A compare and contrast essay identifies the differences and similarities between two different subjects. For students, it is crucial to learn how to write a compare and contrast essay, as it is a common writing assignment in a student’s academic career.
A comparative essay encourages critical thinking. It teaches students how to do interesting analysis and helps them to develop a deep understanding of a subject. At first, compare and contrast essays seem like too much work, but once students start comparing the two items, they enjoy writing these essays.
Wondering How To Start Compare And Contrast Essay? We’ll Help!
You will have a much better time writing your essay if you do it in stages. Follow the essay writing process step-by-step, and you will write a successful essay in no time. Don’t try to write your essay in a rush, because that will only ruin its quality and ultimately delay your submission.
Here’s how to start a comparison and contrast essay:
- Pick two subjects: You can start this essay by picking two subjects that can be compared and contrasted in a meaningful way. While choosing the subjects, consider why it is important for your readers to know the similarities and differences between these two subjects.
- Brainstorm your essay topic: Here, you should brainstorm ideas and think why you have chosen to compare and contrast these two subjects. Think intensively about the similarities and the differences as it will help you to build your thesis later.
- Examine the essential points: Your goal should not be to highlight all the similarities and differences between the subjects you’ve chosen. Instead, you should only focus on the important points to prevent yourself from sounding boring to your readers.
- Develop a thesis statement: Your thesis statement will tell your readers what your essay is about. It’s important to learn how to write a thesis for a compare and contrast essay, as it can be written in many different ways. The thesis statement for compare and contrast essay will always revolve around the reason for which you have picked these subjects, to begin with.
- Choose your essay structure: There are three major types of compare and contrast essay structure for you to choose from. You can discuss the two items subject-by-subject, point-by-point, or you can simply compare and contrast. All these structures are different, and so you need to choose the one that works best with your ideas.
- Create your essay outline: An outline helps you to organize your essay properly and gives you a template to work with. The main sections of your compare and contrast essay outline will be the introduction, body, and the conclusion. You should also write a topic sentence for each paragraph so that you know exactly what you are going to write there.
- Write your essay: You can now start filling your essay outline. Your outline will help you to search for evidence quickly so that you can write your essay without getting stuck. While writing the essay, your argument may evolve, in which case you can go back to the brainstorming process and find further evidence.
- Reread your essay: Upon writing your initial draft, reread your essay a couple of times to spot the mistakes. Check whether all the paragraphs are connected with each other and whether there is a steady flow in your essay. Ensure that your essay is successful in putting your main points across.
- Edit and proofread your essay: In this step, you will not only correct the spelling and grammar mistakes but also check whether your essay contains repeated ideas. It’s very important to have a balanced paper. If you spend too much time explaining a specific idea, your essay will sound biased to your readers. And of course, if you don’t have time for this, you can easily ask writing professionals to proofread your paper in no time.
- Submit your essay: Once you’ve written and edited your essay, do not get overly obsessed with it. You need to bring yourself to a point where you feel confident about your work. In addition, you can ask a friend to read your essay and get his opinion. That will give you confidence in your work, and you won’t feel the anxiety while submitting your essay.
Making Good Compare And Contrast Essay Even Better
If you want to write a good compare and contrast essay, you should pick subjects that connect in a meaningful manner. A good comparative essay will not just state the obvious but will enlighten the readers with the unexpected similarities and the subtle differences that usually go unnoticed.
The purpose of a compare and contrast essay is not to differentiate between the two subjects that are already quite different from each other, for example, apples and oranges. It rather aims to compare and contrast two subjects that are in similar categories. A compare and contrast essay gives the readers more information about a particular category, which is exactly what an essay should do.
Where To Get Ideas For Your Essay
Although students compare things every now and then to make the right choice, they get confused when asked to write a compare and contrast essay. Students find it quite difficult to come up with impressive compare and contrast essay ideas.
Frankly, it’s not at all difficult to find a comparative essay example on the Internet, which can give you some topic ideas. But keep in mind that writing an essay is much easier when you feel inspired, so, choose your essay topic wisely.
Topics For A Compare And Contrast Essay
If you are not sure about what you’re going to write, ask your friends for suggestions. You can also choose an easy essay topic to avoid getting into too many details.
Here are a few compare and contrast essay topics to choose from:
Technology
- Film Cameras vs. Digital Cameras
- iOS vs. Android
- USB vs. CD
- Laptops vs. Desktops
- Email vs. Traditional Mail
Music
- Rap vs. Hip-Hop
- Guitar vs. Violin
- Jazz vs. Classical
- Headphones vs. Speakers
- Singing vs. Dancing
Diet & Fitness
- Cardio vs. Weight Training
- Low-fat Diet vs. Low-carb Diet
- Vegan Diet vs. Meat Diet
- Pilates vs. Yoga
- Dieting vs. Fasting