Defining "Contrast" - Hall, Smith, Palmer

To contrast something is to set it in opposition of another thing in order to show or emphasize differences. Contrasting can be an effective tool when writing, by showing the importance of something in relation to another. In technical writing, which is all about clearly explaining a topic to an audience, the use of contrast can make conveying your point that much easier. For instance, if you are an engineer writing a technical proposal to an owner, you could contrast that project to a recently completed project. By pointing out the differences the current project will have from a project familiar to the owner, he then has a reference point to build his understanding off of.