A Guide to Writing the Best Comparing and Contrasting Essay

One common type of essay you will be required to write in college or university is the comparing and contrasting essay. In this type of essay, you are required to discuss the similarities and differences between two subjects. The subjects under discussion are usually related. For instance, you may be asked to compare two careers, two schools or several writing styles. How do you ensure that you write the perfect comparing and contrasting essay? Keep reading this guide that has been formulated by the best essay writers service, Essay Ruby.

When to Write a Comparing and Contrasting Essay

Most of the time, your instructor will determine the type of essay you write and give a topic. However, at times you may decide to write a comparing and contrasting essay even when your instructor has not explicitly instructed you to do this.

The main aim of this kind of essay is to make the reader understand about two subjects that usually pose confusion. Only by showing the differences between them and later explaining their similarities can the reader truly understand what each subject means.

How essay writing is done differs from one type of essay to the other. While some essays will look at one subject, the comparing and contrasting essay looks at two or more subjects against each other.

Before delving into essay how to write, it is important to understand the meaning of the words compare and contrast. Comparing means looking at the similarities while contrasting entails looking at the differences. The essay how to write approach is really easy. Look at both similarities and differences then draw a suitable conclusion.

Picking a Subject and Brainstorming

Before looking at how to start introduction of essay, let us first have a look at two things that need to be done first. The first is picking an appropriate topic. Choose two subjects that can actually be compared and a meaningful conclusion drawn. For instance, you can compare the governance of two presidents but not that of a president against a school principal. The two subjects need to be comparable while still having differences. For instance, you cannot compare the physical appearance of identical twins but you may compare and contrast their character traits. The topics to write about could be opponents in a category, things that are connected in one way or the other, or two subjects that are often confused to name but a few examples.

After determining the topic, it is time to brainstorm which is something an expert essay writing helper will do. Here, you need to think about the topic. Think of the two subjects and consider what makes them similar. Also think of what makes them different. To help you remember the points, create  a list of similarities and list the differences. Alternatively, make use of intersecting circles, also known as a venn diagram. Note the similarities where the circles intersect and then write the differences on the individual circles.

To help you come up with arguments and points to include in your comparison and contrast essay, read on the subjects. Use online resources and books to gather as much information as you can on the topic.

Writing the Introduction

Like other types of essays, a comparing and contrasting essay has an introduction, body and conclusion. The introduction is where you should grab the reader’s attention and build curiosity so they will read to the end. Explain what the essay is about in simple but intriguing words. How to write introduction of essay that involves comparing and contrasting? Start with a hook. How to write hooks? Hooks can be written in different ways but the main point is to make the reader curious and want to read to the end. It could be a statement of a fact,  statistics, an intriguing question or a quote. Also Include your thesis statement in the introduction. How to write the thesis? This is a single or multiple-sentence statement that tells the reader what the likely outcome of the essay is. It informs the reader of what to expect as they read on. It could be a claim that you will be proving with relevant points in the ‘body’ part of the article. The ideal place to add the thesis statement is at the end of the first paragraph.

The Body and Conclusion

Guidelines on essay how to write will differ depending on the type of essay you are working on. When writing a comparing and contrasting essay, there are two options namely block and point-by-point structures.

In the block structure, you will focus on one subject and explain everything there is about it. This is then followed by another block talking about another subject and so on. A block is usually made up of several paragraphs. On the other hand, the point-by-point or alternating structure looks at the subjects simultaneously. Their similarities are shown on the aspects in which they are the same while their differences are discussed in the aspects that make them different. Which format should you use? This is totally up to you.

Discuss each subject thoroughly and make this a citation essay with citations to relevant sources included in the article’s body. To signal transition, use appropriate transition words. These include: yet, still, on the contrary, on the other hand, whereas, as well as, likewise, also, both, etc. These words are what make the body of a comparing and contrasting article flow. Ensure that each word is used in the right context. These words are what will help the reader understand how the subjects discussed relate to one another.

When done with the body, wrap up with a strong conclusion. This should clearly state the writer’s point of view on the subjects or issues written about. Backup your stand with factual information and provide references at the bottom of the paper. Finish by proofreading the essay to rectify all mistakes.

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