How To Write A Compare And Contrast Essay: A Comprehensive Guide

WHAT IS A COMPARE AND CONTRAST ESSAY?

The core feature of a compare and contrast essay is that it is focused upon examining the similarities and differences which exist across two or more different entities or ideas. Quite simply, writing a compare and contrast essay means comparing and contrasting the characteristics of two or more entities that you have chosen or which have been assigned to you so as to make an argument, embodied by the thesis of your compare and contrast paper, about how these two different things relate to each other.

Writing a compare and contrast essay means that you must have a good understanding and command of the two or more concepts that you are writing about. Because you will need to apply your critical thinking skills as you write a compare and contrast essay, writing a compare and contrast essay is about more than just describing the two terms or concepts. Rather, it is about finding their core similarities and differences and building a thesis that sums up the differences which exist between these different entities and phenomena in a manner that is cohesive and easy to understand.

In writing a compare and contrast essay, you must be able to unpack the differences which exist between the things you are writing about by using sources and the scholarly literature on the subject. Writing a compare and contrast essay thus requires research in relation to the definitions of each of these things, and an ability to extrapolate from these definitions to highlight similarities and differences. This involves using secondary sources to better understand the nature of the things that you are writing your compare and contrast essay on as well as applying your critical thinking skills to separate these similarities and differences into distinct categories.

Ultimately, writing a compare and contrast essay is a relatively simple exercise if you understand this type of essay and have a good grasp of the two or more things that you are writing about. The challenges which arise when writing a compare and contrast essay are typically associated with separating the different elements of your compare and contrast essay into categories and tying these back into a thesis. While these elements of writing a compare and contrast essay can be challenging, the steps below can help you in writing a great compare and contrast paper.

HOW TO WRITE A COMPARE AND CONTRAST ESSAY

The first step in writing a compare and contrast essay is to pick the two things, whether they be concepts, words, objects or anything else, that you will be comparing. Subsequent to choosing these, you will need to do as much research as possible to ensure that you understand the two things that you will be comparing and contrasting. As you research these items or things, make sure that you take notes on the similarities and differences which are discussed in relation to them in the sources that you consult. This will help you organize yourself as you write a compare and contrast essay.

Once you have chosen the two or more items that you will compare and contrast, it is best to work backwards to generate the thesis you will use to write a compare and contrast essay. In examining the literature on the things that you are comparing and contrasting, it becomes possible to find areas of difference and commonality that will form the body paragraphs of your compare and contrast essay. Choose at least three of these different categories and build body paragraphs for your compare and contrast essays on the basis of these different areas of difference and similarity. From this, you can move on to generate a thesis that links these different elements of similarity and difference together to form a cohesive whole. This will represent the thesis you use as you write a compare and contrast essay.

Finally, providing an example of a compare and contrast essay is relatively easy. If one takes the simplistic example of comparing and contrasting cats and dogs, one could put forth the thesis that dogs are friendlier than cats. The first body paragraph would focus on observed behaviors which show that dogs are friendly and that cats are sociopathic animals. The second body paragraph could then compare and contrast the evolution of cats and dogs to explain why these differences are present. The third body paragraph would then examine the implications of dogs being friendly and cats being unfriendly for different types of pet owners. The conclusion would sum up this research and reflect on a question pertaining to dogs and cats such as whether one type of pet is better than the other for different types of people. While this example of writing a compare and contrast essay is very simple, it is an effective demonstration of the key concepts and processes used in writing a compare and contrast essay.

HOW TO FORMAT A COMPARE AND CONTRAST ESSAY

When writing a compare and contrast essay, you may or may not be using sources. In less advanced class, you are likely to write a compare and contrast paper on something in your life for which sources are not necessary as your topic is common knowledge. In contrast, a higher-level class might involve writing a compare and contrast essay that is longer and more complex. Doing so will require that you make use of sources and cite appropriately as you write your compare and contrast essay. While MLA style is most commonly used in writing compare and contrast essays, any citation style can be mandated by your professor and you should make sure you are adhering to the style that has been imposed to avoid losing points on your compare and contrast essay.

Once you have formatted and referenced your compare and contrast essay, you should make sure that each of your body paragraphs reflects a different area of comparison and contrasting between the two or more things that you are writing on. If this is the case, it is time to move on to ensure that none of the claims that you are making contradict each other. Given that this can occur across sections when writing a compare and contrast essay, checking to make sure that there are no contradictions in your compare and contrast essay is very important. Finally, writing a good compare and contrast paper means that you should ensure that each of your sections is demarcated through either a heading or a good topic sentence that makes it clear what this paragraph or section is discussing.

WHAT IS THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN A COMPARE AND CONTRAST ESSAY AND A TRADITIONAL ESSAY?

The main difference between writing a compare and contrast essay and a traditional academic essay is tied to the scope of what you are writing about. With both of these types of essays based on the use of a thesis and supporting body paragraphs, a compare and contrast essay limits the scope of what you are writing to the similarities and differences which exist between the two entities you are comparing. As such, the scope of writing a compare and contrast essay is smaller than the scope of a traditional academic essay as you will be solely writing about these two elements. In contrast and with a traditional academic essay allowing you to explore areas that you might discover as you explore the scholarly literature, it is a more open ended type of essay.