comparison, showing similarities between subjects, orcontrast, showing differences. Often the two methods are combined in a comparison/contrast pattern.
 
Sample A
                                                 Doctors and Teachers
 

Topic sentence

       Similarity 1

              professionals
 
       Similarity 2
              help others
 
 
       Similarity 3
              essential
              members
 
 
There are many similarities between doctors and teachers.First, both doctors and teachers are considered professionals by their communities. The classification of professional is the highest socioeconomic rank an individual can achieve in this society. Second, both doctors and teachers help others: doctors heal the bodies of sick people and return them to health, and teachers mold the minds of young people and turn them into responsible, educated adults. Last, both doctors and teachers are essential members of a community. It is difficult to imagine a city or town that has no need of either a doctor or a teacher. Such a place would truly be primitive.

 
Comparison organization
 
Topic sentence:     There are many similarities between doctors and teachers.
             Point 1:    Professionals
                             Subject A: doctors & subject B: teachers         
             Point 2:    Helping others
                             Subject A: doctors & subject B: teachers         
             Point 3:    Essential members of a community
                             Subject A: Doctors & subject B: teachers
                            
       Sample B
 

Doctors and Teachers

Topic sentence
 
Point 1: respect
 
Point 2: money
 
Although doctors and teachers both have professional status, there are many differences between the two professions.First, doctors are more highly respected than teachers by their communities. Second, as a rule, doctors can earn more money than teachers. For example, an experienced surgeon working
 
 
Point 3: career option
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Concluding sentence

 
 
 
in an urban area can earn over $200,000 annually while an experienced high school teacher working in an urban school district can earn up to $40,000annually. Last, doctors have many more career options than teachers. While a doctor can maintain a private practice and, at the same time, be on the staff of several hospitals, a teacher can only be affiliated with one school at a time. Moreover, while doctors can easily establish a private practice and hospital affiliations in another city should they decide to relocate, teachers who have job security in the form of tenure in one school district cannot easily relocate and fond a tenured position. All in all, it’s easy to see that doctors have more respect, greater flexibility, and higher incomes than teachers.

       Contrast organization
 
Topic sentence:     Although doctors and teachers both have professional status, there are many differences between the two professions.
             Point 1:    Respected by the community
                             Subject A: doctors & subject B: teachers
             Point 2:    Salary
                             Subject A: doctors & subject B: teachers
             Point 3:    Career choice
                             Subject A: doctors & subject B: teachers
 
Sample C