Compare and Contrast Essay

What is the comparison and contrast essay?

In comparative and contrast essay you are supposed to analyze two things and find the differences and similarities between them.  Writing this type of essay helps you to use your creativity and imagination, so it is usually an interesting task. This paper aims to study the similarities and differences of two opposite sides. The writer shows what these things have in common and in what are the dissimilarities between them.

Guide for writing compare and contrast essay

To complete a good comparison and contrast paper, you should pick up the topics that you fully understand. If you want to make your essay capturing for students, discover those things that are related to each other and have enough distinctiveness and mutual.

Except using your creativity, you have to work with facts to sound more detached.  All the given ideas should be proven with the evidence from reliable sources. You need to examine all the counter ideas and consider them while drafting the paper.

Keep in mind a typical structure for any essay. Your composition should include the introduction, body paragraphs, and conclusion. Begin with an attractive hook and make your reader interested in your opinions.  Then, state your arguments and prove them with facts. Include one idea in one paragraph. After all, restate your thesis and persuade the audience in your rightness.

Use some quotes to create a more capturing effect and make your reader think you aren’t the only person who sticks to the stated ideas. To find appropriate quotes, do some research on your theme and find correlated examples of the same topic.

Include helpful words and phrases for showing differences and similarities. They are: like, both, instead, although and so on. You may ask someone to help you with organizing ideas and checking the ready composition.

How to Write a Compare and Contrast Essay

Compare and Contrast essay topics are among the most common assignments for both school and college students. They are mainly aimed at developing critical thinking as well as formatting skills. On the one hand, such term papers are very easy for understanding. On the other hand, students are free to choose from a wide range of topics that can be rather interesting and fun to explore.

How to Start a Compare and Contrast Essay

The main idea of compare and contrast essay topics is certainly to mention differences between two objects. However, the main aim is to stress similarities. For this reason, the first and foremost step is choosing the subject you are truly interested in. If you are keen on cars, choose two brands for comparison. Those who prefer watching movies can pick two favorite actors for the essay. And so on.

The list of essay topics for comparison and contrast

If you are struggling to find ideas for compare and contrast paper, study the given list of essay topics below. We collected the best ideas that will help you choose one the most suitable for you. Here are the best comparison and contrast essay topics.

1. Car or bike
2. Coffee and tee
3. Coke or Fanta
4. Book or movie
5. Cook or eating out
6. Cold or warm climate
7. School or work
8. Comedy or fantasy
9. Studying or getting a job
10. Being cold or being hot
11. Sofa or bed
12. Cold drinks or hot drinks
13. Fruits or vegetables
14. Public phones and mobile phones
15. Wood or see
16. Reading or going online
17. Park or countryside
18. Horse riding or playing tennis
19. Snowboarding or surfing
20. Watersports or sports with a ball
21. Driving or taking a taxi
22. Reading at home or in the library
23. Travelling by sea or flying
24. Dogs or cat: who is the better pet
25. College and University
26. Instagram or Facebook
27. Taking a photo or making a video
28. Tesla or Lamborghini
29. iPhone and Samsung
30. Living in the house and the flat
31. A house or a mobile home
32. A boathouse or a tree house
33. Laptop or a personal computer
34. Public school and home education
35. E-mails versus paper letters
36. Rap versus rock: what is better?
37. Football and soccer: is it the same?
38. Melodrama or comedy
39. Google or Yahoo
40. Travelling or staying at home
41. Backpacking or cycling
42. See or mountains
43. Spain or German
44. Summer sports to winter sports
45. Theatre or cinema
46. Rollerblade or skateboard
47. Living in the city center or the suburbs
48. Selfie versus normal photo
49. Learning to read and learning to count
50. Being a mum or being a dad
51. The role of mum today and 100 years ago
52. Single parenting and a full family
53. The role of family versus the role of friends
54. The only child or the big family
55. Traditional school and online school
56. Teaching language in the group or via Skype
57. Influence of grandma and granddad
58. Cowboy versus office worker
59. Eating in a restaurant or take the food away
60. American and Australian English
61. Working in the morning or working in the night
62. Japan food versus fast food
63. American and British food: the similarities and differences in traditions
64. Christianity and Islam: what is the difference
65. Social media and real communication
66. Working at home or working in an office
67. Family or career: what is more important
68. Online reading or paper books
69. Usual children and children with autism
70. Newspaper versus TV
71. Climate in the USA and Spain
72. The Pacific Ocean and the Atlantic Ocean
73. Living with your family and living alone
74. Studying in your city or going to another
75. Modern and conservative school
76. Violence among men and women
77. Oxford University versus Cambridge University
78. Modern music and the music of 90^th
79. Medicine in modern life and 19^th century
80. World War I versus World War II
81. Art in Ancient Greece and Ancient Egypt
82. Renaissance in France and England
83. Fashion today and 40 years ago
84. Universities: today and in the previous century
85. Modern cars and the ones 50 years ago
86. “The blame in our stars” the book versus the movie
87. Healthy nourishment today and 50 years ago
88. Realism versus Symbolism
89. Modernism versus Impressionism
90. Shakespeare and modern poets
91. Agatha Christi and Arthur Conan Doyle
92. Turkish and American concept of beauty
93. Being a child and being an adult
94. European and American family
95. Oliver Twist and Tom Sayer
96. “Pollyanna” and “The Little Princess”: two girls changing the world
97. Mozart and Beethoven
98. Classical or modern music
99. Anglican and Catholic cathedrals
100. Economics in USA and China

Compare and Contrast Essay Outline and Format

The main goal of your essay is to compare and contrast two aspects at the same time. The most common outline includes the following points:

1. Introduction
2. Aspect One
   – Subject #1 (details)
   – Subject #2 (details)
3. Aspect two
   – Subject #1 (details)
   – Subject #2 (details)
4. Conclusion

Connectors That Show Comparison (Similarities)

• In additon
• Correspondingly
• Compared to
• Similarly
• Just as
• As well as
• Likewise
• Same as
• At the same time

Connectors That Show Contrast (Differences)

• However
• On the contrary
• On the other hand
• Even though
• In contrast
• Although
• Unlike
• Conversely
• Meanwhile