English Language Center ______________________________________________________________________________

Semester/Level 3 ______________________________________________________________________________
Writing ______________________________________________________________________________
Write an essay comparing and contrasting these two countries: Oman and the
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UAE.
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Use the following information provided in the box below. (200 – 250 words)
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Cities Oman the UAE
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Location Middle East Middle East
Capital city Muscat Abu Dhabi ______________________________________________________________________________
Currency Riyal Dirham
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Population 4.155 million 9.346 million
Official language Arabic Arabic ______________________________________________________________________________
Sultan Qaboos Bin Said Al HH Sheikh Khalifa Bin Zayed Al
Ruler ______________________________________________________________________________
Said Nahyan
Number of region 11 governorates 8 emirates ______________________________________________________________________________
National flag colours Red, white & green Red, white, black & green
Religion Islam Islam ______________________________________________________________________________
Economic dependency oil and gas oil and gas ______________________________________________________________________________
Size of country 119,499 square miles 32,278 square miles
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 Comparing and Contrasting Oman and the UAE
The U.A.E. and Oman are neighbouring countries in the south-east of
the Arabian Peninsula. Although they understandably have much in common, they
also have a number of significant differences. Some of these similarities and
differences will be outlined below.

First, the two countries share a similar history: they are both on an
ancient trade route linking India with Mesopotamia. Moreover, they share the
same official religion, which is Islam. In addition, they share the same official
language, namely Arabic, although Farsi, Hindi and Urdu are also used in the
U.A.E. and Kiswahili in Oman. Finally, the landscape in both is similar: they
possess a number of offshore islands and have a varied topography with sebkha,
sand deserts, gravel plains, wadis, and mountains.

There are nonetheless noticeable differences between the two nations. A

major point is the economy: that of the U.A.E. depends largely on oil and gas
whereas Oman has also developed its agricultural sectors. Secondly, they differ in
population. There are approximately four million people in the former country,
2.5 million in the latter. Third, they differ in size. Oman, at around 220,000 square
metres, is almost three times as large as the U.A.E. A final point is their
governments: the U.A.E. has a sheikh whereas its counterpart has a sultan as
leader.
To sum up, these two countries have many characteristics in common
but, too, at least as many contrasts. Perhaps the similarities are more significant
than the differences.