1. Compare and Contrast Essay
Thesis Statements/Introduction

2. How to Write a Literary Comparison/ Contrast Essay
In a comparison/contrast essay you are explaining the differences between two or more things, as well as explaining, or at least alluding to, what the two things have in common.

3. Thesis Template
While some differences between______ and _____ are _______________, the similarities are ______________. evident striking noticeable pronounced salient

4. Thesis Template 2
_____________ some __________ similarities, Although they bear superficial Despite bearing minor the differences between _____ and _____ are ____. clear remarkable striking pronounced

5. Thesis Template 3
The differences [similarities] between ______ and ___ are ______, and they _______ pronounced deserve striking merit ______________ ______________. thorough investigation rigorous scrutiny examination

6. Thesis Examples
Show readers why one subject is more desirable than the other.
Example: "Cats are better pets than dogs, and prospective pet owners should opt for a feline over a canine. This is because they require less maintenance, are more independent, and are more adaptable."

7. Thesis Examples
Help readers make a meaningful comparison between two subjects.
Ralph and Jack have very different leadership styles and motivations which leads to the eventual chaos and anarchy on the island.
In Lorainne Hansburry’s A Raisin in the Sun, Karl Lidner and Travis Younger are minor characters who challenge Walter and Lena Younger to embrace and exemplify character and integrity through symbolism.
These two stories are written from different people and have different plots, but there is one thing that unites them –it is the despair that lives in their souls, the impossibility to do anything to change the going of the things in general and their lives in particular.
The books contrast each other, as Nickel and Dimed deals with working hard and earning material “advantages” and Into the Wild is about rejecting the material side of life.
Both Shakespeare and Norman skillfully depicted the fragileness of family relations and a personal tragedy of lonely people within a family.
Both of the books are the fight of individuality against the society and the norms that it obtrudes but nevertheless there is something more to both of them.
Each and every day of both James Baldwin and Richard Rodriguez was a battle in order to prove that need to be treated as being equal to white people and not just labor force. James Baldwin touches the religious aspects of the life of minorities and Richard Rodriguez speaks about how hard was to live with the fact that one’s skin was dark.

8. Thesis Examples
Show readers how two subjects are similar and different.
Example: "While both The Catcher in the Rye and To Kill a Mockingbird explore the themes of loss of innocence and the deep bond between siblings, To Kill a Mockingbird is more concerned with racism while The Catcher in the Rye focuses on the prejudices of class.“
Although the characters and mood in “George Gray” and “Fiddler Jones” by Edgar Lee Masters are vastly different, the theme of living life to its fullest is present in both.
In Flowers for Algernon and The Diary of Anne Frank, Miss Kinnian and Mrs. Frank have nurturing personalities and learn to let their loved ones make their own decisions; however, they live through very different circumstances.
Although James Jackson’s novel, Reaching the English Moors, was written in 1895, the theme can be compared to H.B. Bartlion’s poem, “Green Grasses of Home” written a century later. Both Jackson and Bartlion are urging the reader to consider the life lessons presented in nature. However, Jackson addresses this theme through the use of personification and Bartlion relies on visual imagery

9. Organizing Your Essay
Organize your body paragraphs based on point-by-point comparison.
Body Paragraph 1: Discuss first difference and similarity between tragedy and comedy: Position.
Greek Tragedy
Shakespearean Comedy
Body Paragraph 2: Discuss second difference and similarity between tragedy and comedy: Reversal
Body Paragraph 3: Discuss third difference and similarity between tragedy and comedy: Endings

10. Organizing Your Essay
Organize your body paragraphs based on subject-to-subject comparison.
Body Paragraph 1/Subject 1: Greek Tragedy
Position
Mistaken Identities
Love
Body Paragraph 2/Subject 2: Shakespearean Comedy
Body Paragraph 3/Subject 3: Similarities/differences

11. Type A: Paragraph 1: Introduction (with Thesis)
Paragraph 2: Topic 1 (Comparison a)
Paragraph 3: Topic 1 (Comparison b)
Paragraph 4: Topic 1 (Comparison c)
Paragraph 5: Topic 2 (Contrast a)
Paragraph 6: Topic 2 (Contrast b)
Paragraph 7: Topic 2 (Contrast c)
Paragraph 8: (Optional) — Comparisons/Contrasts together (any topic)
Paragraph 9: Conclusion

12. Type B: Paragraph 1: Introduction (with Thesis)
Paragraph 2: Comparison a (Topic 1&2)
Paragraph 3: Comparison b (Topic 1&2)
Paragraph 4: Comparison c (Topic 1&2)
Paragraph 5: Contrast a (Topic 1&2)
Paragraph 6: Contrast b (Topic 1&2)
Paragraph 7: Contrast c (Topic 1&2)
Paragraph 8: Conclusion

13. Intro. Example #1
“George Gray” and “Fiddler Jones” by Edgar Lee Masters are characters who speak from the grave from the book of poems called Spoon River Anthology. The main characters Fiddler Jones and George Gray are very different. Like night and day, the mood in each poem is in total contrast . Although the characters and mood in both poems are vastly different, the theme of living life to its fullest is present in both.

14. Intro. Example #2
Have you ever thought you’ve known the best path for someone but that person did not see your perspective or you were wrong? Miss Kinnian in Flowers for Algernon and Mrs. Frank in The Diary of Anne Frank feel this way about the actions of the people they love. Miss Kinnian feels this way about her student Charlie. She convinces Charlie to be part of an experiment that will alter his intelligence and hopefully make his circumstances better. However, this experiment leaves Charlie lonelier than ever, and he eventually leaves the city. In the same way, Mrs. Frank encourages her daughter, Anne, to put away her childish antics because she wants her to grow into a mature young lady. However, Anne constantly disagrees with her and insists on her own way. Both Miss Kinnian and Mrs. Frank have nurturing personalities and learn to let their loved ones make their own decisions, even though they live through very different circumstances.

15. Intro. Example #3
Alice Walker and Maya Angelou are two contemporary African-American writers. Although almost a generation apart in age, both women display a remarkable similarity in their lives. Each has written about her experiences growing up in the rural South, Ms. Walker through her essays and Ms. Angelou in her autobiographies. Though they share similar backgrounds, each has a unique style which gives to us, the readers, the gift of their exquisite humanity, with all of its frailties and strengths, joys and sorrows.

16. Points to Remember in Formal Writing
Check margin settings.
Do not use contractions (can’t, won’t, isn’t).
Do not use 1st or 2nd person (I, me, you, we, us, our, yours).
Introduce, use, and properly cite borrowed material properly (Google the Purdue).
Format the Works Cited page properly!
Avoid clichés, slang, and inflammatory phrases.

17. Step 6: Use transitions
a similar, another, also, besides, like, likewise, resembles, comparable, similar to, comparison, differ, different, unlike, on the other hand, contrary, but, yet, opposite from, to contrast, dissimilar, different from, by comparison

18. TRANSITIONS