Basic Academic Writing
COMPARISON-CONTRAST ESSAY
In your career as a student, you will encounter many different kinds of writing assignment, each with its own requirements. One of the most common is the comparison/contrast essay, in which you focus on the ways in which certain things or ideas—usually two of them—are similar to (this is the comparison) and/or different from (this is the contrast) one another. By assigning such essays, your instructors are encouraging you to make connections between texts or ideas, engage in critical thinking, and go beyond mere description or summary to generate interesting analysis: when you reflect on similarities and differences, you gain a deeper understanding of the items you are comparing, their relationship to each other, and what is most important about them.
Characteristics of Comparison-Contrast Essay
Here is some general information about the organization for this type of essay:
1. A comparison essay notes either similarities, or similarities and differences.
2. A contrast essay notes only differences.
3. The comparison or contrast should make a point or serve a purpose. Often such essays do one of the following:
a. Clarify something unknown or not well understood.
b. Lead to a fresh insight or new way of viewing something.
c. Bring one or both of the subjects into sharper focus.
d. Show one subject is better than the other.
4. The thesis can present the subject and indicate whether they will be compared, contrasted or both.
5. The same point should be discussed for both subjects; it is not necessary, however to hive both subject the same degree of development.
6. Used detailed topic sentences and the following connecting words to make relationship between your subjects clear to your readers.
Connectors That Show Comparison (Similarities)
Connectors That Show Contrast (Differences)
In additon Correspondingly Compared to
Similarly Just as As well as
Likewise Same as
In your career as a student, you will encounter many different kinds of writing assignment, each with its own requirements. One of the most common is the comparison/contrast essay, in which you focus on the ways in which certain things or ideas—usually two of them—are similar to (this is the comparison) and/or different from (this is the contrast) one another. By assigning such essays, your instructors are encouraging you to make connections between texts or ideas, engage in critical thinking, and go beyond mere description or summary to generate interesting analysis: when you reflect on similarities and differences, you gain a deeper understanding of the items you are comparing, their relationship to each other, and what is most important about them.
Characteristics of Comparison-Contrast Essay
Here is some general information about the organization for this type of essay:
1. A comparison essay notes either similarities, or similarities and differences.
2. A contrast essay notes only differences.
3. The comparison or contrast should make a point or serve a purpose. Often such essays do one of the following:
a. Clarify something unknown or not well understood.
b. Lead to a fresh insight or new way of viewing something.
c. Bring one or both of the subjects into sharper focus.
d. Show one subject is better than the other.
4. The thesis can present the subject and indicate whether they will be compared, contrasted or both.
5. The same point should be discussed for both subjects; it is not necessary, however to hive both subject the same degree of development.
6. Used detailed topic sentences and the following connecting words to make relationship between your subjects clear to your readers.
Connectors That Show Comparison (Similarities)
Connectors That Show Contrast (Differences)
In additon Correspondingly Compared to
Similarly Just as As well as
Likewise Same as