This project and its actions were made possible due to co-financing by the European Fund for the Integration of Third-Country Nationals Comparison writing Key words, definitions and examples Subject:English Age groups:8 – 11, 12 – 14, 15 – 16, Topic:Non-fiction writing EAL Nexus resource Licence information | This resource is free to use for educational purposes. © British Council 2014 Source | This resource was originally developed by Charlotte Hurley and has been adapted by EAL Nexus.

Paragraph A part of a piece of writing that usually deals with one subject, that begins on a new line, and that is made up of one or more sentences Key term Definition Example

Topic sentence The first sentence of a paragraph that introduces the topic or subject of that paragraph  The engines are completely different…  One main similarity is the material used to build them…  The films were both released in the 1980s… Key term Definition Examples

Past tense A verb tense used to show an action that has already happened. Key term Definition Examples  They were both written in the same year  One was fast and the other was much slower

Present tense A verb tense used to show an action that is happening now Key term Definition Examples  They are both lightweight  One is designed for teenagers and the other is for pre-school.

Compare To point out the similarities and differences between something  They were painted by the same artist  They are very different in height Key term Definition Examples

Additional points Added, extra information  They have the same patterning and they are from the same part of the world Key term Definition Examples

Summarise To give the main points  In summary…  To summarise they are… Key term Definition Examples

Comparative adjectives A type of adjective used for comparing two things  Small – smaller  big – bigger  light – lighter  quick – quicker Key term Definition Examples

Differences The way in which people or things are not the same. The petals on this flower are purple but the other petals are pink. Key term Definition Examples

Similarities The way in which people or things are the same  The petals on both flowers are pink. Key term Definition Examples

Elaboration Adding more detail to information that has already been given or a point that has already been made Key term Definition Example One main similarity is the material used to build them. Both buildings were constructed using a mixture of slate and cement.

Connectives A word or phrase used to make links within or between sentences and paragraphs e.g. to introduce further information or a contrasting point Key term Definition Example  and, additionally, also, furthermore, in addition  however, on the other hand, in contrast