Compare and Contrast

When considering the writing process, it is important to note the idea of compare and contrast. When using compare and contrast in an essay, you are pointing out two typically opposing ideas related to the subject of your essay. By pointing out and analyzing a pair of ideas, it strengthens the ability to remember the key content of the writing. It highlights important details and makes abstract ideas ideas more solid and lessens confusion among readers. Compare and contrast can clarify subjects being discussed and makes comprehension easier. 

We have been focusing on compare and contrast in the writing process alone, but it is also important to consider in visual rhetoric. When looking at a picture, it is important to look at the things in the picture that make the picture what it is. For example, to gather meaning from Pompeian art, you have to compare the skin color of the people, the body positions, the action the are performing, etc. to even be able to determine if the human is male or female. Without compare and contrast, specific meaning would be lost and the picture being depicted would be lost in its entirety as well.