write an essay in which you compare and contrast

What this handout is about This handout will help you first to determine whether a particular assignment is asking for comparison/contrast and then to generate a list of similarities and differences, decide which similarities and differences to focus on, and organize your paper so that it will be clear and effective. It will also explain how you can (and why you should) develop a thesis that goes beyond “Thing A and Thing B are similar in many ways but different in others.” Introduction In your career as a student, you’ll encounter many different kinds of writing assignments, 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. Recognizing comparison/contrast in assignments Some assignments use words—like compare, contrast, similarities, and differences—that make it easy for you to see that they are asking you to compare and/or contrast. Here are a few hypothetical examples: Compare and contrast Frye’s and Bartky’s accounts of oppression. Compare WWI to WWII, identifying similarities in the causes, development, and outcomes of the wars. Contrast Wordsworth and Coleridge; what are the major differences in their poetry? Notice that some topics ask only for comparison, others only for contrast, and others for both. But it’s not always so easy to tell whether an.
To write a compare/contrast essay, you’ll need to make NEW connections and/or express NEW differences between two things.  The key word here is NEW! Choose 2 things that could go in the same category, but are also quite different. Good choices might be: Basketball & Football (both sports) Horses & Cats (both animals, but different in many ways) Writing & Singing (both art forms, but different in many ways) Gather your ideas by writing down characteristics of each thing.  Note the differences and similarities between them. Ask yourself these important questions before you begin writing your draft: Does my instructor want me to compare AND contrast, or am I only being asked to do one of those things? Some instructors prefer that you only write about the differences between two things, while others want you to focus on explaining the similarities as well.  Either way, you'll need to make sure that your thesis statement reflects your instructor's expectations. For example, if I wanted to write about Social Networking sites, I'd need to write different thesis statements depending on my compare/contrast assignment.   Sample thesis statement for contrast paper:  In terms of social networking sites, Facebook focuses on presenting your daily life to others, whereas MySpace allows you to focus more on demonstrating your personal style. Sample thesis statement for compare/contrast paper:  While both Facebook and MySpace allow you to meet other users who have similar interests, only MySpace allows you to demonstrate your personal style.        Are these 2 things similar and/or different, in at least one meaningful way? If you want to write a successful compare/contrast essay, you'll need to avoid writing about really obvious differences and similarities.  For example: We all know that horses are larger than cats. We also know that basketball teams contain less players than.
Throughout your academic career, you'll be asked to write papers in which you compare and contrast two things: two texts, two theories, two historical figures, two scientific processes, and so on. Classic compare-and-contrast papers, in which you weight A and B equally, may be about two similar things that have crucial differences (two pesticides with different effects on the environment) or two similar things that have crucial differences, yet turn out to have surprising commonalities (two politicians with vastly different world views who voice unexpectedly similar perspectives on sexual harassment). In the lens (or keyhole ) comparison, in which you weight A less heavily than B, you use A as a lens through which to view B. Just as looking through a pair of glasses changes the way you see an object, using A as a framework for understanding B changes the way you see B. Lens comparisons are useful for illuminating, critiquing, or challenging the stability of a thing that, before the analysis, seemed perfectly understood. Often, lens comparisons take time into account: earlier texts, events, or historical figures may illuminate later ones, and vice versa. Faced with a daunting list of seemingly unrelated similarities and differences, you may feel confused about how to construct a paper that isn't just a mechanical exercise in which you first state all the features that A and B have in common, and then state all the ways in which A and B are different. Predictably, the thesis of such a paper is usually an assertion that A and B are very similar yet not so similar after all. To write a good compare-and-contrast paper, you must take your raw data—the similarities and differences you've observed—and make them cohere into a meaningful argument. Here are the five elements required. Frame of Reference. This is the context within which you place the two things you plan to.
Pick two subjects that can be compared and contrasted in a meaningful way. The first step to writing a successful compare and contrast essay is to pick two subjects that are different enough to be contrasted, but similar enough to be compared. This means that the subjects aren't so different that you can't find a thing they have in common (such as oreos and kale) or that they shouldn't be so similar (like two very similar soft drinks) that you don't have much to say about their differences. Here are some topics to consider as you pick your two subjects:[1] The careers of two different athletes The quality of two different restaurants Two movies Two novels Two weight-loss programs Two cities Two historical periods Two events Do your research to make a list of all of the ways the two subjects are similar and different. Once you've picked your two subjects, you'll need to do your research to figure out exactly how much they have in common and how different they really are. Make a Venn Diagram of the two subjects and write the similarities in the part of the intersecting circles, while writing the differences in the parts of each subject's circle that does not intersect with other. This will require you to consult your sources, brainstorm, and analyze the two subjects on a deeper level. Once you've made your list, think about the most meaningful differences and similarities. If you're comparing To Kill a Mockingbird and The Great Gatsby, you may find that one author was male and one was female, but there's only so much you can say about that; instead, dig deeper into the themes that are worth exploring. For example, you can argue that both books explore the theme of loss of innocence. Write your thesis statement. Your thesis statement will be the one sentence that tells your readers how the subjects are similar or different and why this is an important comparison to.
Exercise: In this video, we will discuss the structure and organization of a.