Comparing and contrasting

Lead-In.
To begin our topic, visit kahoot.it and play a quiz. Make sure you have a phone with internet
access. Think of a team name before joining.

A Functional language: Comparing and contrasting.

1 Speaking.
a) On your own, write down/draw three things you associate with bacteria and three things you
associate with viruses.
Bacteria Viruses

b) Are these things similar or different? Work in pairs. Take turns describing the similarities
and/or differences.

c) What expressions or grammatical structures did you use to do this?

My expressions (1b) Expressions from the text (2a) Expressions from the table
(2b)

2 Reading.
a) In the article below, highlight expressions typically used for comparing and contrasting. When
you’re done, share them with your partner.

There are more differences than similarities between bacteria and viruses, yet, they have a few things in
common.
Both bacteria and viruses are microbes that can cause diseases. Bacteria are like viruses with respect to
the ways of spreading. You can contract them via being exposed to someone coughing, sneezing, or by
coming into contact with contaminated animals, people or items. Some diseases caused by viruses and
bacteria are so serious that they are even capable of killing humans. Fortunately, there exist
vaccinations against viral infections. Likewise, you can be vaccinated against bacterial infections. The
last similarity I would like to refer to concerns the internal structure: bacteria also resemble viruses in that
they have no nuclei. However, in bacteria the genetic material floats in the cytoplasm while in viruses it’s
surrounded by a protein coat called capsid. Unlike bacteria, viruses have no structures, such as
ribosomes, which enable bacterial reproduction. Viruses reproduce by hijacking a cell’s or bacterium’s
machinery to make copies of themselves.
There are also differences in the treatment of infections both pathogens cause. In contrast to bacterial
infections, viral infections cannot be treated with antibiotics. The primary way to combat viral infections is
vaccination though some antivirals, for example against HIV or Hepatitis CV, have also been
engineered.
Source

b) Study the list and write down more examples.

Phrases for expressing

differences similarities

A is different from B in that it… A is similar to B in that it…

A differs from B in that it… A and B are the same / identical

The difference between A an B is… A and B have XX in common.

In contrast to A, B is… A is…Similarly / Likewise, B is…

A, unlike B, is… Like A, B is…

A is… In / By contrast, B is… Both A and B share…

A is… In / By comparison, B is… A is comparable to B in that it…

A is… However, it isn’t… A resembles B in that it…

In comparison with / to A, B is… Also

Whereas / While A is…, B is… A is as…(important) as B…

On the one hand…on the other hand…

A is far/much (smaller/more important) than B…

A is not as/so (important) as B…

The overview has been adapted from https://www.phrasebank.manchester.ac.uk/compare-and-contrast/

c) Complete the sentences with appropriate expressions from the box above.

1 Prokaryotic cells r_________ eukaryotic cells in that they contain genetic material.

2 U_________ archaea and eukaryotes, bacteria have a cell wall made of peptidoglycan, comprised of

sugars and amino acids, and many have a polysaccharide capsule.

3 W_________ eukaryotic cells contain a nucleus and organelles bound by plasma membranes,

prokaryotic cells do not have a membrane-bound nucleus or organelles.

4 Prokaryotic cells are extremely small, m_______ s_______ t_______ eukaryotic cells. A
typical prokaryotic cell is of a size ranging from 0.1 microns to 5.0 microns.

5 In c_________ to the miniature prokaryotic cells, eukaryotic cells are so large that even some of their

organelles are visible under the light microscope of a high school science laboratory.
B Terminology. One of you is an expert on bacteria and the other one on viruses. You are going
to instruct each other on the following.

1 Structure.
a) Study your microbe (Bacteria / Viruses). Take 5 minutes to prepare a short talk on what it is
composed of. Make sure that you know how to pronounce the names of the
organelles/components. Write down three comprehension check questions to make sure your
partner has understood your instruction. Take turns teaching your partner about the structure of
your microbe (1-3 minutes). Remember to ask the CCQs.

