Comparative Essays

Comparative Essays Comparative Essay Comparative Essay Comparative Essay BY alexa1724 What is a comparative essay? A comparative essay asks that you compare at least two (possibly more) items. These items will differ depending on the assignment. You might be asked to compare positions on an issue (e. g. , responses to midwifery in Canada and the United States) theories (e. g. , capitalism and communism) figures (e. g. , GDP in the United States and Britain) texts (e. g. , Shakespeares Hamletand Macbeth) events (e. g. the Great Depression and the global financial crisis of 2008-9) Although the assignment may say compare, the assumption is that you will consider both the imilarities and differences; in other words, you will compare and contrast. Make sure you know the basis for comparison The assignment sheet may say exactly what you need to compare, or it may ask you to come up with a basis for comparison yourself. Provided by the essay question: The essay question may ask that you consider the figure of the gentle man in Charles Dickenss Great Expectations and Anne Brontes The Tenant of Wildfell Hall. The basis for comparison will be the fgure of the gentleman. Developed by you: The question may simply ask that you compare the two novels. If so, you will need to develop a basis for comparison, that is, a theme, concern, or device common to both works from which you can draw similarities and differences. Develop a list of similarities and differences Once you know your basis for comparison, think critically about the similarities and differences between the items you are comparing, and compile a list of them. For example, you might decide that in Great Expectations, being a true gentleman is not a matter of manners or position but morality, whereas in The Tenant of Wildfell Hall, being a true gentleman is not about luxury and self-indulgence but hard work nd productivity. The list you have generated is not yet your outline for the essay, but it should provide you with enough similarities and differences to construct an initial plan. Develop a thesis based on the relative weight of similarities and differences Once you have listed similarities and differences, decide whether the similarities on the whole outweigh the differences or vice versa. Create a thesis statement that reflects their relative weights. A more complex thesis will usually include both similarities and differences. Here are examples o t the two main cases: Differences outweigh similarities: While Callaghans All the Years of Her Life and Mistrys Of White Hairs and Cricket both follow the conventions of the coming-of-age narrative, Callaghans story adheres more closely to these conventions by allowing its central protagonist to mature. In Mistrys story, by contrast, no real growth occurs. Similarities outweigh differences: Although Darwin and Lamarck came to different conclusions about whether acquired traits can be inherited, they shared the key distinction of recognizing that species evolve over time. Come up with a structure for your essay Alternating method: Point-by-point pattern In the alternating method, you find related points common to your central subjects A and B, and alternate between A and B on the basis of these points (ABABAB . For instance, a comparative essay on the French and Russian revolutions might examine how both revolutions either encouraged or thwarted innovation in terms of new technology, military strategy, and the administrative system. A Paragraph 1 in body new technology and the French Revolution BParagraph 2 in body new technology and the Russian Revolution A Paragraph 3 in body military strategy and the French Revolution B Paragraph 4 in body military strategy and the Russian Revolution A Paragraph 5 in body administrative system and the French Revolution B Paragraph 6 in body administrative system and the Russian Revolution Note that the French and Russian revolutions (A and B) may be dissimilar rather than similar in the way they affected innovation in any of the three areas of technology, military strategy, and administration. To use the alternating method, you Just need to have something noteworthy to say about both A and B in each area. Finally, you may certainly include more than three pairs of alternating points: allow the subject matter o determine the number of points you choose to develop in the body of your essay. When do I use the alternating method? Professors often like the alternating system because it generally does a better Job of highlighting similarities and differences by Juxtaposing your points about A and B. It also tends to produce a more tightly integrated and analytical paper. Consider the alternating method if you are able to identify clearly related points between A and B. Otherwise, if you attempt to impose the alternating method, you will probably find it counterproductive. Block meth d Subject-by-subject pattern In the block method (AS), you discuss all of A, then all of B. For example, a comparative essay using the block method on the French and Russian revolutions would address the French Revolution in the first half of the essay and the Russian Revolution in the second half. If you choose the block method, however, do not simply append two disconnected essays to an introductory thesis. The B block, or second half of your essay, should refer to the A block, or first half, and make clear points of comparison whenever comparisons are relevant. (Unlike A, B .. or Like A, B .. This technique will allow for a higher level of critical engagement, continuity, and cohesion. A Paragraphs 1-3 in body How the French Revolution encouraged or thwarted innovation B Paragraphs 4-6 in body How the Russian Revolution encouraged or thwarted innovation When do I use the block method? The block method is particularly useful in the following cases: You are unable to find points about A and B that are closely related to each other. Your ideas about B build upon or extend your ideas about A. You are comparing three or more subjects as opposed to the traditional two.

