Comparing Eastern and Western Typography's Evolutions

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Thesis Statement: While the East created the well-known writing forms of today, the West perfected typography through the creation of the printing press, a tool which almost necessitates an alphabet with as few words as possible.

ITEM #1
Topic Sentence: European Type

Different Features #1
Topic Sentence: European type exists within the confines of the Roman alphabet, which has allowed for an easier advancement into movable type.
Reason: The Roman alphabet is far more limited and short-form, allowing for only a few letters at a time, as opposed to many at once, all unique in form and stroke.
Evidence to Support: Gutenberg’s movable type included a limited number of letterforms and blocks.

 ITEM #2
Topic Sentence: Asian Type

Different Features #2
Topic Sentence: Non-European printed type came about after European printing.
Reason: Asian/non-European type uses a broader variety of alphabets, based in cuneiform and pictographic lettering, among other sources.
Evidence to Support: Arabic was based in a pictographic alphabet, which has been simplified and made more efficient through the centuries, although through creating a complicated alphabet with letterforms which flow into and overlap each other.

Similar Features #1
Topic Sentence: Both worlds developed printing presses to suit their languages--Romance and non-Romance.
Reason: As printing was perfected for the Roman alphabet, non-Romance languages followed suit to keep up with its increased efficiency.
Evidence to Support: Chinese/Japanese woodblock printing

Conclusion: While the Roman alphabet is younger than many alphabets in the East, with the creation of the printing press and movable type, it perfected and revolutionized typography to a degree which had not ever been seen before.

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