From: The LWSD support materials for comparison essays
Writing Strategies for a Compare & Contrast Essay |
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Purpose for Writing |
A Comparison Contrast Essay serves one of two purposes:
1. To consider two subjects side by side and show their distinctions. 2. Choosing between two things.
A comparison should lead you beyond the obvious. Determine your emphasis—on similarities, difference, or both—and the major focus of your paper. |
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Subject by Subject |
You essentially write a separate essay for each subject, but you discuss the same points for each subject.
In the body of your paper, describe all of the facets of subject A. Next, do the same for subject B. Then, sum up their similarities and differences. In your conclusion, sum up what you think you have shown.
Note: this is a good method for a shorter essay—but if the essay is longer, readers may be bothered trying to remember all the facts from subject A in order to understand your summation. This is also a good choice when you are only comparing and contrasting TWO subjects. |
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Point by Point |
Compare and contrast as you go. You consider one point at a time, taking up your two subjects together in every paragraph.
Note: this is a good method for a longer essay, as you refer to both subjects continuously. This is also a helpful method when discussing more than two subjects.
Be careful not to fall into a monotonous pattern of seesawing back and forth between subjects. You can avoid this by using thoughtful transition words and sentence structure as you move from point to point. |
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Balance |
Whatever you do, design your essay to maintain a balance between your two subjects. If you spend two pages on subject A, you will need to spend two pages discussing subject B.
A common error is to discuss entirely different elements within each subject. |
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Sources Kennedy and Kennedy (1994), Kirszner and Mandell (1998). |
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Transition Words for Compare and Contrast |
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Comparison |
Contrast |
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just as...so like likewise in comparison similarly in the same way also
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although but conversely despite even though however in contrast instead nevertheless nonetheless on the contrary on the one hand...on the other hand... still unlike whereas yet |
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Example of a Subject by Subject Essay |
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Introduction Thesis statement: Despite the fact that television and radio are distinctly different media, they use similar strategies to appeal to their audiences.
Television Audiences Point One: Techniques for appealing to men Point Two: Techniques for appealing to women Point Three: Techniques for appealing to children
Radio Audiences Point One: Techniques for appealing to men Point Two: Techniques for appealing to women Point Three: Techniques for appealing to children
Conclusion: Restatement of thesis or review of key points. |
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Source: Kirszner and Mandell (1998). |
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Comparison by Analogy |
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Sometimes, the purpose of your comparison essay might be to highlight the particular elements that make up a subject. In this situation, one subject is more important than the other is, because you are using one term to explain another.
Forrest Gump announced to his audience “Life is like a box of chocolates—you never know what you are going to get.” When he did this, he made an analogy about the many surprises and unpredictable moments that a human life contains. It is possible to turn this into an essay of length—if Forrest’s goal is to talk about and expand on his observations about life.
Make sure if you use an analogy that it is sustainable throughout the course of your essay. It needs to be clever enough that many connections (similarities and differences) can be discussed.
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Example of a Point by Point Essay |
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Introduction Thesis statement: While both Republicans, presidential candidate Mr. X is definitely more conservative than presidential candidate Mr. Y is.
Fiscal Policy Mr. X Mr. Y
Gun Control Mr. X Mr. Y
Abortion Mr. X Mr. Y
Welfare Mr. X Mr. Y
Conclusion: Restatement of thesis or review of key points.
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Avoiding the Tennis Ball Method
Special Thanks to Donna Metke, English Teacher, Juanita High School, for her handout “Avoid the Tennis Ball Method.”
As you make your comparison, do not confuse an interlocking method with a “tennis-ball” method, in which you bounce your subject back and forth constantly and repetitively. The “tennis-ball” method is shown in the following example from a comparison of A.E. Housman’s “On Wenlock Edge” and Theodore Roethke’s “Dolor”:
Housman talks about the eternal nature of men’s troubles whereas Roethke
Talks about the “dolor” of modern business life. Housman uses details of woods,
gales, snow, leaves, and hills, whereas Roethke selects details of pencils, boxes,
paper weights, mucilage, and lavatories. Housman’s focus is therefore on the
torments of man close to Nature, Roethke’s on civilized, ordered, duplicated,
gray flannelled man. Housman states that the significance of human problems
fades in the perspective of eternity. Roethke does not mention eternity but makes
men’s problems seem even smaller by showing that business life has virtually
erased human emotion.
Imagine the effect of reading an entire theme presented in this fashion. Aside from its power to bore, the “tennis-ball” method does not give you the chance to develop your points. You should not feel so cramped that you cannot take several sentences to develop a point about one writer or subject before you bring in comparison with another. If you remember to interlock the two points of comparison, however, as in the example comparing Hopkins and Wordsworth, your method will be satisfactory.