400 to 500 words
If you’ve ever heard of the phrase, “Apples to oranges,” then you already have some concept of comparison and contrast. When you compare and contrast items, you’re examining their similarities and differences. Apples and oranges are both fruit, but they are also shaped different, look differently, taste differently, and are eaten differently from each other. When we compare, we look for similarities; when we contrast, we look for differences.
The two techniques are always referred to as a pair and identified as a single rhetorical strategy. As such, they tend to get lumped together under “comparison.” In fact, however, comparing and contrasting are actually two distinct practices that happen to be part of the same process.
Writers will employ comparison and contrast in an essay for one of two purposes:
Both purposes help readers to achieve one of two goals: to better understand, or to make informed decisions about, two or more subjects. The one basic rule to remember whenever you compare and contrast subjects is to make sure that they share some mutual characteristics as well as display some identifiable differences. Comparing and contrasting cats and cars, for example, would not lead to a fruitful discussion. Comparing and contrasting cats and dogs, however, would—they are both animals and kept as house pets. But, as we all know, cats and dogs supposedly fight all the time, presumably because of their distinct differences.
The main idea of a comparison and contrast should help the reader to make a decision about, or to better understand, two or more subjects. The thesis statement should include the main idea and whether you intend to discuss the commonalities, differences, or both. Your purpose needs to be clear—are you examining two subjects separately to inform the reader, or to show the superiority of one over the other to help the reader decide between them? Consider the following thesis statement:
Thesis: The political systems of the United States and the United Kingdom, while based on similar convictions, differ sharply in how they originated and how they function.
From this thesis statement, the reader can see where the essay is going. The essay topic is political systems, and the writer will compare and contrast the systems of the United States and United Kingdom by examining each one separately. The emphasis will fall on identifying contrasts (differences) in each government for the purposes of better informing the reader. The writer’s key points of contrast are origins and function. The writer’s next step would be to give some key examples to support these points, and to use the body paragraphs to flesh out each in detail.
It is important that you offer a balanced, parallel display of similarities and differences. The most common way is to make a list of key examples of the similarities and differences, and then to add details—using description and vivid language—to flesh out each example.
The writer of the essay comparing and contrasting the U.S. and U.K. political systems might want to discuss democratic elections as an example of a common conviction, along with the fact that both countries also support major political parties and the freedom of speech. The writer would then follow up with a list of major points of contrast, since, as we noted earlier, the focus of the essay will be on how the U.S. and U.K. political systems sharply differ in origins and function, despite their common convictions.
Generate as many details and examples as you can for each of your subjects. Try to think of both obvious and not-so-obvious points of comparison and contrast. After selecting the points on which you will compare and contrast your two subjects, you will be ready to develop the comparison and contrast in your body paragraphs. Make sure that your treatment of each subject is balanced. That means, first, you must cover the same topics for each subject. In other words, you should give equal coverage to both subjects, no matter what your conclusion is. In addition, you ought to spend the same amount of time on each point. If you describe one of your subjects in detail, be sure to describe the other in a similar fashion. In like manner, you should provide a similar number of examples for each point. In this way, your readers will feel that you have been fair to both subjects and that you are not presenting a biased discussion favoring one subject over the other.
When you are ready to write, you have two choices of organization:
The pattern you choose will depend on your purpose and whether you want to emphasize the subjects of your essay, or the points you want to make about those subjects.
A point-by-point style of organization adheres to the following pattern: AB, AB, AB. In this arrangement, both subjects are compared or contrasted on point 1 in one body paragraph; then both are compared or contrasted on point 2 in a second paragraph, and so on through all the points.
Let’s refer back to our essay in development: the differences between the U.S. and U.K. political systems.
The writer could devote one body paragraph to the three branches of government. Each country has an executive, legislative, and judiciary branch, but the ways they function are very different. One path of discussion in this paragraph could focus on the purpose and function of the executive branch, which would be fleshed out with detailed descriptions of how this branch, while based on the same convictions, operates differently in each country. The next path of discussion could focus on the legislative branch, and so forth in the same vein.
A block style (also referred to as subject-by-subject) of organization adheres to the following pattern: AAA, BBB. In this arrangement, you discuss everything about subject A first, before moving on to discuss everything about subject B.
Note how the writer of the sample essay decides to discuss origins, the first point of contrast between the two countries. The origins of the U.S. political system (subject A) appears in one paragraph, and the contrasting origins of the U.K. political system (subject B) appears in the next paragraph:
One reason the political systems of the United States and the United Kingdom differ is because they stem from different origins. The United States was born from a revolution that turned them from British colonies into a nation independent from the United Kingdom. During and immediately after the Revolutionary War, America was governed from 1775 to 1789 under the Articles of Confederation. In essence, Congress supervised the War and everything else. This system was soon considered too weak to function, and the current U.S. Constitution replaced the Articles in 1789. This gave us the three roughly co-equal branches of government, the executive, legislative, and judiciary, that we have today.
By contrast, the United Kingdom’s political system evolved over several centuries. An all-powerful king ruled the country until 1215, when King John’s misrule spurred the barons to force the king to sign the Magna Carta. This declared that the king, like everyone else, had to obey the rule of law. Later in the 13th century, the representative Parliament was formed and the king then had to obtain Parliament’s consent before taxing the people. Over the centuries, Parliament’s power grew as the sovereign’s power waned. Today, the most important person in U.K. politics is the prime minister, who must answer to Parliament.
Notice in the sample how the writer switches from discussing the origins of the U.S. political system to that of the United Kingdom with the simple transition by contrast. Transitions help to move the reader through the essay. Following are some common transitions used in comparison-contrast writing:
| another difference | another similarity | both |
| but | by contrast | conversely |
| however | in contrast | instead |
| like | likewise | nevertheless |
| now | on one hand | on the contrary |
| on the other hand | one difference | one similarity |
| rather | similarly | still |
| unlike | while | yet |
When analyzing comparison and contrast in an essay, ask yourself and answer the following questions:
When using comparison and contrast in your essay, refer to the following checklist:
Overview and Help Me Answer This adapted from Mosaics: Reading and Writing Essays by Kim Flachmann.
