You may dislike writing, but the education system requires you to write a lot. There are various writing assignments, with the essay being one of the most common ones. Quite often, you can hear students complaining about essays. The assignment is difficult, as it, more often than not, requires formulating and writing down an opinion on certain issues.
If that was it. There are several types of essays that students have to write throughout their school and college years. Each type has its own requirements, rules, and format. The thing that essay assignments have in common is that they demand students to have a broad outlook. Here are just a few types that you may have to write:
- Analytical essay
- Argumentative essay
- Classification essay
- Definition essay
- Persuasive essay
Still, the compare and contrast essay seems to be one of the most common types in high schools and colleges. Although you can always opt for some do my homework service, the assignment is not that hard. Its main focus is providing a comparison between two subjects and analyzing in which aspects they are similar and different.
But the essay is not a descriptive one. It’s not enough to simply describe what the subjects have in common and what divides them. It requires analyzing the relationships between the subjects. A good compare and contrast essay provides information on current events, political candidates, and even travel destinations. While it may seem complex, if you follow the simple step-by-step formula, you won’t face any problems with the task.
Select the Subjects
The first step is to find the subjects for your compare and contrast essay. You should select two different subjects that belong to one field. You can’t compare, let’s say, a writer and a singer. But, if you try hard enough, you can compare a writer and a singer-songwriter. Still, the subjects that would work the best are something like:
- Canadian vs. American literature
- Apple vs. Microsoft
- Word vs. Google Docs
- The Bible vs. the Quran
- Coffee vs. Tea
Here you are taking different subjects that belong under one umbrella. It makes your work easier, and it will showcase from the start that you understand the assignment. But, if you found similarities between subjects that, at first glance, have nothing to do with one another, the convention of the compare and contrast essay shouldn’t prevent you. All you need is enough supporting evidence.
Start With the Venn Diagram
After you’ve picked the two subjects for the compare and contrast essay, you need to analyze them before you begin writing. Firstly, you need to determine what are the common and different aspects of the subjects. A Venn diagram can come in handy as a visual tool for analyzing the subjects.
A Venn diagram is two overlapping circles. Each circle represents one of the subjects. You can put the aspects that divide the subjects in the corresponding circles. The aspects that subjects have in common should be placed in the overlapping section.
Draft a Thesis Statement
Once you’ve determined the differences and similarities between your two subjects, you can write your thesis statement. It will help with the work, as a thesis statement functions as the roadmap for your compare and contrast essay.
List Your Arguments
The longer the list of arguments, the better, as you can never know too much about your subject. After you finish the list, take the highlighter to mark what would work the best for your essay. Sometimes, one point on the list may play an important role in your essay, while another simply won’t fit into the context.
Collect Supporting Evidence
Now you need to collect the pieces of supporting evidence for your arguments. It’s great if you’ve picked the topic that was already covered by scholars. You can find all the supporting pieces of evidence in one place. However, if you chose a unique topic, you need to dig a bit deeper to find evidence that supports your point of view.
The supporting evidence includes a wide range of things. Depending on the subjects you’ve selected, it can be statistics, facts, testimonials, critics, expert opinions, etc. Everything related to the subjects that can directly support your point of view will work.
Write Down Your Essay
You need to follow the structure of the essay, which includes an introduction, thesis statement, the main body, and conclusion. In the introduction, you present both of your subjects. Here, you provide the information on both of the subjects, noting why you’ve chosen them for comparison and contrast.
In the thesis statement, you give the reader an idea of what your essay is going to be about. It can go along the lines of “While paranormal events are present in works of both Stephen King and Dean R. Koontz, the authors approach the explanation of the aforementioned events differently.”
In the main body, you’re going to discuss the similarities and differences between the subjects. You can start from similarities and then move on to differences, or vice versa. Alternatively, you can focus on one subject and then move to the second one. All the similarities, differences, and viewpoints on them must be supported by evidence.
In conclusion, you summarize everything subjects have in common and what divides them, leading to your thesis statement. Basically, you have to repeat your thesis statement, but in different terms. You can also conclude your compare and contrast essay with a rhetorical question that will spark a debate.
Proofread Your Essay
The final step before submitting your essay is proofreading. And in this case, it’s not only about spelling, punctuation, and grammar. You need to make sure that each subject has equal space in your essay. Make sure that your points of similarities and differences are clear and that all your viewpoints are supported by evidence.
Final Thoughts
As you can see, writing a compare and contrast essay is not that hard. The step-by-step instruction makes crafting your essay even easier. After all, it’s just a piece of writing that shows how good you are at gathering supporting evidence and providing your opinion on the subject.
