Writing About Edgar Allan Poe

Lesson Plan - Get It!

Audio:

Poe's quote above demonstrates how he often would blur the line between the living and the dead.

This is clearly seen in his short stories "The Tell-Tale Heart" and "The Cask of Amontillado."

Besides putting the living and the dead together, many other elements from these two stories are worth comparing.

A comparative analysis is a piece of writing that discusses the similarities and differences between two subjects. They are called compare-and-contrast essays.

A comparative analysis can follow one of two different patterns: an alternating (or side-by-side) comparison and a divided comparison.

In an alternating comparison, the writer talks about both subjects at the same time. Each topic covers the two subjects in sequential sentences.

In a divided comparison, the writer focuses on the subjects one at a time. The first paragraph covers all important topics of one subject, and the next paragraph covers all the same topics with the second subject.

Carefully review How to Write a Compare and Contrast Essay, paying careful attention to the instructions. These steps are crucial to writing a successful comparative essay.

For additional help understanding comparative analysis, watch the two videos below.

• Are you ready to practice?

Choose a topic of interest to you, and create a comparative analysis of two subjects within that topic.

It can be anything: movies, books, television shows, sports teams. For example, if you chose television shows, you might compare and contrast Star Trek to Star Trek: The Next Generation.

Because this is practice, you only need to focus on two elements within your topic.

When your draft is ready, check it to ensure you included all the necessary elements and completed the analysis correctly.

When you are ready, continue to the Got It? section to analyze some works of Edgar Allan Poe!