Comparison / Contrast Quiz

 

Directions

 

 

 

 

 

Determine which organization pattern - alternating or whole to whole - that each person uses. Then state what is being compared and how (subject and points). You have until the top of the hour. When finished, e-mail your answers to me with the heading Last Name: Comparison Quiz.

Which pattern does Richard Selzer use in this excerpt?

Having practiced both surgery and writing, I am struck as much by the similarities between the two vocations as by their differences. A surgeon is apt to think of both in terms of instruments and physical activity. In the carrying out of each, a tool is held in the hand: In surgery this is a scalpel, in writing, a pen. In the use of one, blood is shed; in wielding the other, ink is spilled upon a page. In surgery the tissues of the body are sutured; in writing, words are stitched into sentences. The resemblance is further heightened in that the subject of my writing has so often been my work as a doctor. (Memering et.al. 200.)

And which pattern does Deborah Tannen use in this excerpt?

More men feel comfortable doing "public speaking," while more women feel comfortable doing "private" speaking. Another way of capturing these differences is by using the terms report-talk and rapport-talk. For most women, the language of conversation is primarily a language of rapport: a way of establishing connections and negotiating relationships. Emphasis is placed on displaying similarities and matching experiences. From childhood, girls criticize peers who try to stand out or appear better than others. For most men, talk is primarily a means to preserve independence and negotiate and maintain status in a hierarchical social order. This is done by exhibiting knowledge and skill, and by holding center stage through verbal performance such as storytelling, joking, or imparting information. From childhood, men learn to use talking as a way to get and keep attention. [Therefore,] they are more comfortable speaking in larger groups made up of people they know less well - in the broadest sense, "public speaking" (Memering et. al. 200).

 

 

Devised by Brita Banitz

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