Comparison Case

Winik's "What Are Friends For?" and Rybak and McAndrew's "How Do We Decide Whom Our Friends Are? Defining Levels of Friendship in Poland and the United States" are both describing how one's relationship with coworkers, relatives, neighbours, and school mates differ. Although both articles share the main theme of level of closeness with each category of friends, they vary in their evidence, organization, and style. Marion Winik writes a straightforward essay developed using her own experiences and observations, arranged using a logical manner, and composed using everyday language. On the other hand, Anna Rybak and Francis McAndrew write their scholarly article by providing various references, by exercising professional consistency, and by applying formality. Although Rybak and McAndrew's article can be considered as the more reliable source of reading about friendship, Winik's essay is probably the one preferred by many because of its easy read genre. The authors provide people an insight of how friendship differs. They mention how people give importance to their friends. They not only produce a detailed explanation of the relationship people have with their friends, but also compose them in a systematic manner that has a good flow. Readers will easily be able to follow what they are trying to say. Hence, both essay though different in writing styles, succeeded in constructing an effective classification of friendship.

Works Cited:

Essay in a Textbook

Winik, Marion. "What Are Friends For?" Strategies for Successful Writing. 4th Canadian ed. James A. Reinking et al. Toronto: Pearson, 2010: 289-91. Print.

Article in a Scholarly Journal

Rybak, Anna and Francis T. McAndrew. "How Do We Decide Whom Our Friends Are? Dealing Levels of Friendship in Poland and the United States." The Journal of Social Psychology 142.6 (2006): 147-63. Academic Search Premier. Web. 19 Nov. 2011.