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Just how to Write a Compare and Contrast Essay

Many students have seen the situation of developing a vast and meaningful paper for the first time. Nevertheless , there are several types of essays, and precisely the question about writing a assess essay is amongst the sharpest ones. Therefore , all of us has created an in depth guide with examples and extra materials to simply help students comprehend the core peculiarities of compare and contrast essay format, structure, outline, and much more.

What Is a Compare and Contrast Essay?

A compare and contrast essay is a kind of academic writing that highlights the ways that two subjects are similar or different. Comparing the things means learning the similarities between them, while contrasting is focused on the differences. Accordingly, this content of your paper depends on the goal of writing, as you either compare or contrast this objects and describe the outcomes of it in the paper.

A compare and contrast essay takes a significant place one of the common essay types. Teachers frequently assign students with essays with this kind to master of their attitude to different subjects and abilities to evaluate details.

The main goal of writing a comparing and contrasting essay is to highlight the core aspects of two issues, subjects, events, and so forth In other words, the goal is a comparison between subjects. The core particularity of any assess essay is just a deep analysis of each issue.

Many college disciplines assume writing comparison and contrasting essays. Philosophy, history, sociology, psychology, and many others are among them. But applying this sort of essay isn't limited to university or college. Such areas as journalism, politics, marketing, and many others use compare and contrast essays to analyze sharp and sensitive and painful topics.

Just how to Organize the Ideas in Compare and Contrast Essay

A compare and contrast essay is unique in how of explaining your thoughts to the reader, as you will find two ways concerning the organization of the ideas however body.

The first one is block arrangement. Each body paragraph is focused on a particular topic and uses the shared aspect(s) to compare it to another topic. For example, if you reveal two favorite car models and compare them using several aspects (class, speed, size, and so on ), you will need to dedicate the initial paragraph to highlighting the aspects linked to one car only. The next paragraph will undoubtedly be dedicated to describing the same aspects concerning the other car. In the third paragraph, you may write a conclusion based on the evaluation of two topics and their details. In this way, using block arrangement, you will focus on two different topics and highlight the differences or similarities between them comprehensively.

The 2nd one is point-by-point arrangement. Each paragraph is targeted on a specific aspect of both topics, which narrows two topics right down to patterns. For example, if you reveal the same car models, you will need to dedicate the initial paragraph to comparing or contrasting the class of both cars, the second – to their speed, and the 3rd – with their size, etc. In conclusion, you'll evaluate the outcomes of the investigation, suggest potential improvements, or recommend an improved car model.

Just how to Write a Compare and Contrast Essay

Speaing frankly about writing a compare and contrast essay, the main recommendation is to dedicate enough time to preparations. The prewriting stage takes time because this type of essay assumes deep analysis that will require extensive research on several subject.

Choose the topic wisely

Start preparing to write a comparing and contrasting essay and choose the right topic that will motivate you. If ideas are suggested in the teacher’s guides, choose from them. If the duty is brainstorming to generate a distinctive topic on your own, use the following recommendations:

  • Observe that the topic will define the direction of analysis. For that reason it would be most useful if you find the subject wisely.
  • Use mind mapping if you are more visual than analytical. Choose a digital mind map from of the apps on the web or have a big sheet of paper and draw your ideas. The connections between ideas will allow you to in analysis.
  • Make a list of core points on each subject, including the minor details, and after, you'll need to highlight the similarities and differences between them and analyze the information. This might also be one of the ways just how to compare and contrast an essay.
  • Make use of a freewriting strategy to let your brain flow and wake up your subconscious for unexpected some ideas. To make the process effective, pick the main at the mercy of think over – like the best TEDx speeches.

Provide research

One of many significant aspects of preparing to writing a comparing and contrasting essay is seeking relevant informative data on a plumped for topic. The investigation process will require you time as you need to collect data from various sources and do it for both subjects of one's comparison.

Focus on creating a set of actual sources and recording all information you can reach easily – for example , blogs, websites, books, magazines, and so on If your subject requires deeper investigation and use rare data from closed libraries, write these sources down in a separate list.

How to begin a Compare Essay

After you’ve plumped for the method for arranging your essay, it’s time to begin with your writing. What is most of your focus in the introduction section?

You'll need to present two topics which can be being contrasted or compared in a quick manner. Provide some back ground, but don't focus on the important points, as they are to be highlighted later. Augment your introduction with an effective thesis statement that should present the topic and the argument to the reader. As an example:

There exists a wide range of benefits given by Walmart and Safeway, but Safeway is just a significantly more appropriate option, because it offers organic produce, environment friendly products, and special prices on many goods.

