Comparison/Contrast Essay

Introduction

A Writer’s Checklist

Choosing a subject

Identifying points of comparison

Gathering and organizing support

Writing a main idea statement

Arranging details

A Writer’s Model

Your Turn: Write a comparison-contrast essay

Introduction

Think about some of the ways you and a friend or family member are alike. You might have similar physical features, share the same taste in movies, or enjoy playing basketball together.

Introduction

Chances are that you and this person will also have important differences. For instance, your friend is an early riser, but you love to sleep in on a Saturday. Discovering how two things are alike and different is comparing and contrasting.

A Writer’s Checklist

When you write a comparison-contrast essay, you should:

Choose subjects that have basic similarities and differences.

Identify points of comparison about which you can write.

Gather supporting details and organize information in preparation for writing.

Write a main idea statement for your essay and arrange details using the block or point-by-point styles.

Choosing a subject

You can compare and contrast any two things that have at least a little something in common. For instance, you could compare:

a new car and a work truck

a famous actress and a star athlete

a country singer and a rapper

Choosing a subject

When you choose your subjects for a comparison and contrast essay, you should select two things that not only have basic similarities, but also differences.

For example, how are a television game show and a comedy both alike and different?

A game show and a comedy are both shown on television for entertainment. While a comedy tells a story with fictional characters, a game show features real contestants competing for prizes.

Choosing a subject

You must also choose specific subjects that are narrow enough to compare in an essay. To narrow your subjects:

Write down a broad category that you know well. For example, “winter sports.”

Ask yourself, “Can I break this category into smaller groups?” For example, snowboarding, skiing, ice skating, ice hockey, and so on.

If so, choose two of these specific groups to discuss in an essay. These will be your narrowed subjects. For example, you could compare and contrast snowboarding and skiing.

Choosing a subject

Ryan started with broad categories which he then narrowed until he had two subjects to compare.

BaseballMusical instruments

Sports

Cars

Broad Narrower Specific

Team sports

Individual sports

Hockey

Soccer

Basketball

Football

Identifying points of comparison

Begin planning your essay by asking yourself:

The larger areas of similarity and difference will help clarify the points of comparison that you can use to organize your essay.

How are my two subjects alike? How are they different?

Identifying points of comparison

A point of comparison allows two subjects to be reasonably compared and contrasted. For instance, a point of comparison between clarinets and trumpets could be the their appearance . . . or their sound.

Identifying points of comparison

Baseball and Soccer: Possible Points of Comparison

- objective of the sport - history of the sport - rules and how to play the sport

Think of two or three points of comparison for your subjects and choose the ones you know the most about.

I know about: the objectives of baseball and soccer and how to play them

Points of comparison: objectives of baseball and soccer; how to play baseball and soccer

Gathering and organizing support

The cornerstone of a good comparison-contrast essay is the details. List as many details as you can think of for each point of comparison. Make sure that each detail relates directly to your point of comparison.

Details for: Objective of the sport

• soccer: teams of 11 players trying to score more goals than other team

• baseball: teams of 9 players trying to score more runs than other team

Gathering and organizing support

A Venn diagram can help you organize your essay. A Venn diagram features two circles that represent your subjects. The overlapping section holds details the subjects have in common; the non-overlapping sections hold details that make the subjects different.

Subject 1

Subject 2

Both

Gathering and organizing support

Here is an example of a Venn diagram used to compare and contrast soccer and baseball.

Baseball

use hands to throw and catch

the ball

also use hands to hit ball with a bat

slower pace with short bursts of

activity

teams take turnsfielding and

batting, called innings

use feet, legs, and head to move the ball

only goalkeeper can use hands

active sport with a lot of running

play until game clock runs out

Soccer

Bothlarge teams

try to outscore the other team

players occupy various

positions on the field

Writing a main idea statement

Ever watched a television program and thought, “Why am I watching this?” Maybe the show didn’t have any clear point or message.

In a comparison-contrast essay, you get to the point by writing a main idea statement, or thesis. This summarizes the main idea of your entire essay.

Writing a main idea statement

The main idea statement of your essay, which you can usually write in one or two sentences, provides your readers with several pieces of key information:

thesubjectsyou are

comparing andcontrasting

thepurposeof youressay

yourpoints of

comparison

Writing a main idea statement

Here is how Ryan crafted a main idea statement for his essay:

Subjects: soccer and baseball

Purpose: helping readers choose a sport to playPoint of Comparison: objectives of the sports and rules/how to play the sports

Main Idea Statement: Both of these sports offer an enjoyable, exciting team activity. However, the rules and style of play for these sports are very different.

Arranging details

Now you can begin to craft the body of your essay. Organize your writing using the block style.

In the block style, you present all of your information about one subject and then all of your information about the other subject.

points of comparison about first subject

points of comparison aboutsecond subject

Arranging details

The example below shows how Ryan’s ideas look when organized using the block style:

Subject 1: Soccer - objective of soccer - rules of/how to play soccerSubject 2: Baseball - objective of baseball - rules of/how to play baseball

Main Idea Statement: Both of these sports offer an enjoyable, exciting team activity. However, the rules and style of play for these sports are very different.

A Writer’s Checklist

Use the checklist below as you look at the following Writer’s Model and as you evaluate your own comparison-contrast essay.

Choose subjects that have basic similarities and differences.

Identify points of comparison about which you can write.

Gather supporting details and organize information in preparation for writing.

Write a main idea statement for your essay and arrange details using the block or point-by-point styles.

attention-grabbing opener

main idea statement

Participating in a team sport is a great way to exercise and make friends. You can also learn valuable lessons about cooperation and teamwork through these activities. You will find many different sports to choose from when looking to join a team. I would suggest considering soccer or baseball. Both of these sports offer an enjoyable, exciting team activity. However, the rules and styles of play for these sports are very different.

first subject: soccer

point of comparison: rules and how to play

Soccer is a sport that features two teams of eleven players each. These players occupy a variety of positions on the field of play. The object of the sport is to score more points, or goals, than the opposing team. In soccer, players must use their feet, legs, and heads to move the ball towards the goal. Only goalkeepers can use their hands and arms in the field of play. Soccer is a very active sport, in which players constantly run up and down the field until the game clock runs out.

point of comparison: objective of soccer

Like soccer, baseball also features two large teams of players in various positions. The object of this sport is also to score more points, or runs, than the opposing team. Where soccer players primarily use their feet, baseball players use their hands to throw and catch the ball, as well as to hit the ball with a bat. The action in baseball games has a slower pace, occurring in short bursts of activity. Baseball teams also take turns playing in the field and batting during a game. These are called innings.

second subject: baseball

point of comparison: rules and how to play

point of comparison: objective of baseball

summary of similarities

summary of differences

Soccer and baseball are both excellent choices if you are seeking a team sport in which you can take part. They both offer exciting competition and friendship with a large group of teammates. You might choose soccer if you are looking for a very active sport in which you will run a great deal while trying to score goals. Baseball might be a good choice if you are looking for a more relaxed, yet varied sport. With either choice, you are very likely to have fun!

strong closing sentence

Write a comparison-contrast essay in response to one of the prompts below. Then use the Writer’s Checklist as a guide to writing, evaluating, and revising your work.

Compare and contrast a place that you visit frequently with the city or town in which you live.

Compare and contrast a documentary film or television program with an informative article on the same subject.

Your Turn: Write a comparison-contrast essay

The End