Compare and Contrast Outline

I. Introduction

A. Hook (get the reader interested) 1-2 sentences
Have you ever thought about the differences and similarities between Disney’s Hercules and Greek mythology?

B. Introduce the topic of Greek Mythology and tell briefly about it.
Greek mythology is old stories that explain how things happened. One of their popular myths was about a hero, Hercules.

C. Introduce the Disney movie and tell briefly about it.

The animated movie, Hercules, is an attempt by Disney to retell this famous myth.

D. Thesis where you introduce your two main similarities and two differences. This is the roadmap to your paper and the most important sentence in a paper.

However, these two stories have some similarities and many differences. In this paper you will read about how the movie and Greek mythology are similar because it makes use of the same gods and Hercules has super strength. You will also read that the movie and Greek mythology are different because Hercules is not made to complete labours and the behavior of the gods is quite different.

II. 1st Similarity

  1. Topic sentence stating 1st similarity the stories have in common
    (A similarity between the Disney movie and Greek myth is that in both stories Hercules has super strength.)
  2. Explain1st similarity in one of the stories and give an example.
    (In the Disney movie, Hercules shows his super strength in many situations. He picks up a huge pillar, lifts a huge bolder, and defeats many large monsters.
  3. ComparisonWord+ Explain 1st similarity and how it relates to the other story and give an example)
    (Likewise in Greek Mythology, Hercules shows his strength. He completed 12 Labours (tasks) that showed his super strength.)
  4. Concluding sentence for this paragraph
    (This is just one of the similarities between the movie and the myth.)

III. 2nd Similarity

  1. Topic sentence stating 2nd similarity the stories have in common
  2. Explain 2nd similarity in one of the stories and give an example.
  3. ComparisonWord+ Explain 2nd similarity and how it relates to the other story and give an example)
  4. Concluding sentence for this paragraph

IV. 1st Difference

  1. Topic sentence stating 1st similarity the stories have in common
  2. Explain1st similarity in one of the stories and give an example.
  3. Contrast Word + Explain 1st similarity and how it relates to the other story and give an example)
  4. Concluding sentence for this paragraph

V. 2nd Difference

  1. Topic sentence stating 2nd similarity the stories have in common
  2. Explain 2nd similarity in one of the stories and give an example.
  3. Contrast Word + Explain 2nd similarity and how it relates to the other story and give an example)
  4. Concluding sentence for this paragraph

V. Conclusion

  1. Reword thesis
  2. Summarizing sentence about the novel and the movie and their similarities
  3. Discuss the most important similarity and connect it to the most important message from each story
  4. Concluding sentence that will leave the reader thinking (No personal pronouns!!)