Back to the Future - Compare and Contrast - Support Paragraph Model - Marilyn and Lindsay

This week, I introduce the third support – compare and contrast. Students will be asked to compare their sixties topic with topic we might me more familiar with.

For Example:

Dolores Huerta – Cesar Chavez
Marilyn Monroe – Lindsay Lohan
The Miniskirt – Ripped Jeans
Vietnam – The War in Syria
Janis Joplin – Taylor Swift

Here is what I’m asking you to do: Subject by Subject Comparison.

Begin with a topic sentence
Follow with a few sentences of explanation
Provide a BLOCK PATTERN comparison – each item separate
Conclude with a thought or opinon

Jay’s Tip: Use transitional words and phrases wherever necessary.

For example:

Like Cesar, Dolores came from a religious background
In the same way Marilyn felt the push and pull of being a Hollywood star, Lindsay must have experienced erratic swings of emotion.
Compared to the Vietnam anti-war protesters of the sixties, today’s opposition to the War in Syria seems pretty tame.

Below, I try to provide a brief outline for the steps:

Create effective topic sentence – cleary define the comparison. This means try to fit both subjects of comparison into the sentence.

For Example:

For her life-long fight to protect the rights of fieldworkers, Dolores Huerta will forever be tied to the legend of Cesar Chavez.
Marilyn’s struggles to control her drug and alcohol abuse can be mirrored in today’s troubled Hollywood Starlet Linsday Lohan – things haven’t changed much in 50 years.
In the sixties, The Miniskirt expressed women’s desire to be free; today, Ripped Jeans expresses women’s desire to wear anything they choose.

Take the time to develop the main idea – two to three sentences.

For example:

Although Cesar will always be remembered as the “head” of the union, Dolores should be considered the “soul.” It was Cesar who was up front. He was the one speaking into the microphones. He was the one quoted and photgraphed in the newspapers. Dolores was the one working behind the scenes. She was the one fighting the growers face-to-face. She did the dirty work.

Marilyn was a heavy user of prescription drugs. She used amphetamine-like drugs to keep her weight down and stay up with her work schedule. She took painkillers to sleep at night. That’s not a healthy combination. Lindsay had a cocaine habit. The drug took over her life. There was no place left for her acting.

Use a BLOCK PATTERN – to compare subjects.

This means students need to compare “apples” with “apples.”
They need to list common points of comparison.
They can write 3-4 sentences about the first subject
The can follow with 3-4 sentences about the second subject.

For Example:

Marilyn

Beautiful image on screen
Sad/ugly truth off screen
Tragic end

Lindsay

Beautiful image on screen
Sad/ugly truth off screen
Tragic end

For example:

On screen, Marilyn always made us smile. She was both beautiful and innocent. We all could relate to her characters. Sadly, we never knew the darkness of Marilyn’s private life. Maybe it was the pressure of being a star that drove her to drug abuse. Her death will always be a mystery. On the other hand, we know more about Lindsay Lohan’s problems – they are front and center in social media. She was once a rising star. Now, she’s forgotten. Her cocaine addiction and arrests destroyed her career. She’s still alive, but her dreams must have died a long time ago.

Conclusion – What do you notice? What stands out? The similarities? The differences? Over time do we see anything new or different?

In the fifties and sixties, Marilyn lived a much different life than the stars of today. There was no 24-hour cable news. Not social media. No internet. For the most part, she was probably protected by her studio. Many of her secrets we will never know about. Fifty years later, we don’t know the truth of how she died. For Lindsay, it was much different. We know way too much. Sadly, her brilliance on screen has been blackened out by her personal problems. We see her more on court TV and other scandal shows than we see her on the big screen.

This is my compare/contrast paragraph for Marilyn and Lindsay when I copy and paste it all together.

Marilyn’s struggles to control her drug and alcohol abuse can be mirrored in today’s troubled Hollywood Starlet Lindsay Lohan – apparently, things haven’t changed much in 50 years. Marilyn was a heavy user of prescription drugs. She used amphetamine-like drugs to keep her weight down and stay up with her work schedule. She took painkillers to sleep at night. That’s not a healthy combination. Lindsay had a cocaine habit. The drug took over her life. There was no place left for her acting. On screen, Marilyn always made us smile. She was both beautiful and innocent. We all could relate to her characters. Sadly, we never knew the darkness of Marilyn’s private life. Maybe it was the pressure of being a star that drove her to drug abuse. Her death will always be a mystery. On the other hand, we know more about Lindsay Lohan’s problems than we really care to know– they are front and center in social media. She was once a rising star. Now, she’s forgotten. Her cocaine addiction and arrests destroyed her career. In the fifties and sixties, Marilyn lived a much different life than the stars of today. There was no 24-hour cable news. Not social media. No internet. For the most part, she was probably protected by her studio. Many of her secrets we will never know about. Fifty years later, we don’t know the truth of how she died. For Lindsay, it was much different. Sadly, her brilliance on screen has been blackened out by her personal problems. We see her more on court TV and other scandal shows than we see her on the big screen. We know way too much about her. She is no mystery at all.

I hope this helps.

Attached to this announcement is a PDF copy of my Canvas assignment and instructions – Paul McCartney, Then and Now.

Paz,