2 types of compare and contrast essays

A compare and contrast essay examines two or more topics objects, people, or ideas, for example , comparing their similarities and contrasting their differences. You may choose to focus exclusively on comparing, exclusively on contrasting, or on both-or your instructor may direct you to do one or both. First, pick useable subjects and list their characteristics. In fact, their individual characteristics determine whether the subjects are useable.

Put Your Best Foot Forward to Start a Compare and Contrast Essay

A compare and contrast essay examines two or more topics objects, people, or ideas, for example , comparing their similarities and contrasting their differences. You may choose to focus exclusively on comparing, exclusively on contrasting, or on both-or your instructor may direct you to do one or both.

First, pick useable subjects and list their characteristics. In fact, their individual characteristics determine whether the subjects are useable. After that, choose a parallel pattern of organization and effective transitions to set your paper above the merely average. Picking a subject Focus on things that can obviously be compared or contrasted. For instance, if you are examining an idea political or philosophical examine the opposite of that idea.

Or, if you are examining a person, like a president, pick another president for comparison or contrast. Don't try to compare a president and a cab driver, or existentialism and a legislative bill on car tax refunds. Listing characteristics Divide a piece of paper into two sides. One side is for the first subject, the other for the second subject. Then, begin to list the similarities and differences that immediately come to mind.

Concentrate on characteristics that either are shared or are opposing between the two subjects. Alternately, you may construct a Venn diagram of intersecting circles, listing the subjects' differences to either side and their similarities where the circles intersect.

Keep in mind that for a balanced paper, you want to make point-by-point, parallel comparisons or contrasts. Similarities between my math and English instructors: Both are welcoming and available to students.

Both are organized and keep a neat office. Both are knowledgeable and professional. Differences between my math and English instructors Math teacher listens to classic rock. English teacher listens to jazz. Math teacher drinks Earl Grey tea. English teacher drinks strong black coffee. Math teacher likes to chat about movies. English teacher sticks to business. As you create your list, is it clear why you are comparing and contrasting these two subjects?

Do you have a preference for one or the other? If so, make sure you are evaluating each side fairly. A point-by-point list helps you maintain balance. Once you have a list, decide whether there are more similarities or differences between the topics.

If there are more similarities, concentrate your paper on comparing. If there are more differences or if, as in the example above, the differences are simply more interesting , concentrate on contrasting.

If there is a balance of similarities and differences, you might concentrate on discussing this balance. Imagine you are examining Robert E.

Lee and Ulysses S. Grant, both Civil War generals. In your list you have uncovered important points of dissimilarity between them. Those points are their background, personalities, and underlying aspirations. Call these three points A, B, and C. You have decided to contrast the two subjects. Here is one way to organize the body of this paper, addressing points A, B, and C for each subject.

This paper will follow parallel order—A, B, and then C—for each subject:. Lee's background B. Lee's personality C.

Lee's underlying aspirations. Grant's background B. Grant's personality C. Grant's underlying aspirations. Lee's underlying aspiration C. Grant's underlying aspiration. For a shorter paper, the above might represent three paragraphs; if you are writing a long paper and have a great deal of information, you may choose to write about each point, A, B, and C, in separate paragraphs for a total of six. However you decide to organize, make sure it is clear why you are examining this subject.

You might be able to compare apples and oranges, for example, but why would you? Include any insights or opinions you have gathered. And yes, in general, three is the magic number.

While there is no hard-and-fast rule that precludes creating a paper based on two points, or four, or five, a three-point discussion is manageable, especially for complex or abstract subjects. At the same time, a three-point structure helps you avoid oversimplifying, especially when addressing controversial topics in which discussions tend to become polarized—right or wrong, black or white, for or against.

Three-point treatments encourage discussion of the middle ground. Signaling transitions Learn to use expressions that precisely convey contrast or comparison. These expressions, or transitions, signal contrast:. Signal words such as these help the reader understand the relationships between your sentences, paragraphs, and ideas. In particular, if you are both comparing and contrasting, signal words help sort out what's what. This paper will follow parallel order—A, B, and then C—for each subject: A.

Lee's underlying aspirations A. Grant's underlying aspirations However, here is another way to organize the same paper: A. Lee's background A.

Lee's personality B. Grant's underlying aspiration For a shorter paper, the above might represent three paragraphs; if you are writing a long paper and have a great deal of information, you may choose to write about each point, A, B, and C, in separate paragraphs for a total of six.

