European Football vs. American Football

Although European football is the parent of American football, the two games show several major differences. European football, sometimes called association football or soccer, is played in more than 80 countries, making it the most widely played sport in the world. American football, on the other hand, is popular only in the United States and Canada. Soccer is played by 11 players with a round ball. Football, also played by 11 players in somewhat different positions on the field, uses an elongated round ball. Soccer has little body contact between players, and therefore requires no special protective equipment. Football, in which players make maximum use of body contact to block a running ball carrier and his teammates, requires special headgear and padding. In soccer, the ball is advanced toward the goal by kicking it or by butting it with the head. In football, on the other hand, the ball is passed from hand to hand across the opponent's goal. These are just a few of the features that distinguish association and American football.

Intensive Care: Today and Yesterday

There are many differences between the intensive care a patient received yesterday and the intensive care he receives today. For example, thirty years ago a patient’s intensive care consisted of putting him in a single room, giving him oxygen and fluids, taking his vital signs frequently, and giving him medication as ordered. Nurses could not spend much time with a patient, even a critically ill patient, because nurses were so few. Since there was a shortage of nurses in those days, many nurses felt the next time they went to a patient’s room he would be dead. Many times he was. However, there has been a revolution since then. The approach to intensive care today is much different. It consists of an entire unit designed especially to care for the critically ill patient. A staff of highly trained nurses and skilled technicians are in constant contact with the patient, taking care of his every need and monitoring any change in his condition, however slight. In addition to its staff, the intensive care unit is equipped with sensitive life-saving machines. The beeping noise of the heart monitor and the red and green flashing lights of the suction machine are only a few of the reassuring sights and sounds in this world of timelessness and routine. Thanks to the staff, machines, and routine, many patients leave the intensive care unit of today to live long, healthy, happy lives.

In a paragraph of contrast, as in one of comparison, you can express the contrasting elements in one sentence, in alternate sentences, or in groupings o f several sentences each. Your choice will depend upon what seems the more effective presentation.