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.