A compare and contrast essay examines two or more topics (objects, people, or ideas, for example), comparing their similarities and contrasting their differences. You may choose to focus exclusively on comparing, exclusively on contrasting, or on both.

First, pick useable subjects and list their characteristics. In fact, their individual characteristics determine whether the subjects are useable. After that, choose a parallel pattern of organization and effective transitions to set your paper above the merely average.

When writing compare and contrast essays, one is often dealing with a vast amount of detail. The subject must be broken down into parts for analysis and a sufficient number of significant characteristics and details must be considered. Pull it apart and look at each detail in isolation so you can decide how they all go together.

The introduction of the essay presents the context for comparing the two different aspects. Also the introduction presents why you should compare and contrast the two aspects. And then in the body of the essay, you will develop a point-by-point comparison by giving examples of the advantages/disadvantages and pros/cons according to different situations. The conclusion of the essay analyzes the comparison to decide when one aspect is better than the other.