The Assignment: Comparing and Contrasting

Write a paper in which you compare and contrast two items to enlighten readers about both subjects. The specific points of similarity and difference will be important, but you will go beyond them to draw a conclusion from your analysis. This conclusion, your thesis, needs to be more than “point A is different from point B” or “I prefer subject B to subject A.” You will need to explain why you have drawn your conclusion. You’ll also need to provide specific supporting evidence to explain your position and to convince your readers of its soundness. You may choose two people, two kinds of people, two places, two objects, two activities, or two ideas, but be sure to choose two you care about. You might write an impartial paper that distinctly portrays both subjects, or you might show why you favor one over the other.

These students found a clear reason for comparison and contrast:

An American student compared and contrasted her home life with that of her roommate, a student from Nigeria. Her goal was to deepen her understanding of Nigerian society and her own.

A student who was interested in history compared and contrasted civilian responses to the Vietnam and Iraq wars, considering how popular attitudes about military service had changed.

Another writer compared and contrasted facilities at two city parks, making a case for a revised funding formula.

Facing the Challenge Comparing and Contrasting

The major challenge that writers face when comparing and contrasting two subjects is to determine their purpose. Writers who skip this step run the risk of having readers ask, “So, what’s the point?” Suppose you develop brilliant points of similarity and difference between the films of Oliver Stone and those of Stanley Kubrick. Do you want to argue that one director is more skilled than the other? Or perhaps you want to show how they treat love or war differently in their films? Consider the following questions as you determine your primary purpose for comparing and contrasting:

  • Do you want to inform your readers about these two subjects in order to provide a better understanding of the two?
  • Do you want to persuade your readers that one of the two subjects is preferable to the other?

Ask what you want to demonstrate, discover, or prove before you begin to draft so you can write a more effective comparison-and-contrast essay.