Compare and Contrast Essay: How to Write a Great Example of Compare and Contrast?

All college and university students have to deal with a lot of assignments. One of the most popular and challenging at the same time is the task of writing an essay. Today there is a huge number of essays, each has its own characteristics. The essay of comparison and contrast is very popular among students. And all because it is quite simple. You do not need to conduct in-depth research, just compare different objects and phenomena. However, sometimes this task causes difficulties. We have prepared a detailed article for you on how to write a good compare and contrast essay so that you can once and for all understand this topic.

What is a Compare and Contrast Essay?

What does it mean to compare and contrast when it goes about student paper?

A compare and contrast essay are a regular text, but with some features that make this text more interesting and challenging. Writing it, you should share your thoughts and ideas about two objects, describe them and then compare. Those objects you can choose yourself or get from your professor. Both options are regular. So, this type of essay can focus on similarities or differences, or highlight both of them. The decision on content depends on the title of the essay.

The essential aim of compare and contrast essay is not only to discuss some similar and non-similar features. The perfect paper helps the author to concentrate on one or both subjects and show that one of them is better than the other. It can also lead to a new look at something. It is important for an analytical mindset. Everything in life has two sides. And such the task will show you that.

What are Perfect Compare and Contrast Topics?

Choosing good compare and contrast topics, you should think about what will be interesting to your readers. For example, you can compare an apple and a pear, but is it really that question that you want to discuss? Think better about some things important to your community. This may be democracy or monarchy, religion and agnosticism, tolerance and categorically. What is comparison in writing, it is a discussion. So, make that really catching.

Compare and Contrast Essay: How to Make the Structure Perfect?

The most essential task is to sketch a plan. Before you start writing an essay, it is worth planning how it will be organized. The uniqueness of comparative essays is that there are several strategies for building them, and you can choose any. You can make a traditional structure of a compare and contrast essay, but even a simple list of items in the supposed order will be useful. Key points can be written on leaflets or stickers, and then swapped in different ways until you decide on the order of presentation.

Devote each paragraph of comparison and contrast paper to a separate aspect. This means that in each paragraph you will write about both objects, comparing them according to a certain criterion. In the first paragraph, you will compare them in one aspect, in the second – in the second and so on, each time placing objects in the same sequence.

How to Write a Compare and Contrast Essay Step-by-Step

Professional authors on EssayMap, who have huge experience with such assignments have prepared detailed instructions for you. Read and get to know how you can write a compare and contrast paper:

Understand Your Topic

Before you start writing a compare and contrast paper, try to dive deeper into your theme. You should understand it from A to Z and consider all its features.

Make sure that your task is as clear as possible for you. That’s because some professors want students to write essays with similarities only. And the other ones will assign you the task to write about differences. And of course, the most common task is to use comparison and contrast at the same time.

Take a look and some topic and try to understand what do they require:

• Compare Islam and Buddhism;
• the contrast between Islam and Buddhis;
• compare and contrast Islam and Buddhism.

When you have the first topic, you should show the features that are common for Islam and Buddhism. Then it is important to write about differences when it goes about the second topic. And the most challenging task is the third, where you should show that both religions have and what each of them doesn’t have.

If you understand the topic well, you can find good ways to start a compare and contrast essay and write a top-notch essay with ease.

Brainstorm

Your next step is to prepare information. You need to analyze each of the objects, writing down all its characteristics. Think of any qualities and attributes, each of them matters. And only after that, you can choose the most crucial compare and contrast essay ideas.

Write an Introduction

A well-written introduction for compare and contrast essay makes the reader interested and read the essay to the end. This part may contain the wording of the problem and its essence, a rhetorical question, a quote, etc. You need the introduction to get the audience involved and engaged. The easiest way is by creating some an emotional attitude. Think over the issue to find out: why might your topic be interesting?

This part is at the beginning of the essay, but it doesn’t mean you need to write it first. Finish the whole text and it would be easier to come up with the perfect beginning.

Write a Body Part

Since you have already defined the structure of the compare and contrast papers, it will not be difficult. If you use a point-to-point structure, you can compare different aspects of these two items separately. If you use topic after subject, you must describe the various aspects of one subject, and then move on to the next subject.

Sum Up in the Conclusion

Once you have read all the points, it is time, to sum up. The most crucial task for you is to consider all the essential points. Writing conclusions for essays is a necessary skill that is easy to achieve with practice. Then reread the information you have provided and draw a logical conclusion. For example, if you find that one item has more positive qualities than another, you can conclude that this item is better. Don’t think that all compare and contrast essays have the same conclusion. Try to come up with the other way of viewing these items.

After that, you can reread your paper and use proofreading services to get rid of any mistakes.

How Many Paragraphs is a Compare and Contrast Essay?

In fact, there is not a certain number of paragraphs that would be universal for everyone. Often a professor says the required number of words so that you can understand the total volume. The main thing is that your introduction and conclusion be brief enough, and the main body informative. If you feel that the topic is not yet fully disclosed, you can write more. But do not overload the text with facts and arguments just for the number of words. They should make sense and help your papers. Read your task carefully, e.g. you may be assigned with a 5 paragraph essay.

How to Write a Conclusion for a Compare and Contrast Essay?

Think of the end of the essay as about a package for a beautiful gift. It brings everything together and presents your text as a polished whole. In your final part, you must summarize everything that was mentioned in your essay. Besides, it should be quite provocative and resemble a verbal stroke. After a little work, you can decorate your essay with a wonderful ending, like a cake decorated with a cherry. There are some useful tips for you to follow:

• think about the question, ‘So what?’ A great way to come up with a conclusion is to imagine the person who has read your text and now asking ‘So what?’ Why does what you write matter? What can be written in the end to convince the reader to believe in your ideas and reasoning? By asking yourself the question ‘what?’ in the process of writing an essay, you can look much deeper into your thoughts and ideas;
• write down all of your crucial ideas. Understanding what the main ideas of your essay are, you will create the best final possible. You should not squeeze every paragraph and sub-paragraph in the end: just display the most crucial things. Knowing the main points of your compare and contrast essays, you can avoid the emergence of new ideas in the ending;
• find the topics that you described in the first paragraph. Turning to where you started will help you finish your essay correctly. Think about whether you can develop the topic a little when you return to it at the end;
• be concise. There are no strict rules for the length of this part, but try to make it not more than 5-7 sentences. It should be short enough and laconic.

Compare and Contrast Essay Example

You, of course, can use examples of papers written by other authors. But just for inspiration. Do not copy someone else’s text, otherwise, you will be accused of plagiarism. You can also ask your professor what is an example of compare and contrast to understand your task better.

Here are a few sentences that are suitable as a compare and contrast essay sample:

Today I need to compare a book and a movie. At first glance, these two objects are completely different. But if we delve deeper into the topic, we can see that there are a sufficient number of similarities. For example, both a book and a film are needed in order to convey information. Only the book does it in a visual way, and the film uses both the visual and audible.

You can always contact us with a message ‘write my essay for me‘ and we will help you. Our dedicated team of professional authors is always here to provide you with the top-notch paper.