Writting question....help please!?

Question

So if you are comparing and contrasting in an essay, could you use the word secondaly to state your second reason of what ever your comparing?



Thanks!

Answer 1

I'm guessing you mistyped and meant "secondly", as secondaly is not a word. Yes, you can use it to express a 2nd reason. "Secondly" is an adverb, so your sentence structure must use it as such.

"Compare" and "contrast" are similar words but have slightly different meanings. Compare = To consider or describe as similar, equal, or analogous; Liken. Contrast = To show differences when compared; To set in opposition in order to show or emphasize differences.

Consequently in your essay you need to keep the "comparisons" and "contrasts" in separate paragraphs or as completed thoughts before transitioning from one to the other.

Answer 2

When comparing and contrasting things(s), there are natural words and phrases you can use that will instantly tell people what you are doing. These are "However (Pat is very good with the bat, however, Julia runs better), you could use: on the other hand, while (i.e. Jason is tall while James is not),conversely.

You can even use 'but'. People always say 'but' is a conjunction. Well, it is a disjunction and can be used to contrast/compare things.

I hope this helps.

Answer 3

using "second" would be better than "secondly" in a series - first, second, third.

Even better though would be to word it such that you don't need to number your list.

Very often, if one idea comes after another idea, it's obvious that it's the second idea. ☺

While many students will attempt to write their full comparison in one paragraph and their contrast points in another paragraph, it is often more fluid to write both in the same paragraph dealing with a specific point.

A simple example: "In XYZ book the main character is a middle aged woman whereas in ABC by Anyauthor, the main character is a middle aged man. (contrast point) Since the stories are really about middle-age and not about gender, it is really not very important to the message that one is a man and the other is woman, they are both middle aged." (comparison)