Name

Hassan Rasheed
Roll no

Class

315-23613

BS-CS sec 2

Compare & Contrast

Essays

by
Hassan Rashid

Understand
comparison and contrast
meaning wise
Comparison discusses similarities
(common properties).
Contrast discusses differences
(properties each have that the other lacks).
Be certain which action is being requested.

Is it either/or or both?

Basic need to understand the

basic structure
Every essay consist of three parts
Introduction

Body

Conclusion

Introduction
There are three parts of introduction
Hook
(It is the sentence which grabs or engage the reader
attention).
Background
It means essential information for the
reader to understand the main idea context
(who, when, where), brief history, or importance.
Thesis
(It is the main idea of the essay).

To write Thesis statement

1. Ask yourself, some starter question about the
topic
What is the topic?
What is the purpose of that topic?
2. Create some question about the topic.
Finding their reasons at least three.
Clarify the question with reasons.
3. Combine the two steps.
Make sure to answer your question.
Start it with starter question.

Body and Conclusion

Body
1. You should support the thesis by giving the
argument, details, description, narration etc.
2. For longer essays you should use expert opinion,
quotations, and secondary sources.
.

Conclusion
1. Summarize main points.
2. Restate the thesis.
3. Final comment (opinion, lesson, prediction etc.)

Lets begin with a

comparison and contrast
essay
Introduction would be general.
Hook is the desired option (statement)
which is used to grab readers attention.
1. Start with a question. Asking your readers to think about
the topic is a great way to get them ready to hear more. ...

2. Use descriptive words. Creating a picture in the reader's

mind can make him or her feel connected to your writing. ...
3. Leave it a mystery.

Lets make a Thesis

Create questions from a topic.

What two subjects do I want to compare

and contrast?
Why do I want to compare or contrast
these subjects, or what is my purpose?
To accomplish my purpose, what should
I focus on- similarities, differences, or both.

The answer to these questions will form your

thesis statement.
The thesis must make a claim that goes beyond
the listing of similarities and differences .

This creates a new understanding, a weaving

together of separate strands to make a new form.
This new synthesis becomes your thesis.

Example
1.What two subjects do I want to compare
and contrast?
I want to compare and contrast the male
adolescent brain to the female adolescent
brain.
2. Why do I want to compare or contrast
these subjects, or what is my purpose?
My purpose is to explain why boys and girls
behave the way they do.

3. To accomplish my purpose, what should

I focus on- similarities, differences,
or both?
To accomplish my purpose, I will describe the
likeness and differences between both
genders brain.
Combining the answers to get thesis statement.
I will write about the similarities and
differences of the adolescent male and
female brains.
Because I want to explain to readers why
teens behave the way they do.

Final your thesis statement with

starter statement.
Even though both the male and female brains
mature at the same age.
There are many difference in how teen brain
develop which cause various behavior.
It should keep it in mind that thesis should
be the last statement of your introductory
paragraph.

Body of essay
1. Break down into parts
When writing compare and contrast essays,
one is often dealing with a vast amount of
detail.
The subject must be broken down into parts
for analysis and a sufficient number of
significant characteristics and details must be
considered.
Pull it apart and look at each detail in
isolation so you can decide how they all go
together.

2. Brainstorming
6 creative ways to brainstorm
1. Mind mapping
2. Right braining
3. Provocative action
4. Break & Build
5. Pessimist vs. Optimist
6. Randomness

3. Venn Diagram

Lets say we are going to compare

and contrast frogs and cats.

Comparing and contrasting multiple

items or elements
Example
You are asked to compare and contrast the
push-pull factors with various groups that have
migrated to California.
Using a table to brainstorm is more effective.

This problem can be solved by breaking the

elements of assignment

Determine the parts of the assignment:

1. Push-pull factors
economic
political
social
2. Groups

African American
Latino
Asian
European American

Economic
al

Social

Political

African
American
Latino
Asian
European

4. Organization
Once you have gathered all the specifics, organization is
crucial in the paper. Otherwise you will either confuse or
lose your reader
First arrange your lists or tables in the order you want to
present them. When discussing just two elements, decide
whether to compare first or contrast first.

5. Emphatic Order
Order points from least to most important.
If the similarities are more significant, discuss differences
first.
If the differences are more significant, discuss similarities
first.

For Example:
If you are comparing/contrasting world religions and your
conclusion will claim that, in essence, all religions give the
same message, discuss the differences first.
If you are comparing/contrasting a group of children
and your conclusion will highlight their unique
individuality, discuss the similarities first.

6. Order of presentation
Two methods are adapted to implement
Comparison and Contrast
1. Block method
Two body paragraph essay
One paragraph is entirely focused on similarities.
Other paragraph is entirely focused on difference.

Another format of Block method

Subject to subject essay
One paragraph is entirely focused on subject A.
Other paragraph is entirely focused on Subject B.

2. Point by point method

It is done by choosing two or more points for
comparison and contrast from the given topic.
Paragraph 1 Discusses the similarities and
differences of one point
Paragraph 2 Discusses the similarities and
differences of second point. So on
Example
Lets say the two restaurants are going to be compared then
the points would choose like atmosphere, service, menu and
so on. Then the pattern would obey like this
Paragraph 1 similarities and differences of service
Paragraph 2 similarities and differences of menu
Paragraph 3 similarities and differences of atmosphere

Example
If you are going to tackle or handle the two topics as
your two diseases, then with both styles you can
handle like this

Connectors
Similarities

Differences

In addition

However

Likewise

Even

Similarly

Unlike

Correspondingly

On the contrary

Just as

In contrast

Compare to

On the other hand

At the same time

Although

Same as

Mean while

7. Conclusion
Summarizes the main points of the essay
Restates the thesis (using different words)
Makes a final comment about the essays main
idea
May emphasize an action that you would like
the reader to take

Thank you!