Comparison and contrast

Comparison and Contrast

In a comparison/contrast essay, you explain the similarities and the differences

between two items. Comparison and contrast is a very common pattern in most academic fields.

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Just as an athlete trains the body for competitions, a student trains the mind for final

exams.

An athlete trains the body for competitions; likewise, a student trains the mind for

final exams.

Just as the pessimist faces rejection and disappointments, the optimist endures those

same hardships common to all humans.

Similarly(Likewise/In the same way), a dog run is a small fenced area that is often

located within an existing park.

Athens and Istanbul are similar in that they are both densely populated. There are some striking similarities between the two cities.

Istanbul and Athens are equally noisy.

Comparison and Contrast

In a comparison/contrast essay, you explain the similarities and the differences

between two items. Comparison and contrast is a very common pattern in most academic fields.

Just as an athlete trains the body for competitions, a student trains the mind for final

exams.

An athlete trains the body for competitions; likewise, a student trains the mind for

final exams.

Just as the pessimist faces rejection and disappointments, the optimist endures those

same hardships common to all humans.

Similarly(Likewise/In the same way), a dog run is a small fenced area that is often

located within an existing park.

Athens and Istanbul are similar in that they are both densely populated.

There are some striking similarities between the two cities. Istanbul and Athens are equally noisy.

Paragraphs development by comparison and contrast

A Comparison or Contrast essay is an essay in which you either compare something or

contrast something. A comparison essay is an essay in which you emphasize the similarities,

and a contrast essay is an essay in which you emphasize the differences. In practice,

however, comparison and contrast often appear together, because people generally compare

two things that are similar in certain ways and different in others.

Sample 1

Compare

My hometown and my college town have several things in common. First, both are

small rural communities. For example, my hometown, Gridlock, has a population of only

about 10,000 people. Similarly, my college town, Subnormal, consists of about 11,000 local

residents. This population swells to 15,000 people when the college students are attending

1 Comparison and Contrast

1. A comparison explains how things are similar, and a contrast, how they are different.

Principles of selection and development in writing a comparison and contrast paper:

1) Only items (usually two) of the same general class can be compared/ contrasted.

2) A comparison and contrast essay usually follows one of these two patterns, the

subject-by-subject pattern or the point-by-point pattern.

In the former pattern, the writer discusses the various aspects of one item before going on the

other; while in the latter case, the writer discusses both items under each of the various

aspects compared/ contrasted.

2. Mode 1: (better in short essays, where few aspects are considered, or where the writer’s

interest is on the whole.)

I Topic Sentence

II Subject 1

A characteristic 1

B characteristic 2