A comparative essay usually requires you to complete these three tasks:
Even though your professor may call it a “comparison”, it is usually expected that you will discuss both the similarities and the differences between the items.
You need a specific basis for your comparison. Without one, there will be too much information to research.
Your assignment guidelines may already include a scope of focus for you to write about. If not, your basis should be an idea, category, or theme that applies to each of the items you are comparing. To get started, you may need to complete some preliminary research about your topics or speak with your professor to understand the assignment expectations.
Gather information about the items that you will be comparing. You’ll need to identify the similarities and differences for each of the items.
Remember, your end goal is NOT to list out the similarities and differences between the items. You need to move beyond basic identification to explaining the significance of the similarities and differences.
Writing Tip: Use a graphic organizer to collect the similarities and differences.
Try using a Venn diagram or a chart to organize your ideas.
Create a thesis statement based on the results of your comparison. Remember, your thesis needs to be arguable and appropriate for your course.
Go beyond the identification of similarities and differences by explaining their significance. Explain why this comparison matters. Your thesis will become arguable once you add in this portion.
For instance, you might have compared two islands with similar goat overpopulation for a science course. It’s useful to set the context of these islands and the interventions that people used to deal with the goat overpopulation, but your thesis is not arguable if you only state facts. Adjust your thesis to explain why the similarities and differences matter. For instance, you might explain how the differences in the intervention impacted the ecosystem and the island populations. Depending on your assignment guidelines, you could make suggestions about a future intervention that could be effective in handling goat overpopulation on islands.
Try these strategies for creating an arguable thesis:
There are two basic structures that are typically used for comparative essays.
The point-by-point method alternates between the items. In this style, you pick a common point of comparison and describe the first item and then the second item. Here is an example of a point-by-point method essay outline.
Introductory material: Describe the wizarding world of Harry Potter and the key characters in the comparison.
Thesis: Although Ron Weasley and Draco Malfoy are both pure-blood wizards, their interactions with other magical creatures reveal the different values in their socialization.
The block method identifies themes to compare and describes all your items together. Here is an example of an essay method outline.
Introductory material: Describe the wizarding world of Harry Potter and the key characters in the comparison.
Thesis: Although Ron Weasley and Draco Malfoy are both pure-blood wizards, their interactions with other magical creatures reveal the different values in their socialization.
