Finding similarities can be challenging. However, with a diagram, it can be easier. For example, using a table, you can identify similarities between items more effectively. You should start by listing your items. Then have a box for every item for your selected criterion. Below is an example
This is also known as subject to subject pattern. With this pattern, your body will have two sections. The first section will discuss the first subject. For example, if you are comparing Domino’s Pizza and KFC, the first section will discuss Domino’s Pizza. You may have three paragraphs discussing three comparisons about Domino’s Pizza.
After generating a list of similarities, settle on most relevant. Additionally, the selected similarities should be course relevant, informative, and most important. For example, if you are comparing two stories consider the plot, main theme, setting, and writing style.
We have provided you with experts’ tips on writing a good comparison essay. If you want to write an essay that impresses your instructor, follow these steps. You will not just impress your instructor. You will also be able to achieve high grades.
Select a relevant and informative topic
The final step in writing a comparison essay is editing it. Please, read and reread the essay to check for any mistakes. These could be grammatical errors, wrong spellings, and poor formatting. Such mistakes can lower your grades. Hence, removing them is very essential.
In the body paragraphs, you should follow the following steps. Start by stating your point. Then, provide supporting evidence. Use a transition word when moving from one paragraph to the next.
- Select a good topic
- Identify possible similarities between your subjects
- Settle on most relevant and interesting similarities
- Select preferred essay structure
- Write your comparison essay
- Edit and proofread your work before submitting
A compare and contrast essay analyzes two subjects or ideas by comparing or contrasting them. In many cases, an assignment requires both. The point of this essay is to demonstrate a deep understanding of the subject, the ability to research, and it also shows a student’s potential to analyze information from different angles.
- Strengthens memories – the essay requires focusing student thinking on analyzing pairs of ideas to compare or contrast them and it, thereby, strengthens your ability to remember key content
- Improves higher-order thinking skills (HOTS) – a concept popular in the American education system. The HOTS distinguishes critical thinking skills from low-order learning outcomes. These skills include analyzing, reasoning, synthesizing, application, comprehending, and evaluation. You develop all these skills with compare and contrast essays
- Writing skills – the paper strengthens your writing skills by providing a simple structure that helps you organize information and develop your ideas with greater precision and clarity
- Develops habits of mind – compare and contrast essay helps students develop habits of mind necessary for intelligent behavior and thought. These habits include thinking flexibly, metacognition (thinking about thinking), striving for accuracy, thinking and communicating with precision and clarity, and applying past knowledge to new situations
Instead of listing similarities and differences one after another, compare and contrast essay looks into their relationship and tells the story that connects subjects that seemed incomparable.
The whole idea of writing an essay can be frightening, especially because you have many other projects to work on and it’s needless to mention you have a lot of studying to do for your exams. A lot of nervousness comes from lack of information about compare and contrast essay. Students rarely come across accurate tips and tricks and it only makes the writing process longer and more frustrating. Let’s put a stop to that with these tips:
Benefits of writing a compare and contrast essay
- Introduction – the introductory paragraph provides a brief intro to the topic, it’s a hook that you use to get someone’s attention. The sentence can include a fun fact, general information, statistics, quotes, among other things. Then, you transition to a specific topic or ideas you will compare so the reader knows the matter that will be discussed. The introduction ends with a thesis statement that announces the main idea or point you will compare and contrast
- Body paragraphs – the central part of the compare and contrast essay, can be organized in two ways:
- Point-by-point pattern – used to compare subjects or items that are similar. Paragraphs start with a topic sentence and deal with subjects (similarities or differences) and explanations that provide a deeper insight into their relationship
- Block pattern (organization by item) – used to compare situations or items that are entirely different at a first glance. This approach is also useful when multiple criteria are involved. When using block pattern you can divide body paragraphs into categories such as similarities first, then contrasts, a combination etc.
- Conclusion – summary of main points, short analysis of discussion in the essay, demonstrates significance of the subject
The beginning is always the hardest part and essays are not the exception. What to do first? Before you begin writing the compare and contrast essay, you need to be familiar with an outline to follow. Not only does the outline keep you on the right track, but it generates ideas that you can use for the essay. How? It shows what and where to mention. Below, you can see the outline for this type of paper:
- Stick to the assignment – sometimes the essay assignment is just to compare something, or you may be required to discuss differences. In other cases, you need to do both. Regardless of the scenario, you should always stick to the assignment. If your task is to compare something, then focus on similarities rather than spending too much time on differences
- Identify meaningful comparison points – look for connections that truly matter and don’t waste your precious time on superficial comparison points. Let’s say you need to compare two books
Use transition words as they are key to a smoother reading experience. For comparisons, use words such as -- similarly, likewise, comparatively, in addition to, etc. For contrasting, the following words can be used -- however, nonetheless, in contrast to, on the other hand, but, on the contrary, etc.
In any assigned essay, the basic outline is divided into the introduction, three body paragraphs and lastly, the conclusion. This outline will form the skeleton of the essay and will help in structuring all the ideas and thoughts as well as organizing the main points of your topics.
In this article, you will learn more about how to write a 5-paragraph compare and contrast essay and do a great job at it.
- Pick two topics that belong to the same broad category but have inherent differences. For example, prose versus poetry - both are forms of writing but are quite contrasting in nature.
- Pick two subjects that may not have anything in common other than one surprising similarity. For example, bats versus whales - one is small and flies, one is massive and swims, but both hunt by using sound waves.