You can find different effective ways how to begin a compare essay. Our recommendation would be to develop the primary thesis. This stage can make a transition from the preparation stage to outlining and drafting.

Once you state a practical topic and provide research on both subjects of one's paper, you will need developing the core proven fact that will be highlighted in the written text. The best way to generate a main working thesis is by buying relation between two subjects of comparison. Note that the primary thesis for a compare essay doesn't need to be short. You can include 2-4 sentences and utilize them during writing. Ensure that you have sufficient arguments to aid your main statement/statements.

Compare and Contrast Essay Outline

Developing a compare and contrast essay outline can be an important part of writing a paper. Listed below are the three core forms of approachs to structuring an essay:

Points

By comparing your subjects point by point, you will easily define their core aspects and represent them to readers. Each new paragraph must contain new points. This approach makes the essay exciting and informative.

Subjects

Should you want to build the comparison by highlighting the similarities and differences of subjects separately, the subject-by-subject approach is what you need. Choose this method to expose each side of both dilemmas consequently.

comparison

This method assumes that first, you compare, and after, contrast. This is the most widely used approach employed by many students. It allows focusing mainly on the differences of the subjects.

To generate an effective compare essay outline, follow the advice and writing recommendations below. You can find four elements to consider:

INTRODUCTION

An introduction for a assess essay must include the following: introduction sentence with a bold statement, rhetorical question, unexpected fact, anecdote, and so forth You have to include obligatory details about the goals of writing this essay in the introduction.

Last but not least, if you know just how to write an introduction for a assess essay, you might be aware that you must include the representation of both subjects of comparison.

Body Paragraphs

It’s time to proceed to the main human body. As you remember, you can find two options for organizing your compare and contrast essay – let’s have a closer look at them and analyze some examples.

In block arrangement, begin each body paragraph with an interest sentence that invites the reader’s focus on a particular facet of the first subject. Considering our first example with Walmart, your topic sentence may appear as follows: Walmart is considered to be one of many cheapest supermarkets thanks to many special offers and sales offered on a regular basis. Create a theme in line with the topic sentence, and write as many paragraphs as you will need to cover all the areas of the first topic. However , understand that it is not recommended to use a lot more than three aspects. After the first subject is discussed comprehensively, follow exactly the same structure and highlight the next topic.

In point-by-point arrangement, open each body paragraph with an interest sentence that discusses a specific aspect in both topics, and contrasts and compares the manifestation of the aspect in each topic. If you decide to make use of this arrangement, your topic sentence could be the following: Walmart offers a wide variety of special prices and sales, unlike Safeway, whose products contain chemicals that bring harmful effects to the ecology. Expand the topic sentence and provide a few supporting arguments in each paragraph.

Acknowledgment

This section isn't obligatory and may be contained in the paper if some opposite points of view connect with the topic. These arguments could influence the purpose of writing; consequently , you need to involve them in the written text. The closing points of the acknowledgment must result in the last element of the outline, which really is a conclusion.

Conclusion

A conclusion aims to sum up the similarities and differences of both subjects. You must range from the highlights and core facts in an overview. Do not add new information. The exception is your some ideas for future essays or research.

Your conclusion should consist of three elements: summarizing the main aspects, providing a broad evaluation or suggesting future developments, and proving the value of the subject. Do not repeat any arguments or add any new information, just underline the value of differences or similarities provided, and show their relevance to your thesis. For example: Using its wide range of special prices, Walmart represents a more appropriate place for shopping than Safeway.

After you have outlined your paper, look closely at the assess essay format.

Frequently, the teacher provides requirements on the formatting in the guidelines. Pay attention to what format is required: APA, MLA, or Chicago/Turabian. If you do not pay enough focus on the comparing and contrasting essay format, you might score lower grades.

Assess Essay Writing Video Guide

To offer more tips about writing compare essays, we recommend you watch this video on our YouTube channel:

Stages of Writing a Compare Essay

Now you know most of the essential theories for writing a great assess essay. It’s time to open a new file in your chosen text editor and get to writing. Follow this step-by-step guide to create a wonderful essay:

