What is compare and contrast essays in 2019?

The term comparison, in this case, means the analysis of the relationship and similarity between objects. At the same time, contrast is a matching of how two subjects differ. That is why, when writing essays, a student needs to analyze the similarities and differences between two or more objects or concepts and describe them in the statement.

Writing this kind of assignment is quite common in the framework of higher education at a university or college. At the same time, professors want to see students’ skills in issues such as understanding commonality and differences in various concepts. This may include:

Support for new theories;
Support for some methods;
Historical periods of the state;
Protagonists of multiple novels and short stories and so on.

However, this does not mean at all that when writing essays, you will need to draw a personal line of comparison throughout the college work. Sometimes a matching may be only part of an essay. Nevertheless, sometimes it is necessary to do this as part of a full-fledged work process. Besides, if we are talking about writing articles of small volume, then it will be required to write either only the similarity to or indicate the discrepancy between compared phenomena exclusively.

In order to more clearly demonstrate the difference between the various options of contrast essays, take a look at the examples below:

Conduct a comparative analysis of the main postulates regarding gravity job written by Newton and related ideas proposed by Einstein. This is a variant of writing a classic style of essay task.
Check the similarity of the economies of the European Union and the United States. In this instance, we are talking about ‘compare’ essay task writing.
Show the discrepancy between the English and German language. This is an example of the theme ‘contrast’ essay task writing. Nevertheless, mind the privacy policy issues while using English or German language historical data origins. Any book should be written in 5 recent years.

Key writing features of a compare and contrast essay

We have already discussed the subtleties of writing compare and contrast papers, and we know that in this kind of assignment two or more objects are compared in terms of similarity and key points distinguishing one subject from another. In other words, a writer will need to identify features that combine two or more objects, or vice versa those characteristics that contrast one object to another.

It should be noted that the most important point when matching or searching sources for differences between objects or phenomena is a logical choice of these objects themselves. However, you are not required to make any apparent differences or similarities. It is directly about identifying non-obvious characteristics that combine or distinguish objects according to topics.

Check the following example, lightly pitted grapes, are sweeter and tart, and the blue grape contains pits and has a slightly sour taste. If you compare objects that are in the same category, then for the audience engaged in reading this comparison, it will be more understandable and logical. That is why, to identify similar features between objects or their differences, choose objects that can be compared in the same category. This approach is the central purpose of writing a compare and contrast paper.

Precisely the same way, you can compare the similarity of two non-standard objects. To do this, you need to choose a phenomenon or objects that at first glance, may not seem connected entirely in the sentence. In this instance, it will be appropriate to compare grapes and watermelon.

Since for most people, these items do not have apparent similarities, and the reader will be interested in what common properties, for example, a set of vitamins or amino acids combine them. Therefore, when choosing a topic for an essay that should compare the similarity of objects, choose objects as different as possible. This way, you can write a good thesis statement and focus people on your material.

Structure tips on how to write a compare essay

The outline of this type of persuasive essay implies the presence of three central body paragraphs such as introduction, a body of an essay, and a final part. In fact, the introduction and conclusion are two standard paragraphs of any type of essay writing and should be written at the beginning and at the end of your research paper. A section such as an intro necessarily contains a strong thesis based on which the body of your essay task writing will be built. After you write a paper introductory part, you will need to start writing central body paragraphs of your compare essay task.

However, there are several ways to arrange a central part of an essay and do it as efficiently as possible. For the first option, you will need to use a so-called block outline. It may also be known to you under the name whole to the whole arrangement. In this case, the author of an essay task writing will need to start by matching general and contrast characteristics of one subject and then do the same with another subject. Thus, you first describe in an essay the properties of one of the selected objects and then, after the separation sentence, describe the comparison of the second object.

Another option would be to use a so-called point by point arrangement. In this instance, it will be appropriate to compare both subjects within the same paragraph.

! In this case, we recommend that you should start and end an essay paragraph with the same subject.

Often the usage of this method depends solely on the preferences of the paper’s author. However, it is worth noting that using the first method for essay writing is more straightforward. Using the 2nd method helps to create a more precise arrangement and understanding of the essence of objects for a person who will read it.

Where to start writing a compare and contrast assignment

After a professor instructs students to conduct a comparative analysis of two or more subjects or ideas, learners should first search for comprehensive information on each of the items. Then one needs to identify a complete list of differences and similarities in each of the objects or phenomena. To facilitate this task, students are encouraged to use a so-called Venn diagram.

This personal tool for writing an essay is very effective and useful for a precise organization of the analysis. Visually, the diagram draft can be represented in the form of several circles that are partially overlapping one on the other. At the same time, the areas of 2 circles that remain free should contain data that contrast one object from another. In turn, in the overlapping area of the two circles, the student needs to write data that combines the two subjects. Thus, this writing analytical tool is great for filtering information and making the analysis more understandable.

