how to write a comparison essay

how to write a comparison essay

A Comprehensive Guide on Writing a Comparison Essay

1. Introduction to Comparison Essays

Comparison essays can take on a variety of forms, but they each achieve the same goal of comparing two items or ideas. This form of writing is often used in literature and history to describe similarities and differences between two subjects, hence the term “comparison essay”. However, the concept can be applied to virtually any field, including biology, economics, and politics. By comparing two subjects, the similarities between them can be distilled down succinctly. This approach can make the conceptual understanding of a more difficult subject much more accessible, especially to those who are just beginning to study a particular topic.

It can also help to reveal unknown differences between two things. Essentially, almost anything can be compared and contrasted, as long as there are notable, relevant similarities or differences between the items or ideas being compared. The reader will be able to learn more about the two things in question by the essay’s conclusion. There are two main components to a comparison essay: the collection of similarities and differences between two things, and the argument. The argument is what the essay is actually about, and it is where you argue either that the two things are more similar or more different. This argument should be persuasive, inasmuch as it convinces the reader’s personal worldview in a particular way. For instance, an essay detailing the similarities of the Mets and the Yankees would not be great in the first place because it is arguably a cliché topic, but also because the argument reveals an “only obvious” conclusion.

2. Choosing a Topic and Establishing Criteria

The first essential step in the process of writing a comparison essay is to choose a topic that is best suited for comparison. After determining a viable pairing or grouping of topics, the next important step is to establish the criteria by which the topics will be compared.

Where to start? Think about what’s most interesting or engaging about your subject. What’s fundamentally significant or worthy of attention? You’ll likely have ideas or angles you want to compare and contrast right away – and that’s a good start. You should think of at least two things that belong in one category. In fiction, genres, qualities or themes might form the basis of comparison. In research, authors may want to compare laws, social media use in several countries, literary themes and texts, or personalities. The criteria should help us make detailed, effective observations between the topics.

Essayists should make the criteria specific. This does not mean it must be specific. Refrain from choosing criteria that are overly broad. The writer should convey their judgment and opinion to the reader when defining criteria. They may or may not have clearly labeled sections like an introduction, body, and conclusion, but the thoughts flow naturally.

3. Structuring Your Essay: Point-by-Point vs. Block Method

It is interesting that the similarities and differences you come up with will guide the choices you make during the paper. The third section of your paper will cover the issue of deciding how you will organize your comparison essay. It is important for both you and your reader that you structure your paper in a way that is logical and coherent.

There are two methods that you can use for organizing a comparison essay: a point-by-point method or a block method. In a point-by-point method, the writer makes their argument based on writing about a detailed point and then will apply the same argument to the second thing, and so on. When writing a point-by-point method, this strategy may work well if you believe your reader will not be able to remember different arguments or points made (i.e., for older adults discussing contemporary films that are filled with special effects). In a block method, each subject takes up a paragraph, and you discuss an in-depth comparison/contrast for each subject before moving to the next one.

There are advantages and disadvantages to using the point-by-point method and the block method. It is important for you to carefully consider your reader when making a decision on which method you will use, as this will impact the overall effectiveness of your writing. When making a decision, ask yourself whether you believe your reader may forget the information given about the first subject, and if you think they might, you should consider using the point-by-point method.

4. Writing the Introduction, Body, and Conclusion

Just as in paragraph writing, the usual tendency in essay writing is to introduce the focus comparison more or less explicitly at the beginning of the essay, somehow to provide a frame for the comparison at the beginning or end. Readers—and writers—need to know what text is being compared (and sometimes who is doing the comparing, or from what perspective the comparing is being done), too. New critics and close readers may prefer a frame that keeps biographical and historical background to a minimum, while other readers like this sort of material in the introduction. Essayists have a wide, wide range of possibilities at their disposal for this essential aspect of introductory paragraphs. The main thing is that the introduction must somehow orient the reader to the comparison to come.

The body of the essay should contain some very clear comparative material. But since it is an essay, it does need to be structured; it’s not fair to readers or the author to leave the essay a mere jumble or list of (related) comparisons! If writers choose the most compelling points of comparison to highlight in the thesis, then the rest of the essay can—and should—clarify and develop those points. In this case, the introduction narrows the relationships and the body builds each one up more slowly and with more illustrating material. If there are a good number of shared contrasts, then perhaps the introduction can function as a summary of the body—using a few rather detailed examples to introduce the patterns of comparison that will be developed in detail in the body. Either way, the introduction and conclusion provide the generalization or claim that should be supported with the comparison. These statements are often powerfully compressed in times to brief or concise essay.

5. Revising and Editing for Clarity and Coherence

Comparison requires analysis; the writer, then, should make sure that he or she is comparing and contrasting “like-” or “equal-” things – items, factors, themes, dialogue, setting, whatever – in order to assure an enlightened or original insight. In other words, a writer must express the subject of analysis as one theme, major assertion, or passion versus another. Now that comparison is the focus of our task, so we must ask ourselves: How should we examine these relations? In what ways? These decisions, the approach to the subjects, and the organization of the comparison (comparison is dynamic – it moves between subjects) form the essence of the paper. Comparison essays often tend to focus on items other than text – characters, or authors, relationships.

Revision and editing. A comparison essay is quite simplistic in structure and involves a fair amount of “get in and get right out.” What we mean is that the bulk of the body of the essay should be made up of factual information about each work, experience, or character brought about, respectively, in succinct and uniform paragraphs. However, this “get in and get right out” model only works when the comparisons were unique and branching, and the analysis has been thorough and insightful. A revision and an edit should not be a middle stage and a final stage of the writing process; they should be all wrapped into one stage. Many writers commit a very common mistake, which is that they tend to end up revising only some of their work and editing other parts. A good way to avoid this is to do revision and editing concurrently. The essay should be revised and edited at several “levels”.