How can you deliver a powerful college paper if you don’t now what compare and contrast essay is and how to do it?
Luckily, you are not alone in this situation. We has already helped thousands of students struggling with compare and contrast essays and we can do the same for you. Here is how to write a good compare and contrast essay from the first try!
What Is a Compare and Contrast Essay?
Even if you don’t have any experience with this type of written assignments, a successful approach to writing a compare and contrast essay requires you to start with learning the definition of it.
So what is a compare and contrast essay and what makes it unique compared to other forms of academic writing? A compare and contrast essay is an essay that defines and explores the links between two different ideas, objects, or phenomena.
The links between the objects can concern comparison, or things they have in common, and contrast, or major differences between them. Your job as a writer is to point out those similarities and differences in a specific compare and contrast essay format.
How to Write a Compare and Contrast Essay Outline
After you learn the definition of a compare and contrast essay, you can move on to the next stage in the writing process: creating the outline for compare and contrast essay. You will probably be relieved to know that a compare and contrast essay outline is not that different from a standard essay structure and includes the following chapters:
- Introduction
- Several body paragraphs
- Conclusion
Throughout your life as a student, you have likely worked with this outline more times than you can remember, which is why you shouldn’t have a problem with completing your essay. However, there is one more step left until you can begin drafting your essay, and that’s brainstorming.
When you already have the two objects you need to compare, all you need to do is write down the similarities and differences between them. You can do it in any way you want: with a simple list, with a diagram, or think of another creating way to present those differences.
You will also need to find supporting evidence for your opinion. It will not only allow you to better understand the nature of the two objects, but will also give your essay a polished look and refute the arguments of your potential opponents.
How to Write a Compare and Contrast Essay
Finally, we move on to the most important section of our guide that explains how to write a compare and contrast essay. After your outline is ready and you have done enough research to fill in the compare and contrast essay structure, here is how to do a compare and contrast essay chapter by chapter.
Introduction
A compare and contrast essay introduction is rarely more than a page long, but students are often wondering: how to start a compare and contrast essay to impress every reader and convince them to carry on reading?
A good way to start your compare and contrast essay is to include a hook: it can be a quote, a fascinating fact, an anecdote from your personal experience, or even a question. Then you need to give some background for your two objects, so that people know what they will be dealing with.
At the end of your introduction, you will need to include a thesis statement. The thesis should point out whether the two objects are more similar or more different than everyone thinks. You will then use other parts of the paper to prove the thesis statement.
Body paragraphs
Each paragraph of the body of your essay should deal with a separate topic and cover either one difference or one similarity between the two objects. Each statement at the beginning of the body paragraph should be backed up by solid evidence.
The evidence can come from different sources, but it needs to be credible and closely connected to the nature of the argument. The number of body paragraphs depends on your academic level and the complexity of the subjects. You can hardly write a good compare and contrast essay with less than 3 body paragraphs, but anything over 6 will probably seem excessive.
Conclusion
A compare and contrast essay conclusion is usually the shortest part of the paper, but it doesn’t make it any less important. In fact, a well-written conclusion is probably the one chapter of your essay your readers will remember for the longest time.
So how to conclude a compare and contrast essay in a way that will make your essay stand out? Instead of just retelling your arguments, you need to first briefly summarize the main points of your essay and then point out why you believe you have thoroughly explained the differences and similarities between the two subjects of your paper.
Good Compare and Contrast Essay Topics
A good compare and contrast essay is all about the topic. The two objects you will compare should provide a stark contrast but also be easily comparable. Here are some excellent compare and contrast essay topics that perfectly fit the compare and contrast essay structure:
- Working from home and working in an office.
- Instagram and Facebook for teenagers.
- Eating takeouts and cooking at home.
- Living in a big city and living in a village.
- Owning a car and using public transportation.
- Roman and Greek mythology
- Windows and macOS computers.
- American and European literature of the 20th century.
- Marxism and capitalism.
- Studying English and studying science.
Compare and Contrast Essay Example
You can spend ages learning how to write compare and contrast essay, but if you are in a hurry, the most effective way to get the gist of writing this type of essays is to see a good compare and contrast essay example.
We are arguably the best essay writing service in USA specializing in compare and contrast essay, and we have prepared for you a solid example where you can learn the specifics of these essays and their format. If you don’t have enough time to complete your assignment on your own, we will gladly help you!
