Compare and Contrast Essay Writing
Hide / Show itemThe Two Conventional Ways to Outline a Compare and Contrast Essay!
A compare and contrast essay is a kind of essay that compares two objects, persons, theories, methods or systems. It is a common form of essay writing that spells out similarities and differences between two items. Writing a compare and contrast essay can be a little tricky as it involves complex comparisons between two items. The essay can go wrong if you are unable to identify points of comparisons or do the comparison in an inappropriate way.
Therefore, it is best to pursue an outline prior to writing a compare and contrast essay. An outline will make it easier for you to explain in simple terms the items involved in comparison. So, it will facilitate you with pointing out the concerned items and will make the whole process a lot easier.
There are two popular ways a compare and contrast essay can be structured into an outline: (1) Point-by-point method and (2) Block Method. Both these methods have certain criterion to find similarities and differences between items.
Point-By-Point Method
A point-by-point method is suitable when you need to explain similarities and differences between two items. The outline will define prominent points of an item along with a supporting statement that will describe the reasons that make an item unique in any way. Conversely, you will counter that point with corresponding point of another item. For example, if you are comparing item A with item B, your outline might look like:
► Outline
► Introduction
► Body Paragraph#1
► Point#1 of Item A: (Statement to Support the Point)
► Point#1 of Item B: (Statement to Support the Point)
Similarly, you can outline several other points of item A and B with a strong supporting statement. A block outline is suitable for cases when you need to compare only two objects. This makes it possible for the readers to easily read all points in a single paragraph without referring points between two or more paragraphs. However, this method is not appropriate for topics that involve more than two objects as the information will become lengthy and complex.
Block Method
A block outline, on the other hand, provides a more descriptive way to find similarities and differences between two or more items. It is also ideal for topics that entail more than two topics. Additionally, it offers more room for a writer to describe individual point of an item and then compare it with a corresponding point.
► Outline
► Introduction
► Body Paragraph#1
► Point#1 of Item A: (Statement to Support the Item)
► Point#2 of Item A: (Statement to Support the Item)
► Point#3 of Item A: (Statement to Support the Item)
► Body Paragraph#2
► Point#1 of Item B: (Statement to Support the Item)
► Point#2 of Item B: (Statement to Support the Item)
► Point#3 of Item B: (Statement to Support the Item)
Block method is applicable when the writer wants to give a more vivid description of points of items. This allows the readers to easily understand points in separate paragraphs so that individual points can easily be compared later with corresponding points.
Some Common Topics For A Compare And Contrast Essay Are As Follows:
Communism vs. Socialism: The Better Form of Government
Mac vs. PC
Being Wealthy To Being Poor
Barrack Obama Vs. JFK: Who Is More Popular President Of United States of America?
1980's vs. 1990's: Which Decade Can Be Defined as 'Era of Technology'?
World War I vs. World War II
Being Millennial To Being Generation Z
Watching a Movie in Cinema and Watching It on DVD
American English and British English: What are Similarities and Differences in two varieties of English Language?
Macbeth Vs Romeo Juliet