  1. Watchfully consider the topic. The first step toward an effective assess essay is carrying out research, reviewing the topics available, and choosing two subjects that are worth deeper investigation.
  2. Make a list of aspects worthy of comparison. Use it as a basis for evaluating your topics and developing an argument. Can’t find the similarities and differences independently? Drawing a Venn diagram will allow you to!
  3. Turn the key points into a central statement. On the basis of the evaluation of two topics, come up with a successful argument and transform it in to your thesis sentence. You ought to explain whether your subjects of choice extend, complicate, correct, contradict, corroborate, or debate with one another. The thesis is just a central part of the paper, which is why in this sentence you should explain which subject is better or worse and exactly why. Do not forget to introduce the aspects used for evaluating the topics, as in the following example: Especially, classical music and jazz differ in tempo, types of playing, audience, and purpose, yet the two have a close connection, as both satisfy human aesthetic needs in top quality music.
  4. Focus on the basis of the paper: the outline. Sketch out the most important points from the list of similarities and differences and your thesis statement.
  5. Fill out the textual details to augment the outline. After your outline is complete, you should just support each aspect by the evidence from the publications you’ve read or the outcome of your personal investigation and experience.
  6. Prepare an introduction. It should contain the hook sentence (extraordinary beginning) and background info on the topic of your decision. Put your thesis statement into the last sentence of the introductory paragraph.
  7. Select the structure of arranging the arguments however body in line with the purpose of the paper. As an example, if you want to investigate the differences and similarities between the topics in general, block arrangement may well be more appropriate for you. However , should you want to focus on the important points and compare them between two topics, then point-by-point arrangement is the greatest option.
  8. Write body paragraphs according to the opted for structure. Now it’s time and energy to return to the outline provided above and just follow all the points mentioned. Remember about topic sentences: they truly are similarly essential in any structure type.
  9. Edit and proofread. Though students often skip this step, we strongly recommend you to dedicate some time and proofread the paper. Omit using a colloquial style, whilst the way you speak in a day-to-day routine must never be reflected in your academic papers.

Guidelines and Tightening Your Essay

Picking out an awesome topic offhand can be very difficult, so here are the examples of topics that represent a great choice with this type of academic writing.

Private vs . public educational institutions: which type supplies a better quality of education?
Non-alcoholic drink water versus energy drink: compare and contrast their benefits and impacts.
Surviving in the city compared to living on the farm: compare modern tendencies with earlier times.
Being fully a manager versus being a leader: compare and contrast their functions and qualities.

Even more Handpicked Compare Essay Topics

We understand that creating topics for compare and contrast essays is not accessible. Therefore we should help you with many practical and properly stated dilemmas. Find our ideas for you personally below:

  1. Compare the first mission to the Moon and the second one.
  2. What similarities exist between the world before 2020 and after it?
  3. How do Star Trek be linked to Star Wars?
  4. What differences and similarities exist between in-person conversations and texting?
  5. Assess the influence of exercising and dieting on a person’s weight.
  6. Discover the similarities and differences between Apple TELEVISION and Netflix.
  7. Compare the prerequisites of World War I and World War II.
  8. What similarities exist between agoraphobia and claustrophobia?
  9. Compare the Ego and Superego.
  10. What differences and similarities exist between autism and down syndrome?

Mistakes to Avoid While Writing a Compare and Contrast Essay

When all preparations are done, it’s time for you to get to writing. Oh, wait, here’s something else to consider prior to starting: the following is just a list of mistakes you want to avoid preemptively. Ensure you don’t:

  • Start the paper without a distinct idea in your mind. This mistake is the most glaring, because it influences the logical organization of the ideas and certainly will leave your paper with no significant results from comparing and contrasting.
  • Make an effort to connect two organizational techniques. In each compare and contrast essay, the structure is the most significant component. Choose either block or point-by-point arrangement before writing, maybe not during the process.
  • Neglect to select a proper topic. Ensure that your topic is specific enough to provide you with a wide field for analysis and comparison. Usually do not choose widely discussed topics, as it will be difficult to create your paper plagiarism-free.
  • Defend a subjective point of view. Even though you are sure one item is notably better when compared with the other, you need to use relevant facts to support your situation and stay objective.
  • Choose two equal subjects for comparison. It doesn't really matter whether your items are similarly good, bad, beneficial, or harmful, but if indeed they really are equal, then exploring which of them is much better would be a real challenge.
  • Forget to link the some ideas with transitional words. In a compare essay, connectives carry out very specific functions: they do not only make the flow of ideas logical, but also help the writer to switch the focus in one point to another.
  • Disregard the demands of academic style. Remember that your essay should really be written in a formal language (without slang and conversational expressions), plagiarism-free, and without any grammar, punctuation, and spelling mistakes.

Compare Essay Writing Checklist

Last but not least, let’s undergo a short checklist before you submit your paper to ensure everything is ideal.

