Compare and contrast essays ask the writer to find similarities and differences between two ideas, objects, or things to highlight subtle ways they are connected or surprising ways they are different. Many types of magazine and online articles are forms of compare and contrast writing.
These types of essays are regularly assigned to students because they promote research skills and critical thinking. They are more complicated to write than a descriptive essay, but also allow for a more in-depth analysis than simpler forms of writing.
Anything can be the subject of a compare and contrast essay but it is best to choose two things that are at least similar in some ways so there are things to compare. Learning to write a good compare and contrast essay allows you to enhance your analytical skills as well as communication skills. Here's a collection of excellent compare and contrast essay samples for analysis.
Compare and Contrast Approaches in China and Japan to European and United States Imperialism Between 1800 and 1918 Essay Government/ Politics/ Economy Imperialism Compare and Contrast 5 Pages 1120 Words China and Japan both responded differently to European and United States imperialism. The two countries had maintained isolationism for a long time, and between 1800 and 1918, they were placed under pressure by the western nations of Europe and the United States to open their borders for trade. The countries had been left behind by …
Death Penalty: Comparison and Contrast Essay Law Death Penalty Compare and Contrast 11 Pages 2331 Words The Death penalty is a form of penalty that involves the execution of a person after being found guilty of committing a crime especially a capital crime like murder (Bailey, 1976). The legal system of a state serves capital punishments to such criminals to ensure that the person cannot commit the same crime in the …
Venn Diagrams
You should always brainstorm before doing any kind of writing, but it is especially helpful when coming up with a topic for a compare and contrast essay. Venn diagrams are a great brainstorming tool to use for them. A Venn diagram is two overlapping circles, each one representing the characteristics of one idea. The overlapping section contains things that are similar to both concepts and the independent sections contain things unique to each concept.
Best Methods to Write Compare and Contrast Essays
There are two main ways of writing compare and contrast essays, the point-by-point method and the block method. The point-by-point method describes the same point from both perspectives in the same paragraph. This is easy for readers to follow because comparisons are right after each other. The block method talks about all the points of one subject followed by all the points of the second subject.