Writing A Compare And Contrast Essay: A Know-How To Get Good Grades

How many paragraphs are in a compare and contrast essay?

It depends on the instructions you get with your assignment, but, you can divide a comparing and contrasting essay into five paragraphs. The way you structure the body of the essay is pretty simple.

Intro of the essay: You may not have any idea about the intro part.

This is the section where you provide a brief idea about what your essay is going to be like and which subjects are being compared and contrasted for what purpose. It is your first paragraph.

Body of the essay: This second paragraph may have two parts or more depending upon whether you would be using the alternating method or block method and eventually moving on to combining both.

What kind of subjects you are dealing with may also decide whether the body will be split into three paragraphs or more.

You may use each paragraph for highlighting similar points, and the next one to point out not so common attributes.

Conclusion: This one is the most vital segment of your essay, where you would be presenting your final views based on the whole contrasting and comparing that you did in earlier paragraphs.

Do remember to keep it compact because all the elaboration is done in the previous paragraphs.

What are the 5 types of hooks?

Sometimes when students get such essays for the first time, they do not know how to write a thesis for compare and contrast essay.

Shifting through examples can be of big help for writing such essays.

What you need to know is that you have to present points in ways that makes it an exciting and informative read.

In your essay, you should incorporate 5 types of hooks, read on to find out what they are

1. The Interesting Question Hook: In the essay intro section, you could present your theory by raising a question about the similarities and differences that your chosen subjects have or lack, and thereby making the readers intrigued to find out more in the next paragraph.
2. The Strong Statement/Declaration Hook: You need to take an assertive approach to present your argument. You have picked your subjects, you did your research, and you are confident that they have some common writing points, but on some level, their similarities end and differences begin.

Now use strong statements about your viewpoint for your readers.

3. The Fact/ Statistic Hook: Your professor is not going to give you grades just because of your conviction. When you are dissecting two objects on different levels, you need to back it up with information, as well as statistics depending on the subjects you chose. Do your research well, and find out relevant information to support your arguments.
4. The Description Hook: Since you are doing a comparing and contrasting essay, you will be focusing on different attributes of each subject. Give description, example, even if it is brief because descriptions can get readers interested in finding out what more you have to say.
5. The Story Hook: If you can pep up your argument by putting some interesting anecdotes that are going to help.

How do you write a conclusion for a compare and contrast essay?

Writing the conclusion can be challenging because you have to state your findings here and summarize the whole thing.

Do not get repetitive and keep on restating facts they already know. Instead, focus on your findings and structure your conclusion to establish your argument on strong ground. Your readers should be convinced.

So, how to write a thesis for a compare and contrast essay?

No matter which way you look at it, just stating what is similar and what is not won’t do the trick for you. You need to research and develop a valid argument based on your findings. It should be meaningful; you must point out clearly through an example where you are heading. You can get to know more about How to write a claim here!

A good idea here would be using the Venn diagram in the body of the essay, where you present your thoughts with the help of overlapping circles. The point at where they overlap should include the similarities, and the differences should be on the other side of both circles.

Which methods to follow?

So, you have several options here

1) You can cover each element individually mentioning their unique attributes and then go on comparing and contrasting

2) You can begin contrasting and comparing both on different points simultaneously

You need to decide whether the alternating method, block method, combination method works best for you

Alternating method: In this way, you keep on switching between one element and the other highlighting different aspects

Block method: Here, you discuss one element at a stretch, and then when you are done with it, you move it to the other. Basically, you would be breaking points down in paragraphs.

Point-by-point method: It is a highly effective and preferred method where you are contrasting different aspects of two elements on individual points

It’s your call at the end of the day so, pick the method that suits you, but make sure that your compare and contrast essay does not end up looking like a poorly assembled puzzle.

For example, if you are planning on comparing and contrasting coffee and tea, you need to make sure that you provide strong points of differences as both seem similar at first.

Writing a contrast and compare essay takes a lot of research, so make sure you do that. Keep reviewing your essay until you are satisfied and quote sources whenever necessary.

If you do not have time to invest in research, because of your part-time or a full-time job, then get professional help. Professional services are available that handle your assignments on your behalf. They have experts on their team to deliver your assignment on time.