English 1301: Compare/Contrast Essay

Organizing Your Compare/Contrast Essay

Two Common Ways to Organize a Comparison

Compare/contrast essays are commonly organized in two ways.

In subject-by-subject organization, the writer discusses Subject A in full and then discusses Subject B in full, connecting and evaluating the two subjects across the essay.

In point-by-point organization, the writer organizes the essay around individual points of comparison. Each body paragraph discusses both subjects in relation to the same point.

Both approaches can be valid forms of compare/contrast writing. For this assignment, however, you are required to use point-by-point organization.

An essay organized primarily by discussing Subject A completely and then Subject B completely does not follow the required structure for this assignment and may receive a lower grade for organization, even if it contains relevant ideas and comparisons.

Writing the Introduction

Your introduction prepares readers for the comparison. Before you begin discussing individual similarities or differences, readers need to understand who or what the two subjects are and why examining them together makes sense.

Depending on your topic, your introduction may:

• Identify and briefly introduce both subjects.
• Provide relevant background or context.
• Explain your relationship to or experience with the subjects when appropriate.
• Establish the connection between the subjects that makes comparison worthwhile.
• Give readers enough context to understand the comparison without beginning the detailed analysis that belongs in the body paragraphs.
• Lead naturally to your thesis statement.

Your introduction should move from general context toward your specific comparison, ending with or leading naturally into your thesis.

What Not to Do in the Introduction

Avoid turning your introduction into your first comparison paragraph. You do not need to explain all of the important similarities and differences yet. The body of the essay is where you will develop those ideas.

The introduction should essentially answer:

What are these two subjects, what is their relationship to this essay, and why is comparing them worthwhile?

Organizing the Body Paragraphs

Each body paragraph should focus on one clear point of comparison.

Begin the paragraph with a topic sentence that identifies the comparison point without immediately getting into the specific details about Subject A or Subject B.

For example, if your comparison point is how two people respond to conflict, your topic sentence should establish response to conflict as the focus of the paragraph. The details about how each person actually responds should come afterward.

Then develop the paragraph in this order:

Keep A and B Together — but Organized

Within each body paragraph, avoid constantly jumping back and forth between Subject A and Subject B.

Instead, use a clear progression:

Subject A → Subject B → Evaluation/Commentary

You may make connections between the subjects as you write, but the paragraph should not become:

A → B → A → B → A → B

Too much switching can make the paragraph difficult to follow and can prevent either subject from being developed thoroughly.

The goal is to discuss each subject sufficiently within the same comparison point and then bring the ideas together by explaining what the comparison reveals.

Three Points Are Required — More Are Optional

Your essay should contain at least three developed body paragraphs, each centered on a meaningful comparison point.

You may include a fourth or fifth comparison point if it strengthens your essay. However, do not add additional points simply to make the essay longer.

A fourth or fifth comparison point carries the same responsibility as the first three: it must be fully developed.

Three strong, thoughtful comparison points are better than five points that receive only superficial discussion.

Writing the Conclusion

Your conclusion should bring the comparison to a meaningful close. Rather than simply repeating the points you have already discussed, step back and consider what the comparison reveals when the essay is viewed as a whole.

A strong conclusion may:

• Revisit the essay’s central idea without simply repeating the thesis word for word.
• Draw together the most important insight created by the comparison.
• Explain what the similarities or differences ultimately reveal about the two subjects.
• Consider broader implications or significance.
• Offer a final observation about what readers can understand differently after considering the subjects together.
• When appropriate, reflect on what the comparison has helped you recognize or understand.

The conclusion should not introduce an entirely new comparison point that would require development. Instead, it should help readers understand the significance of the comparison they have just read.

The body asks: What does each comparison point reveal?
The conclusion asks: What does the comparison reveal as a whole?