A Brief Overview to Writing A Comparison/Contrast Essay Similarities and Differences

Comparison-and-Contrast Essay at a Glance Introduction Conclusion Restates the main idea or draws a conclusion Subject A Only Subject B Only Identifies the subjects being compared Tells the purpose for the comparison Both Subjects RUBRIC A successful comparison-and-contrast essay should identify the subjects being compared establish a clear purpose for the comparison include both similarities and differences and support them with specific examples and details follow a clear organizational pattern use transitional words and phrases to make the relationships among ideas clear summarize the comparison in the conclusion

Brainstorm everything you know about each subject and then go back and look for connections that show similarities and differences. Brainstorm

Develop a Thesis The thesis statement will evolve from the brainstorming. Look at your list and ask yourself some questions. "Is there something important, significant, or interesting in the similarities and differences on my list? What have I discovered about my two topics?"

Weak Thesis Statements They are both somewhat alike and somewhat different. I can see some similarities and some differences too. Strong Thesis statement Although Sally Strict & Larry Lax are both respected teachers at our school, their teaching styles and expectations for students differ significantly. BE SPECIFIC about the elements you are comparing/contrasting

Dogs Cats Degree of dependence on owner Eagerness to please Trainability Cats Degree of dependence on owner                            Eagerness to please                     Trainability

Organizing the essay There are two primary ways to organize the body of your paper: • the divided pattern/ subject-by-subject • the alternating pattern/point-by-point

Divided/Subject-by-Subject Comparison A subject-by-subject comparison is, in effect, two separate essays about the same subject. Of course, the essays are linked with a transition and cover the same points. For example, to compare and contrast dogs and cats, you might organize your information in the following way:        Introduction: Thesis statement - Even though dogs and cats are both popular pets, they have vastly different characteristics that require owners to deal with them in different ways.         Dogs                Point 1: Dependent                Point 2: Eager to please                Point 3: Easily trained         Cats                Point 1: Independent                Point 2: Indifferent about pleasing                Point 3: Not easily trained         Conclusion: Restatement of thesis

Alternating/Point-by-Point Comparison: When you write a point-by-point comparison, you write about each major point for both subjects before moving on to another main point.     Introduction: Thesis statement - Even though dogs and cats are both popular pets, they have vastly different characteristics that require owners to deal with them in different ways.         Degree of dependence on owner                    Dogs                    Cats         Eagerness to please             Dogs                 Cats         Trainability              Dogs              Cats         Conclusion: Restatement of thesis