In your career as a student, you’ll face many different kinds of writing assignments, each with its requirements. One of the most common is the comparison and contrast essay, in which you focus on how particular forms or ideas—usually two of them—are similar to (this is the comparison) and different from (this is the contrast) one another. By assigning such essays, your instructors are prompting you to make connections between texts or ideas, engage in critical reflection, and go beyond mere description or summary to create interesting analysis: when you reflect on connections and variations, you gain a more comprehensive understanding of the items you are comparing, their relationship to each other, and what is most important about them.
We can all agree that writing compare and contrast essays isn’t the ideal way to spend your weekend. Sadly, at one point or another everyone is bound to tackle this challenge. What if we told you that it doesn’t have to be that hard? In fact, completing the assignment itself is not hard at all. The crucial factor behind making it easy is preparation. By setting up a solid foundation for yourself with relevant guides, such as those provided by EssayPro, it becomes much easier to implement practical advice and master writing any style of academic paper.
Writing Compare & Contrast
Compare and contrast essay writing can be a tricky task to complete. It is a good idea to set some rules when writing. These rules being: read the text carefully, list all main ideas from both sources and compare them. This idea can kick-start your compare and contrast essay, and make you one excellent writer!
- Planning!
You don’t want a bad grade. Planning is beneficial when writing any form of academic paper; this takes into account Compare and Contrast Essay. There is always an absolute path to follow when creating a structured plan. Creating a plan can most definitely guide anybody in getting the desired grades.
2. Choose a Topic
Most of the time, professors don’t always give topics to write about. Though, this isn’t always the case. If your professor hasn’t set an item, it is time to choose a theme. Check out compare and contrast topics articles. They should give you an idea of what topics should be, or help you come up with a topic.
3. Read, Read, Read…
Imagine writing an essay without actually reviewing information. It is a bad idea to write a compare and contrast essay without reading up first! This can lower any grade. Before beginning your masterpiece, make sure to read the sources carefully. Spend around 20 minutes reading the two papers. Don’t forget to jot down notes to help with the writing process. – This will most likely be very helpful later on.
4. Compare!
It can be hard to compare some things especially when it comes to analyzing the difference between the hardware of the Wii U and the Xbox One. It is always a good idea to create a side-by-side list that compares every argument or statement. Doing so allows anyone to examine any topic that is thought of (or prescribed).
To help get a niche for planning this style of paper, it is a good idea to brainstorm the different approaches. A way to do this is to is to draw diagrams, as it can help you to visualize opposing views and arguments. Or one can use idea charts.
Venn Diagram: We use them to brainstorm the main differences and similarities among the different the sources being compared
Idea Chart: We use them to organize and list the many differences and similarities between the different sources
The Structure
One of the best ways to write a compare and contrast essay is to write an introduction, body and a conclusion. – As you would in any other essay. This makes the composition more concise and straightforward for readers. You don’t want to turn in a paper with bad paragraphing. It is a good idea to write to follow a specific structure. Each paragraph should be a separate point and not include mixed ideas.
The Introduction
Keep the introduction brief and informative (at the same time). To do this, create an overview of what is going to be discussed in the paper without giving too much away.
For example:
“Many people always get their driving license with CBC Driving School as some people get their driving license at YUB Driving Center. CBC is much more efficient than YUB as they charge less money, provide better training and have their app.”
2. Writing a Thesis
When writing this style of paper, it is a good idea to refer to the diagram and chart mentioned earlier in this article. And write them in detail to fit correctly in the assignment. In the thesis, include each argument and explain why they oppose the other point. This is how to write a thesis and to make sure it is written correctly. Avoid sounding biased when comparing things.
For example:
“Mac Books are often pricier but are a lot slicker than PCs. This is because of they long-lasting hardware that doesn’t burn out so fast….”
“As PCs are generally cheaper and often have better speculation than Mac Books. Regards of the price difference, they have a better performance in their CPU…”
3. Writing a Conclusion
It is recommended to have a fair conclusion, but one has summarised all arguments discussed in the paper. At this point, it is possible to make a non-biased judgment of the overall article.
“In conclusion, Mac Books pay for themselves over time. With the money saved on buying a new PC every few years, it can be spent only once on a decent machine that can last more than a few years. Meaning purchasing a Mac Book is a good idea for anyone of any age.
As PCs are good, but they do not last for a very long time. A lot of them are by far a lot cheaper than Mac Books, and a lot of them have better spec…”
Final Thoughts
Writing compare and contrast essays can be challenging for some students. But, once you know how to write them, they are easy to write. It just takes some time and planning. Make sure to read the reference material, and while doing so, write some notes. Then put them in a Venn diagram or Idea Chart. This should make life a lot easier when writing.
Remember to keep the paragraphs concise and to the point. Don’t sound biased and be fair. Sounding biased can lower grades, which isn’t a good idea for anyone. It is okay to make a judgment in conclusion, but don’t create an unfair outcome. Good luck with battling the task of writing compare and contrast essay. No doubts after reading this article, you’re already a killer writer.