History and Invention of Gasoline

History and Invention of Gasoline Gasoline was not invented, it is a natural by-product of the petroleum industry, kerosene being the principal product. Gasoline is produced by distillation, the separating of the volatile, more valuable fractions of crude petroleum. However, what was invented were the numerous processes and agents needed to improve the quality of gasoline making it a better commodity. The Automobile When the history of the automobile was heading in the direction of becoming the number one method of transportation. There was created a need for new fuels. In the ​nineteenth century, coal, gas, camphene, and kerosene made from petroleum were being used as fuels and in lamps. However, automobile engines required fuels that needed petroleum as a raw material. Refineries could not convert crude oil into gasoline fast enough as automobiles were rolling off the ​assembly line. Cracking There was a need for improvement in the refining process for fuels that would prevent engine knocking and increase engine efficiency. Especially for the new high compression automobile engines that were being designed. The processes that were invented to improve the yield of gasoline from crude oil were known as cracking. In petroleum refining, cracking is a process by which heavy hydrocarbon molecules are broken up into lighter molecules by means of heat, pressure, and sometimes catalysts. Thermal Cracking: William Meriam Burton Cracking is the number one process for the commercial production of gasoline. In 1913, thermal cracking was invented by William Meriam Burton, a process that employed heat and high pressures. Catalytic Cracking Eventually, catalytic cracking replaced thermal cracking in gasoline production. Catalytic cracking is the application of catalysts that create chemical reactions, producing more gasoline. The catalytic cracking process was invented by Eugene Houdry in 1937. Additional Processes Other methods used to improve the quality of gasoline and increase its supply including: Polymerization: converting gaseous olefins, such as propylene and butylene, into larger molecules in the gasoline rangeAlkylation: a process combining an olefin and paraffin such as isobutaneIsomerization: the conversion of straight-chain hydrocarbons to branched-chain hydrocarbonsReforming: using either heat or a catalyst to rearrange a molecular structure Timeline of Gasoline and Fuel Improvements 19th-century  fuels for the automobile were coal tar distillates and the lighter fractions from the distillation of crude oil.On September 5, 1885, the first gasoline pump was manufactured by Sylvanus Bowser of Fort Wayne, Indiana and delivered to Jake Gumper, also of Fort Wayne. The gasoline pump tank had marble valves and wooden plungers and had a capacity of one barrel.On September 6, 1892, the first gasoline-powered tractor, manufactured by John Froelich of Iowa, was shipped to Langford, South Dakota, where it was employed in threshing for approximately 2 months. It had a vertical single-cylinder gasoline engine mounted on wooden beams and drove a J. I. Case threshing machine. Froelich formed the Waterloo Gasoline Tractor Engine Company, which was later acquired by the John Deere Plow Company.On June 11, 1895, the first U.S. patent for a gasoline-powered automobile was issued to  Charles Duryea  of Springfield, Massachusetts.By the early  20th century, the oil companies w ere producing gasoline as a simple distillate from petroleum. During the 1910s, laws prohibited the storage of gasoline on residential properties.On January 7, 1913, William Meriam Burton received a patent for his cracking process to convert oil to gasoline.On January 1, 1918, the first U.S. gasoline pipeline began transporting gasoline through a  three-inch  pipe over 40 miles from Salt Creek to Casper, Wyoming.Charles Kettering  modified an internal combustion engine to run on kerosene. However,  kerosene-fueled  engine knocked and would crack the cylinder head and pistons.Thomas Midgley Jr.  discovered that the cause of the knocking was from the kerosene droplets vaporizing on combustion. Anti-knock agents were researched by Midgley, culminating in tetraethyl lead being added to fuel.On February 2, 1923, for the first time in U.S. history ethyl gasoline was marketed. This took place in Dayton, Ohio.In 1923, Almer McDuffie McAfee developed the petroleum industrys first commercially viable catalytic cracking process, a method that could double or even triple the gasoline yielded from crude oil  by then-standard  distillation methods. By the mid-1920s, gasoline  was  40 to 60 Octane.By the 1930s, the petroleum industry stopped using kerosene.Eugene Houdry invented the catalytic cracking of low-grade fuel into high test gasoline in 1937.During the 1950s, the increase of the compression ratio and higher octane fuels occurred. Lead levels increased and new refining processes (hydrocracking) began.In 1960, Charles Plank and Edward Rosinski patented (U.S. #3,140,249) the first zeolite catalyst commercially useful in the petroleum industry for catalytic cracking of petroleum into lighter products such as gasoline.In the 1970s, unleaded fuels were introduced.From 1970 until 1990 lead was phased out.In 1990, the Clean Air Act created major changes on gasoline, rightfully intended to eliminate pollution.