How to Write a Compare and Contrast Essay?

In the context of writing, comparison examines aspects that are alike, and contrast analyzes dissimilar parts. When we talk about compare & contrast essays, it simply explores two subjects through comparison, contrast, or either of them.

Generally, the process of creating a successful compare & contrast essay begins with a selection of multiple subjects that are related to each other. The goal of comparison or contrast is to highlight minor differences or surprising commonalities rather than to declare the evidence. 

Example of Compare & Contrast Essay

For instance, if you are looking to compare and contrast two subjects, you will not choose tigers and lions, instead, you should be comparing and contrasting two categories of tigers or two kinds of lions to emphasize minor distinctions.

Here we take the example of the tigers within their specific category related to their weight. The weight of the Siberian tigers is approximately between 389-475 lbs. in males while the Bengal tigers’ weight is up to 397-569 lbs. in males. The primary objective of this type of essay is to improve the reader’s ability to comprehend a specific comparable category in any subject.  

Selection of Topic & Thesis Statement

Before you begin to write, you need to choose whether you wish to examine dissimilar topics, contrast comparable topics, or compare and contrast topics first. Once you’ve settled on a subject, you should begin with an enticing first paragraph.

Moreover, your thesis statement must be stated after the introduction. In addition, your thesis statement must also specify the elements you are supposed to compare, contrast, or both. Also, you need to briefly tell the audience what can they learn from it as well.   

Composition of a Compare & Contrast Essay 

The compare and contrast essay begins with a thesis statement that specifically defines the two subjects to be examined in terms of comparing, contrasting, or both with a solid reason. You need to keep in mind that the purpose of comparing and contrasting is to give the audience relevant information.

You can structure as well as organize your compare and contrast essays through multiple methods. The first is to explain one topic after the next, as per the topics themselves. The other one is to explain each topic in relation to every point. The format you pick in this type of essay is determined by the nature of your subject, goal, and intended readers. 

Main Body & Conclusion 

The essay’s body might be arranged in two ways. The first one is to organize the body through subject or you can use specific arguments. Your format of the essay and its strategy will be determined by your readers and objectives, as is always the case. When you complete your analysis of the problem, you need to create a brief yet solid conclusion that highlights the key elements of the essay and strengthens your stated argument. 

How to Write a Comparative Essay?

A comparative essay is one of the types of essays where you need to compare the two things with each other such as places, humans, events, or anything else on the basis of their differentiation as well as similarities.

Here you need to consider the important elements that are comparable with each other. A comparison essay is a multi-paragraph composition that attempts to illustrate how two topics are comparable or unlike. These articles are mostly concerned with examining distinct elements of the issues under consideration.

To compare in this case is to highlight the parallels between the subjects, whilst to contrast means to indicate their variances. These are not confined to certain themes and these may include almost any issue as far as the subjects are related to each other. 

Key elements for writing comparative essay

  • The term “comparison” refers to a method of evaluating or analyzing subjects built on their similarities and contrasts with one another. 
  • A comparison essay is considered the one in which the author is required to evaluate different subjects that have certain resemblances. 
  • The topics might be related in some way or completely unrelated. 
  • Before beginning to write an essay, it is critical to first grasp what it is for. 
  • You need to understand what comparative means. It can also happen that you write an excellent essay but still lack in addressing the real question. 
  • It is best to first thoroughly examine the message, underlining important terms to determine the precise necessity. 

Determine the points to be compared  

  1. Based on the questions, you must create a foundation for evaluation. 
  2. Generally, the question offers the foundation for comparison, however, in some situations, the writer must establish it too. 
  3. For instance, you may be asked to compare socialism with conservatism. It is a question with a specific goal, so you will not need to go above and beyond. 
  4. Other examples would be to compare different ideological positions. This is a broad issue, and you must first distinguish the many ideological viewpoints before identifying exactly two points with which you can make comparisons. For such types of cases, the writers must provide the foundation for comparing on their own. 

Develop essay outline  

It is the phase that decides what will be included in the essay. It entails finding the resemblances between the points under consideration.  

Create a thesis statement 

A precise thesis statement that leads the writer is required for the development of an essay. It makes no difference whether the context of comparison is provided by the subject or stated by the writer.  

Key elements in the body & conclusion 

Generally, all types of essays have a wide range of writing formats and a comparative essay must also be arranged in a format that the reader can easily understand the comparable elements presented in the essay. Also, a proper conclusion in the end may be required as well.