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.
- Car or bike
- Coffee and tee
- Coke or Fanta
- Book or movie
- Cook or eating out
- Cold or warm climate
- School or work
- Comedy or fantasy
- Studying or getting a job
- Being cold or being hot
- Sofa or bed
- Cold drinks or hot drinks
- Fruits or vegetables
- Public phones and mobile phones
- Wood or see
- Reading or going online
- Park or countryside
- Horse riding or playing tennis
- Snowboarding or surfing
- Watersports or sports with a ball
- Driving or taking a taxi
- Reading at home or in the library
- Travelling by sea or flying
- Dogs or cat: who is the better pet
- College and University
- Instagram or Facebook
- Taking a photo or making a video
- Tesla or Lamborghini
- iPhone and Samsung
- Living in the house and the flat
- A house or a mobile home
- A boathouse or a tree house
- Laptop or a personal computer
- Public school and home education
- E-mails versus paper letters
- Rap versus rock: what is better?
- Football and soccer: is it the same?
- Melodrama or comedy
- Google or Yahoo
- Travelling or staying at home
- Backpacking or cycling
- See or mountains
- Spain or German
- Summer sports to winter sports
- Theatre or cinema
- Rollerblade or skateboard
- Living in the city center or the suburbs
- Selfie versus normal photo
- Learning to read and learning to count
- Being a mum or being a dad
- The role of mum today and 100 years ago
- Single parenting and a full family
- The role of family versus the role of friends
- The only child or the big family
- Traditional school and online school
- Teaching language in the group or via Skype
- Influence of grandma and granddad
- Cowboy versus office worker
- Eating in a restaurant or take the food away
- American and Australian English
- Working in the morning or working in the night
- Japan food versus fast food
- American and British food: the similarities and differences in traditions
- Christianity and Islam: what is the difference
- Social media and real communication
- Working at home or working in an office
- Family or career: what is more important
- Online reading or paper books
- Usual children and children with autism
- Newspaper versus TV
- Climate in the USA and Spain
- The Pacific Ocean and the Atlantic Ocean
- Living with your family and living alone
- Studying in your city or going to another
- Modern and conservative school
- Violence among men and women
- Oxford University versus Cambridge University
- Modern music and the music of 90th
- Medicine in modern life and 19th century
- World War I versus World War II
- Art in Ancient Greece and Ancient Egypt
- Renaissance in France and England
- Fashion today and 40 years ago
- Universities: today and in the previous century
- Modern cars and the ones 50 years ago
- “The blame in our stars” the book versus the movie
- Healthy nourishment today and 50 years ago
- Realism versus Symbolism
- Modernism versus Impressionism
- Shakespeare and modern poets
- Agatha Christi and Arthur Conan Doyle
- Turkish and American concept of beauty
- Being a child and being an adult
- European and American family
- Oliver Twist and Tom Sayer
- “Pollyanna” and “The Little Princess”: two girls changing the world
- Mozart and Beethoven
- Classical or modern music
- Anglican and Catholic cathedrals
- 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:
- Introduction
- Aspect One
– Subject #1 (details)
– Subject #2 (details)
- Aspect two
– Subject #1 (details)
– Subject #2 (details)
- 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