Compare and contrast essays do just what they say. They identify the similarities and the differences between two subjects. Typically, the subjects will fall under the same umbrella. For example, you might compare and contrast two different dog breeds or two different tourist attractions in the same country One of the most common is the comparison/contrast essay, in which you focus on the ways in which certain things or ideas—usually two of them—are similar to (this is the comparison) and/or different from (this is the contrast) one blogger.comted Reading Time: 6 mins A compare and contrast essay is a common form of academic writing. This essay is based on portraying similarities and differences between the two chosen subjects. A compare and contrast essay is often assigned to students to assess their writing and analyzing skills
How to Write a Compare and Contrast Essay Step by Step
By assigning such essays, your instructors are encouraging you to make connections between texts or ideas, essays on compare and contrast, engage in critical thinking, and go beyond mere description or summary to generate interesting analysis: when you reflect on similarities and differences, you gain a deeper understanding of the items you are comparing, essays on compare and contrast, their relationship to each other, and what is most important about them.
Here are a few hypothetical examples:. You may want to check out our handout on understanding essays on compare and contrast for additional tips. Making a Venn diagram or a chart can help you quickly and efficiently compare and contrast two or more things or ideas. In the central area where they overlap, list the traits the two items have in common. To make a chart, figure out what criteria you want to focus on in comparing the items.
Along the left side of the page, list each of the criteria. Across the top, list the names of the items. As you generate points of comparison, consider the purpose and content of the assignment and the focus of the class. How does it fit with what you have been studying so far and with the other assignments in the course? Are there any clues about what to focus on in the assignment itself? Here are some general questions about different types of things you might have to compare. You may want to begin by using the questions reporters traditionally ask: Who?
By now you have probably generated a huge list of similarities and differences—congratulations! Next you must decide which of them are interesting, important, and relevant enough to be included in your paper. Ask yourself these questions:. Suppose that you are writing a paper comparing two novels.
However, if you were writing a paper for a class on typesetting or on how illustrations are used to enhance novels, the typeface and presence or absence of illustrations might be absolutely critical to include in your final paper. Sometimes a particular point of comparison or contrast might be relevant but not terribly revealing or interesting.
Talking about the different ways nature is depicted or the different aspects of nature that are emphasized might be more interesting and show a more sophisticated understanding of the poems. Be careful, though—although this thesis is fairly specific and does propose a simple argument that atmosphere and delivery make the two pizza places differentyour instructor will often be looking for a bit more analysis.
Again, thinking about the context the class provides may help you answer such questions and make a stronger argument. You may find our handout on constructing thesis statements useful at this stage. The danger of this subject-by-subject organization is that your paper will simply be a list of points: a certain number of points in my example, three about one subject, then a certain number of points about another.
This is usually not what college instructors are looking for in a paper—generally they want you to compare or contrast two or more things very directly, rather than just listing the traits the things have and leaving it up to the reader to reflect on how those traits are similar essays on compare and contrast different and why those similarities or differences matter.
Thus, if you use the subject-by-subject form, essays on compare and contrast, you will probably want to have a very strong, essays on compare and contrast, analytical thesis and at least one body paragraph that ties all of your different points together.
Rather than addressing things one subject at a time, you may wish essays on compare and contrast talk about one point of comparison at a time. There are two main ways this might play out, depending on how much you have to say about each of the things you are comparing. Be aware, too, of the placement of your different points. Our handout on organization can help you write good topic sentences and transitions and make sure that you have a good overall structure in place for your paper.
The following words may be helpful to you in signaling your intentions:. This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 4. You may reproduce it for non-commercial use if essays on compare and contrast use the entire handout and attribute the source: The Writing Center, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Make a Gift. Skip to main content.
Compare and Contrast Essay - Sample 1
, time: 10:35Strong Compare and Contrast Essay Examples
Compare and contrast essay is a common type of academic writing. This type of essay is based on analyzing the similarities and differences and contrasting two subjects. Write a compare and contrast essay is not a difficult task if you follow proper guidelines. It needs a proper structure and outline A compare and contrast essay is a common form of academic writing. This essay is based on portraying similarities and differences between the two chosen subjects. A compare and contrast essay is often assigned to students to assess their writing and analyzing skills · A compare and contrast essay is a type of essay that provides points of comparison between two subjects. True to its name, it shows how the subjects are similar in certain respects and different in others. The essay structure tends to feature body paragraphs that describe the two subjects, before bringing it all together with a final blogger.comted Reading Time: 4 mins
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