– Have you provided brief back ground information on the topics being compared or contrasted?
– Is your back ground information precise and laconic?
– Have you included the thesis statement to the last sentence of the introduction? Does your thesis contain a quarrel that you defend?
– Have you used evidence to guide each idea presented in body paragraphs?
– Have you plumped for a proper way of idea arrangement (point-by-point or block) and followed it comprehensively?
– Does your method of organizing ideas match the example provided in the outline?
– Does your conclusion contain three key components – summary of the main aspects, general evaluation of the topics, and significance of the comparison and contrast?
– Do the outcome of your investigation have any practical value and meet with the requirements of the audience?

Compare Essay Sample to Begin to see the Structure

We've prepared for you personally the following text to help comprehend the core principles of writing such essays. Additionally , you can check this great sample of a compare and contrast essay on our blog.

Online vs Face-to-Face Learning

Internet-based technological advances have transformed the academic world through the entire past 2 decades by developing online learning methods, which effectively reduce significant barriers that previously hindered access to higher education by promoting a more affordable and accommodating alternative to conventional learning (Hurlbut 249). Conventional or face-to-face instruction continues to be widely seen as the gold-standard method of education, based on the assumption by educators that there are considerable differences in the quality and outcomes in online instruction and learning compared to conventional education (Hurlbut 249). Unlike this assumption that face-to-face instruction facilitates superior quality and academic outcomes, research has consistently found that students enrolled in on line courses perform equally as well or better in comparison to students enrolled in face-to-face classes, with researchers suggesting this trend will continue steadily to increase as time passes (Hurlbut 249; Shachar and Neumann 326; Wu 9).

The debate over traditional versus online learning as the preferred method of education has persisted for over 20 years, as each successful finding gift suggestions new challenges and considerations for each method (Hurlbut 251). Through close examination of research regarding these processes and academic outcomes, researchers have consistently found that, an average of, there is little difference involving the method of instruction and academic achievement (251). Other researchers have found that students signed up for online courses frequently outperform their counterparts enrolled in old-fashioned courses. Researchers suggest this trend will continue through the next decade as universities and colleges increase on the web delivery practices into their curriculum (Hurlbut 248; Shachar and Neumann 326; Wu 9).

non-etheless, most empirical research has found no significant differences in academic outcomes between face-to-face and online students, which suggests that unobserved facets may dramatically affect student performance and educational outcomes regardless of which method of course instruction the student receives. A primary factor that's been substantially correlated to student success for online and face-to-face instructional formats could be the student’s self-regulatory processes, or the student’s psychological, motivational, and behavioral processes used to achieve a certain academic goal (Wandler and Imbriale 1).

Students who earnestly engages in self-regulatory processes closely considers how they learn and which strategies is going to be most effective in achieving goals of academic success (Wandler and Imbriale 1). As an example, a student who engages in self-regulatory processes can effectively manage their time for you to complete a job, use specific strategies needed seriously to complete the job, and seek help from others if necessary (1). However , students with limited self-regulatory skills may not recognize the importance of time management, organization, or help-seeking strategies, which dramatically impacts the student’s performance and power to succeed (Wandler and Imbriale 2).

Since its inception over twenty years ago, internet-based education programs have revolutionized the higher education system, offering an affordable and much more accommodating option to traditional or face-to-face instructional methods. The debate between which delivery method of instruction is superior in facilitating higher student performance and academic achievement has generated widespread research, which has consistently found that, typically, students signed up for online courses performed aswell or a lot better than their counterparts enrolled in face-to-face instructional formats. Therefore , it's imperative to shift away from deciding which instruction method is much better or worse and as an alternative provide students with the relevant skills and strategies necessary to thrive regardless of the way of instruction.

Works Cited

Hurlbut, Amanda. “Online vs . Old-fashioned Learning in Teacher Education: A Comparison of Student Progress. ” American Journal of Distance Education 32.4 (2021): 248–266.
Schachar, Mickey, and Neumann, Yoram. “Twenty Years of Research on the Academic Performance Differences Between Traditional and Distance Learning: Summative Meta-Analysis and Trend Examination. ” MERLOT Journal of Online Learning and Teaching 6.2 (2010). 318-334.10.12691.
Wandler, Jacob, and William Imbriale. “Promoting University student Self-Regulation in Online Learning Environments. ” Journal of Online Learning 21. 2 (2021): 1–16. 10. 24059/olj. v21i2. 881.
Wu, D. Derek. “Online Learning in Postsecondary Education: Analysis the Empirical Literature (2013-2014). ” Ithaka Strategies and Research. https://doi.org/10.18665/sr.221027.

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