the number
of aspects or criteria you arecomparing & contrasting between the two articles. As you
brainstorm following your analysis of thetwo related articles, the chances are high that you
will find a wide array of differences and similarities.However, your essay has to be well-
crafted, and you cannot include absolutely everything you find –you must be selective &
critical as you identify the best research findings, themes, or conclusions tocompare &
contrast. You are not simply mentioning differences and similarities, one by one, andstating
your opinion about them. Every detail you expand on should be supported by
substantialevidence, statistics, conclusions, or data described in one or both articles. Here
are some points ofanalysis to get you started:What were the central points, insights, and
conclusions presented in each article?Why were the researchers motivated to address these
central points or insights?How did the researchers discover or characterize these central
points or insights?In what ways were the researcher’s methods similar or dissimilar
between the two articles? Describe the thoughts that occurred to you while reading and
analyzing each article, andwhether these thoughts were similar or dissimilar, and
why.Describe the topics or findings in each article that you thought were most interesting,

2. or leastinteresting, and why.What future questions or un-addressed areas of inquiry did
each author (or set of authors)describe? Where these similar or dissimilar?