- Pick two subjects that might appear to be the same but are different in many ways. For example, the Little Women novel versus the Little Women movie.
5. Use supporting evidence
A good thesis statement needs to be specific and should encourage a good discussion around the topic, but should not exceed a single line of thought.
Once your outline is created and you have supporting evidence of your statements, organizing your points, your structure and your sources into a cohesive body is the most important step.
Always use credible and relevant sources for pulling information to write your essays, since you have two topics to research on and compare objectively. Referencing your data is the best way to prove the facts, ideas or even explain as to why you support this or that statement.
Once your list has been made, figure out if your topics have more similarities or differences in them, because then a basic outline can be created. If you find that there are more similarities than differences, focus on comparing the two topics, and if there are multiple and more interesting differences, you should choose to contrast the ideas in your essay.
The conclusion should wrap up the entire essay and not leave any loose ends. Whatever you told readers you were going to speak about throughout your essay, make sure you write a concise summary of it in your conclusion (and make sure you are referring back to something in the body of your essay). As a simple example, you could say something such as “although cities are full of hustle and bustle and the countryside is more relaxed, both are areas where people go to find inspiration for novels, paintings and screenplays”.
Every great essay starts with a great brainstorm. Before trying to compare and contrast your two subjects, begin by writing down every bit of knowledge you have on the two off the bat, being sure that you are keeping the two subjects separate from each other for now. What is it that you already know about your subjects? What are you going to need to research further? Now take a look at the two lists you have made. The differences are probably fairly obvious, but can you pick out any similarities? If not, you’ll have to dig a little deeper.
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Another thing to consider is your audience. Are you writing for a third grade class, or are you writing for college professors? Your audience will largely affect the tone and voice of your essay, as well as the words, phrases, and grammar you use throughout it.
The Body
The introduction will also introduce the general outline of the essay. Let’s say the first paragraph is comparing and contrasting the people of the city and the country, the second paragraph is about the landscape and general aesthetic quality of the two, and the third paragraph is about what you can do for entertainment. You’ll mention all of this, and mention them in the order the paragraphs will be presented in.
When researching your subjects, try to find information that may not be common knowledge. If someone is going to pick up an essay on the similarities and differences between city and country, chances are they already have a lot of background knowledge on the subject. You’ll want to find a small handful of facts that will make readers think ‘wow!’ and continue to read until the end.
The introduction should entice readers into reading your essay, so make sure you start out strong. You may begin by mentioning one interesting fact about one of the subjects, or by asking a question that will be answered later in the paper. An introduction should describe what the compare and contrast essay is about, so if you’re discussing the similarities and differences between vacationing in a city and vacationing in the country, be sure you make that clear. One key thing to remember: don’t say “in my essay I will be talking about this and this”. There are much more interesting ways to lead into your topic. Instead of saying “I’ll be discussing the similarities and differences between a vacation in the city and a vacation in the country”, you could say something like “What makes a city so unique? What draws people to the countryside? Though both are compelling in different ways, they hold more similarities than you may realize”. This statement may also double as your thesis, which is your view or stance on the particular topic at hand.
Once you know how long the essay must be, you must then determine exactly how you’re going to split up the topics. Are you going to have four paragraphs – an introduction, a paragraph on the first subject, a paragraph on the second subject, and a conclusion? Or maybe your four paragraphs will be an introduction, the similarities between the two subjects, the differences between the two subjects, and a conclusion? If you’re planning on writing a longer paper, maybe you’ll split it up into five different paragraphs – an introduction, unique aspects of the first subject, similarities between the two subjects, unique aspects of the second subject, and a conclusion. These aren’t the only options you have
You can use visuals like a Venn diagram to explain your opinion. It highlights the distinctive features of each subject plus how they relate to each other. Lists are also excellent tools to clarify ideas.
Do you think that writing a compare and contrast essay on one topic is difficult? Then you probably feel that you will struggle to finish a compare and contrast essay as it has two topics. But this is not quite right. Comparative essays are easy to write. They allow you to explore the differences and similarities between the two subjects or themes.
Even if creating a compare and contrast essay is not your most favorite activity, you can still submit an exceptional and high-quality assignment that will grant you the best academic recognition. Here are some tips to help you finish your task just the way you want to:
If you are struggling with finding inspiration, then our bright compare and contrast essay topics list will help you submit your assignment on time. It suggests intriguing subjects that can help to finish an excellent task without any delays.
Choosing A Suitable Essay Idea
In the introduction paragraph, mention your thesis statement plus a brief explanation of the main topic that you will explore. It should be inspiring enough to encourage readers to keep on reading. Next, discuss and analyze the subject fully. Mention similarities and how the two ideas differ. Include an arguable thesis statement.
Head to the library to do some research related to your theme. Find some inspiration while watching TV news, series, documentaries. Stay tuned for the latest events, and link them to our past. Read the most trending articles and see what people talk about. The Internet is another excellent source for exceptional compare and contrast essay ideas. However, make sure that you are relying on academically accurate information. Do not believe everything online.
Develop a convincing argument using the facts you have mentioned. Make sure they add value to the audience. Explore the counterarguments. Study opinions that oppose your thesis statement or belief.
In the conclusion paragraph, sum up your idea. This section provides your readers with a quick summary of the research you conducted and explains why you’ve reached this conclusion. It should give a different interpretation of your thesis sentence. Think about how it relates to your argument.