These expressions, or transitions, signal contrast: on the contrary on the other hand however otherwise whereas still yet These expressions signal comparison: as well as both like in common with likewise also Signal words such as these help the reader understand the relationships between your sentences, paragraphs, and ideas.

A comparison and contrast essay focuses on how two items or texts are similar, students run into with this type of essay is not actually comparing the two. A compare-and-contrast essay, then, analyzes two subjects by comparing you might choose to compare and contrast two types of oranges or two types of.

It uses those points to make a meaningful argument about the subjects. While it can be a little intimidating to approach this type of essay at first, with a little work and practice, you can write a great compare-and-contrast essay! To write a compare and contrast essay, try organizing your essay so you're comparing and contrasting one aspect of your subjects in each paragraph. Or, if you don't want to jump back and forth between subjects, structure your essay so the first half is about one subject and the second half is about the other. You could also write your essay so the first few paragraphs introduce all of the comparisons and the last few paragraphs introduce all of the contrasts, which can help emphasize your subjects' differences and similarities.

Comparison and contrast essay writing is not that simple but it can very easy if you understand the different ways on doing it. Comparison and contrast essay writing is done with a plan.

The key to a good compare-and-contrast essay is to choose two or more subjects that connect in a meaningful way. The purpose of conducting the comparison or contrast is not to state the obvious but rather to illuminate subtle differences or unexpected similarities.

Two Effective Ways on Comparison and Contrast Essay Writing

What makes this paper argumentative? At first glance, not much. However, you are being asked to compare two subjects in order to recommend one as being better than the other overall. But by the end of the paper, it should be clear to your readers that you have chosen one subject over the other and why you have done so. Your compare and contrast essay may be organized one of the following two ways, as described in detail in the Module 6 AVP:. Introduction of two subjects for comparison.

The Comparative Essay

The key word here…is NEW! Some instructors prefer that you only write about the differences between two things, while others want you to focus on explaining the similarities as well. Either way, you'll need to make sure that your thesis statement reflects your instructor's expectations. For example:. It would be better to write about how sensitive both horses and cats are to human needs and emotions. You could also suggest that though both basketball and football require a lot of teamwork, basketball players are expected to be a lot more versatile than football players. Your instructor may ask for multiple similarities and differences--make sure you're prepared to write a well-developed, meaningful essay on a topic that you know well before you get started! Chunking: placing all of the information for each individual subject in one place chunk , and then using similarities as transitions. Piecing: giving pieces of the information for each individual subject in each paragraph—arranging the information by topic rather than by subject. We encourage the educational use of the OWL.

Comparison In writing, to discuss things that are similar in nature.

Show AWL words on this page. Show sorted lists of these words. Any words you don't know? Use the website's built-in dictionary to look them up!

A comparative essay asks that you compare at least two possibly more items. These items will differ depending on the assignment. You might be asked to compare. The assignment sheet may say exactly what you need to compare, or it may ask you to come up with a basis for comparison yourself. Once you know your basis for comparison, think critically about the similarities and differences between the items you are comparing, and compile a list of them. For example, you might decide that in Great Expectations , being a true gentleman is not a matter of manners or position but morality, whereas in The Tenant of Wildfell Hall , being a true gentleman is not about luxury and self-indulgence but hard work and productivity. The list you have generated is not yet your outline for the essay, but it should provide you with enough similarities and differences to construct an initial plan. Once you have listed similarities and differences, decide whether the similarities on the whole outweigh the differences or vice versa. Create a thesis statement that reflects their relative weights. A more complex thesis will usually include both similarities and differences. Here are examples of the two main cases:. Although Darwin and Lamarck came to different conclusions about whether acquired traits can be inherited, they shared the key distinction of recognizing that species evolve over time. Note that the French and Russian revolutions A and B may be dissimilar rather than similar in the way they affected innovation in any of the three areas of technology, military strategy, and administration. To use the alternating method, you just need to have something noteworthy to say about both A and B in each area.

An assignment to write a compare and contrast essay causes contradictory feelings in most students. On the one hand, it is an interesting task to do. On the other hand, it's more difficult to complete this kind of paper than any other one. When writing a descriptive or a narrative essay, you need to focus on one subject. The main distinctive feature of a compare and contrast essay is that here you need to keep in mind two subjects. It is impossible to write a good essay without following the outline. How to start this kind of paper to hook your target audience?