2 Size and shapes. Use Collins dictionary for pronunciation.

a) Read a short paragraph about your microbe. Write down key points, prepare a short summary
and share it with your partner. Make sure you pronounce the shape names correctly.

3 Reproduction.
a) Study the diagram/s showing your microbe’s reproduction process/es. Check the
pronunciation of specialised terms with a good dictionary. Following the diagram/s, describe
each step of the process to you partner (refer to the sequencing language practised last week).

C Put it all together. In a group, prepare a brief presentation (not exceeding three minutes) on
some aspects in which bacteria and viruses differ.
➢ Structure
➢ Form (shape and size)
➢ Reproduction
TIP: Before you present, study some presentation tips posted by last year’s students.

D Exam practice.
1 Word Formation. You are going to read a text about the discovery of penicillin.
a) Work in pairs. Brainstorm what you know about the topic.

b) Read the text without filling out the gaps. Does it discuss the same, similar or completely
different information you brainstormed in Task 1a?

c) Read the words below the text. How can you change them so that they fit the corresponding
gaps?

● Consider the part of speech - do you need a noun, a verb, an adjective or an adverb?
● Consider the number - do you need a word in the singular or plural?
● Is the meaning of the word negative? If so, what negative prefixes are there?

One of the most amazing advances ever made in medicine began with an unexpected event. Sir
Alexander Fleming, a Scottish 1 ___________, had been conducting an 2 ___________ looking into
new ways of killing germs, when he came upon something puzzling in his laboratory.
Some mould had 3 ___________ landed on one of the dishes and for some 4 ___________ reason, had
killed the bacteria he was growing. At first, he was delighted by his 5___________ and grew more of the
mould, giving it the name penicillin. However, his 6 ___________ wore off when he decided that
penicillin would only really be 7 ___________ as an antiseptic against certain skin 8 ___________ and
soon lost his interest as he believed that antiseptics often did more harm than good. It wasn’t until ten
years later that two other scientists managed to isolate the substance that killed the bacteria, and 9
___________ began to save people’s lives with it. In 1945 Fleming and the two others were awarded
the Nobel Prize in Medicine.

1 BACTERIA 2 INVESTIGATE 3 ACCIDENT 4 KNOW 5 DISCOVER

6 EXCITE 7 EFFECT 8 INFECT 9 SUCCESS

Source: Bell, Jan and Roger Gower. First Expert. Harlow: Pearson Education Limited, 2014.

2 Forming questions.
a) How would you ask about the underlined parts?

1 Fleming discovered 2 penicillin.

1 Antibiotics kill 2 bacteria.

1 2

Question: Who… What…

Answer: Fleming. Penicillin

Question: What… .What…

Answer: Antibiotics. Bacteria.

Type of question: S______ O_ _ _ _ _

How to form it:

Examples of question words:

b) Form questions about the underlined parts.

1 Eukaryotes contain membrane-bound organelles.

Question: What… Question: What…

Answer: Eukaryotes. Answer: Membrane-bound organelles.

2 Both bacteria and viruses cause infections.

Question: What… Question: What…

Answer: Both bacteria and viruses. Answer: Infections.

3 Fleming’s discovery occurred in 1928.

Question: Whose… Question: When…

 Answer: Fleming’s. Answer: In 1928.

4 The human body contains approximately 39 trillion microbial cells.

Question:

Answer: 39 trillion.

5 The microbes live in various parts of the body.

Question:

Answer: In various parts of the body.

E Ideas for next week’s assignment.

a) Take a minute to brainstorm what phenomena can be compared and contrasted in your field of
study. Join another two or three classmates and post your ideas on Google Jamboard.
Monday groups Wednesday groups

b) Pick one of the brainstormed ideas, find a specialised text about it, read it, take notes (key
words or bullet points, not full sentences), prepare a short summary (3 minutes) to share in class
in Week 5.

F Reflection.
Take a minute to go over the following points. Then work in small groups sharing what you have
learned today (30 seconds each).

● Terminology

● Grammar

● Functions

● What went well?

● What was challenging?

● What was useful?

● What was useless?