LET’S TRY ONE
At first the group stored every note in one folder and often lost track of revisions. Later it used dated folders, so members could identify the newest draft.
What does the before-and-after contrast help explain?
How the changed filing method made the newest draft easier to identify.
The first method obscures revisions; the later method identifies the newest draft. The contrast explains that practical improvement.
Learning steps & teaching tips
Identify how an explicit contrast develops an idea in a short original passage.
- Identify the two situations, views, or methods being contrasted.
- Find what is shared and what changes.
- State the effect without adding an outcome or motive absent from the text.
Try it together
Write a three-sentence paragraph with a shared aim and two contrasting approaches. Ask a partner to explain the contrast’s purpose.
Name both sides of the comparison, then explain the difference the passage makes visible.