Compare and contrast writing

1. COMPARE AND
CONTRASTWRITING
MICHELLE MARIE BAYONA

2. What is comparison and contrast?
• Comparison shows how two or more things are similar
• Contrast shows how two or more things are different
• In most writing situations, the two related processes are used together

3. Establishing a basis for comparison
• When two things are very similar, it is the contrasts that may be worth
writing about
• The two things to be compared must have enough in common to justify the
comparison.
• In making comparisons, you should move beyond the obvious

4. Formulating aThesis Statement
• Identify not only the subjects to be compared and contrasted in your essay, but the
point you will make about them.
• Also indicate whether you will focus on similarities or differences, or balance the
two.
• For example:
• “Although Melville’s Moby-Dick and London’sThe SeaWolf are both about the sea,
the minor characters, major characters, and themes of Moby-Dick establish its
greater complexity.”

5. Structuring a Comparison and Contrast Essay
Block method (subject by subject)
- Write a separate paragraphs about each
subject, but you discuss the same points for
both subjects.
- - Good for short, uncomplicated papers.
• Point by point method
• - Good for longer, more complex papers
• - Make a point about one subject, and then
follow it with a comparable point about the
other subject.
• - Alternating pattern