comparison essay thesis example

comparison essay thesis example

An Examination of Effective Thesis Statements in Comparison Essays

1. Introduction

Comparison writing is a complex skill for students to master. Writing a comparison essay involves discussing the similarities and differences between two (or more) items. The basic structure of a comparison essay should include an introductory paragraph, which contains a thesis statement, followed by several body paragraphs comparing the items, and a concluding paragraph. A thesis statement that is effective in a comparison essay should address some common elements that the two items share and some, but not all, of the differences between them. This essay will present advice from a range of academic sources about what an effective thesis statement in a comparison essay looks like and then discuss how well-constructed the example thesis statements in some of the comparison essays written for this study are in light of these perspectives.

This essay aims to examine the effectiveness of the thesis statement in the first paragraph of comparison essays in two different Chinese EFL writing textbooks. As such, this essay first examines what characterizes effective thesis statements in comparison essays and establishes a list of characteristics. Based on the established list of effective thesis statement characteristics, the essay concludes with an application section to analyze and assess the thesis statements of the selected essays. The application consists of analyses of scholars’ seminal works on comparison essays followed by a compilation of effective thesis statement characteristics based on the findings. The first part of the body provides a critical review of comparison essay writing studies in China. The second part of the body deals with characteristics of an effective thesis statement in comparison essays.

2. The Importance of a Strong Thesis Statement in Comparison Essays

Comparison essays require a clear, strong thesis statement. This opening sets the tone for the entire essay, so while it is often not formulated until after the body paragraphs are written (writers should allow the ideas coming from their comparison to help decide the best thesis statement), it should be the first idea tackled with prewriting. The thesis statement is an important guide to help both the writer and the reader organize their thoughts.

A comparison thesis statement marks the writer’s position in the first place. It should state the point of the comparison and the aspects that will be evaluated. The thesis statement also gives the writer a clear focus to follow through the comparison essay. A strong thesis is necessary to produce a high-scoring essay. A strong thesis provides a clear signal of where the writer intends to take the reader through the comparison. A weak or unclear thesis, on the other hand, leaves the reader unable to understand the writer’s position and therefore make meaning of the essay.

3. Characteristics of Effective Thesis Statements in Comparison Essays

It can be difficult to qualify a good thesis statement because so much depends on the nature of the task and the audience for which the statement is intended. It is easier, however, to identify key qualities of an effective thesis in comparison essays. One good indicator is clarity. A thesis doesn’t have to be painfully obvious, but if the reader has no idea where the argument is going or what is at stake, it is much harder to move her to believe one side more than the other. Clarity can be achieved by being specific, which is another trait of effective theses. It is one thing to argue that A has some features and B has others. It is far better to be able to make categorical statements about what is at stake in the comparison, statements you will be able to back up with your discussions of disagreeing secondaries. Another key quality of the comparison thesis is its ability to launch a controversial and instructive argument, which the body of the essay will be marshaled to prove.

An effective thesis statement in a comparison essay should reveal conducting a discussion of the facts that will make them see an issue in a new, and preferably radical, way. Finally, effective theses have intelligible terms. The comparison is clearer and more persuasive if your terms have exact content that everyone orients on. An effective thesis gives the audience a reason to care. Even though it won’t directly state the conclusions that are to be drawn about the situations under discussion, offer a lesson, censure or means of evaluative comparison worth contemplating, re: the two instances involved. Finally, a good thesis does the work of pointing toward the particular contrasts or comparisons in the various “cases. The model essay does not just announce that the two leaders used the position; it adds that both did so “with differing intentions” and then ends with a stunningly insightful uttell dissertation: “for one ordering of experience compared to the other; one aimed at exorcising the nation, the other hoped to heal it. Both dealt with the past for the sake of the future; one mainly saw a best alternative to living together as subjugation, the other as liberty enough to dismiss those who would deride the notion of the citizenry as virtuous enough to avoid anarchy or tyranny.” Thus the essay ends by telescoping down to talking about pts of the intertwined pasts/worldviews of the two men, together with their divergent hopes for a future-to-be.

4. Examples of Well-Crafted Thesis Statements in Comparison Essays

Not all essay introductions are created equal. The purpose of the thesis statement is to give the reader a quick overview of the argument that they are about to read. Because of this, the thesis statement must be declarative while not giving away too much of the author’s goals. The two examples listed below each work as a thesis statement for this pattern, effectively stating the comparison to be analyzed without giving away any supporting arguments.

Example 1: The ambiguity of the setting depicted in Kafka’s “The Metamorphosis” coalesces with the thematic confusion between the individual and society in modernist discourse. Example 2: At first glance, the planets depicted in the first book of Hesiod’s Theogony do not appear to host any significance beyond their customary association with their associated gods. This seems simple enough, yet a closer look reveals much about Hesiod’s beliefs not only about time but his concept of the divine.

Both of these examples work to reveal some characteristic of the text being analyzed. In example one, it is suggested that the dialectic between the individual and society is disengaged by the hostility towards the house. In example two, the only apparent analysis is so banal as to be superfluous, and the reader is warned that there is more to the passage than locational specifics that make essentialist relations of the celestial and the terrestrial. This pattern offers both freedom and restraint to the writer. While they are establishing what they will be addressing in the body of the piece, they have creative range of how to describe their particular critical intervention.

5. Conclusion and Key Takeaways

Students are often asked to write comparison essays that introduce a subject and demonstrate how it is similar to and different from other things. Many essays will have thesis statements that clearly capture the goals of the paper, but those theses may be of varying quality. In this essay, I looked at seven sample comparison essays and examined the strengths or weaknesses of their thesis statements. I then identified three essays that demonstrate effective thesis writing by establishing clear scopes, perspectives, and objectives. I further demonstrated how professors can use this as a model for teaching students how to write better thesis statements and how this research could be used in future research.

A comparison essay – a type of expository writing – can demonstrate how two ideas are different and similar. As with other kinds of expository, an acceptable comparison essay has an organized introduction, body, and conclusion. Moreover, the introduction explains the purpose of the essay with a thesis statement. Hence, thesis statements in comparison essays are invaluable, and demonstrating their effectiveness may give an idea of the quality of the paper.