Great tips for writing the final part of an essay

When writing the last paragraph of your essay, you will need to indicate critical points from the written essay. Thus, the final part of an essay should summarize the general analysis of all the characteristics noted in your paper. Also, students will need to indicate the sign like what was the purpose of the comparing. Very often, learners even paraphrase the argument statement of an essay they wrote in the introduction. Thus, readers can further focus on the subject of an essay.

! To avoid mistakes, try to remember well that the final part of your essay task writing must necessarily contain data of what served the purpose of matching two subjects.

It is also essential not to forget to write a personal opinion of the author on the topic that was discussed in an essay. This is a must in order to show readers what conclusion a writer was able to draw after writing an essay. Finally, always read the task and check the grammar. If your task will contain even a few grammar errors, you can fail to get a top score.

How to write a killer essay

For your essay to be as effective as possible, you need to understand the central purpose of what it is written for. After all, the purpose of writing this essay is not just comparing the general qualities and differences of objects. The most vital thing is to show the most significant characteristics of each object in an essay and write it in a logical order.

Even though writing of this kind of an essay task scares many learners, everything can be solved with the help of knowledge and writing practice. That is why to be successful in essay and letter writing, some recommendations are needed.

Focus your attention on the correct formulation of an argument

Before you start creating an essay, you need to pay maximum attention directly to the choice of those subjects that you plan to compare. In order for your selection to be more productive and correct, you need to analyze two items that are related to the same category but also have a distinct difference.

Well, for example, a writer can compare homemade pie and frozen pie that was bought in a store. In this instance, we are writing in a research essay about the choice of objects that are similar in value and partially similar in nutritional properties. Or, for example, you can choose objects that, on the contrary, have nothing in common at first glance.

Thus, you will need to surprise an essay reading audience with some incredible similarities and contrast between the objects you are writing about. For example, you can compare a bat and a killer whale in an essay. And although at first glance, they are incredibly different since one of the objects uses wings to move and the second floats in the water. Nevertheless, both the bat and the killer whale use the so-called sonars for hunting, which give them great options in the process of finding food.

Choose a topic for compare essays logically and meaningfully

The most successful contrast essay task writing is not just the analysis and comparison of similar and different sides of objects. In addition to matching subjects, excellent essay task writing helps readers to understand why this matching is exciting and meaningful.

In other words, you must show why your academic essay task writing can interest the one who will read it. For example, if as part of your contrast essay writing, you will consider Google search service and Bing search service, then you can try not just to compare these two online giants. Try to provide those evidence that does not lie on the surface.

Using a rule such as ‘So what?’ might also be a fascinating solution for your essay. If you have chosen a topic, try checking its relevance using this question. Well, for example, imagine that you are approaching one of your friends and say that email and online messengers are similar and different in the following parameters. Perhaps the reaction of your friend will be completely indifferent, and he/she will say ‘well, and so what?’ In other words, the topic you have chosen should be fascinating to observe for the reader.

Try brainstorming when selecting a topic

Using this persuasive approach can significantly help you to select and write a good topic for your contrast essay task writing. After brainstorming and trying to reflect on various options for objects that can be compared, it will be much easier for you to focus and formulate a thesis of essay task writing. Besides, you can additionally use a Venn diagram already familiar to you.

Thus, you can give more clearly visualization to the objects that you are comparing in an academic essay. You can also try to make a separate listing of characteristics for each subject. After compiling the list, try to find in each of the columns what combine the items you have selected for topics. Those characteristics that remain incompatible and will be the main differences between these items in an essay.

Сoncentrate your attention on the central points

Of course, when conducting the writing of two or more objects for an essay, the listing of similar parties and the contrast in their characteristics can be very voluminous. However, you do not need to list the entire record of features you have found. The central thing you need to do is to concentrate on the main points that you find most important for writing.

For example, if you are writing a story about such domestic animals like a raccoon and a cat, then it is clear that both animals are free domestic animals and it is quite easy to tame them. There is no need to pay much attention to taking care of these animals. It was the similarity between the subjects.

However, on the other hand, cats are much calmer animals. In turn, a raccoon never sits in place during the day, and often this animal loves to study the world around it and to communicate with a person. These are the features that distinguish the objects.

In conclusion, after you have conducted a relatively quick writing analysis of these two subjects, you can already begin to formulate a thesis and argument your contrast essay task writing. Try to begin from whether there is any obvious evidence of superiority in selecting this or that animal for writing a contrast essay. And also the choice in favor of this or that kind may depend on specific life situations and home of residence of the owner.