Comparing & Evaluating Themes

Contrasting Themes. When you compare themes in two different texts, you look for similarities and differences in how the themes are portrayed. When you contrast themes, you look for differences.

Ways to determine a theme

• What is the story about? This is the plot of the story. ...
• What is the meaning behind the story? This is usually an abstract result of his actions. ...
• What is the lesson? This is a statement about the human condition.

There are five steps to identifying a theme:

• Summarize the plot by writing a one-sentence description for the exposition
• The conflict
• The rising action
• The climax
• The falling action, and the resolution.

Analyze Prompt

The first step is to determine exactly what you should be evaluating. If you are responding to a specific prompt or question, then analyze the prompt. Analyze means to break ideas down into manageable parts to help with understanding. When you analyze a prompt or a question, you need to break it down to a simplified purpose.

For example, imagine you have just read an essay describing two scientists' opinions on the causes and effects of global warming. Then, a prompt asks you to compare the two scientists' views on the effects of pollution. The first step is to analyze this prompt and break it down into simple terms. You need to find what each scientist thinks about only pollution. Also, since the prompt asks you to compare, you should realize you must find both the similarities and differences between their opinions.

Whatever the reading selection, you need to analyze, or break down, what you are being asked to compare or contrast. Some reading selections might have you comparing two characters, which would lead you to look for each character's thoughts, actions, or words. Others might ask you to contrast two viewpoints, like the two scientists' views in the example on pollution. Whatever the task, remember to break it down into simple terms, which will guide you when looking for details in the reading selection.

Method

Once you have analyzed the prompt and you know exactly what to look for, you need to decide on the method for comparing and contrasting. Writing improves memory and learning, so writing the details you find will help you to compare or contrast ideas. You can choose to simply write out bulleted lists, or there are many different graphic organizers, which are visual representations of ideas, that can be used for this.

If you're looking for both similarities and differences, one of the most common methods is to use a Venn diagram. To form this diagram, you draw two intersecting circles, each representing one of the ideas or objects you are comparing. In the intersecting section, you write all the similarities, since it is a part of both circles. In the outside section, you fill in the details that are the differences. A Venn diagram can also be created with three circles when three ideas need to be compared. This is useful because in addition to a section showing what all three subjects have in common, there are also sections for information that falls under only two of the subjects, but not the third.

However, if you are comparing more than three ideas, or if you need only contrast, then a Venn diagram will not be useful. Depending on the topic, you can use tables, flow charts, webs, and diagrams. For instance, if your task was to compare or contrast four different historical figures from the Civil War, you can create a chart. Each row can represent one historical figure, and the columns can be for the different aspects of the person's life. For example, the columns can be labeled childhood, education, career, impact on the world, private life, death. Then, when the chart is complete, you can use it to provide similarities or differences as needed.