How to Write a Compare-Contrast Essay
The Elements of a Compare-Contrast Essay
What is comparison?
Explaining the similarities or points of connection between two ideas, people, or things to give the reader a deeper understanding of each
What is contrasting?
Explaining the differences or points of disconnection between two ideas, people, or things to give the reader a deeper understanding of each
Adapted from Webster’s Third New International Dictionary
On what subjects can I write a successful compare-contrast essay?
Your subjects will need to each be significant in their own right to merit discussion. They will also need to have some sort of relationship to each other so that showing them side by side allows the
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(Commenting on the quote.)
4. Commentary: further commenting on the quote
EXAMPLE:
According to a recent article in the Seattle Times,” ...[t]he seemingly sure bet that higher education will pay off can be upended by any number of factors: broken marriages, illnesses, lost jobs, substandard schools and unrealized dreams.” (With no way out of trouble, more students likely to default, October 6, 2008). Students used to feel that borrowing for college was always going to pay off, no matter what happened. Now, many are finding it harder to pay it back due to many factors.
The Embedded Citation
This is useful when you would prefer to pick out very small phrases to prove your points.
Write your own sentence beginning, include the quote, and write your own sentence ending. The quote flows into and out of the sentence.
EXAMPLE: Borrowing to pay for higher education used to be seen as a “sure bet” but now some students are finding that their plans to repay student loans can be disrupted by “… broken marriages, illnesses, lost jobs, substandard schools and unrealized dreams.” (With no way out of trouble, more students likely to default, October 6, 2008). These unexpected obstacles may repayment difficult if not impossible
How to Write Commentary
Of all the skills students must learn in writing, writing commentary is considered the most difficult. Writing commentary means giving your own opinion and interpretation about something,
Compare and Contrast helps a lot to reader to make a two different thing clear in their point of view and Susan Cain, the author has done perfectly well with the comparison and contrast. In paragraph 9, Susan Cain has compared Shyness and introversion. “Shyness and introversion are not the same thing. Shy people fear negative judgment; introverts simply prefer quiet, minimally stimulating environment.” And on the next paragraph, the first had contrasts the shyness and introversion. “But shyness and introversion share an undervalued status in a world that prizes extroversion.” This make really clear for the reader that shyness and introversion are totally two different things. The next thing that she has compared to is Sitters and Rovers. The “rover” fish couldn't help but investigate - and were immediately caught. But the “sitter” fish stayed back, making it impossible for Professor Wilson to capture them. “In contrast, sitter children are careful and astute and tend to learn by observing instead of acting.” This compare and contrast made it clear for the reader and it make a clear difference in sitters and
With the ever-increasing tuition and ever-tighten federal student aid, the number of students relying on student loan to fund a college education hits a historical peak. According to a survey conducted by an independent and nonprofit organization, two-thirds of college seniors graduated with loans in 2010, and each of them carried an average of $25,250 in debt. (Reed et. al., par. 2). My research question will focus on the profound effect of education debt on American college graduates’ lives, and my thesis statement will concentrate on the view that the education policymakers should improve financial aid programs and minimize the risks and adverse consequences of student loan borrowing.
Compare and contrast comes in to play at the very beginning of the essay when Tan is describing her mother listening to her giving a lecture.
Similarities and differences are present between nearly anything. For instance, two books can be compared in regards to their themes. Likewise, multiple people can be contrasted in regards to their personality. Similarities and differences can be good and bad and they can also help one to clearly see which of the subjects that are being compared are better than the other. Another example of where two subjects can be compared is in Macbeth and The Social Network, in regards to the characters. One may wonder how such different pieces of work could possibly be compared and contrasted, but after analyzing both pieces, it is clear that such similarities and differences exist. Characters
Not Likely,” goes upon shedding light on to explaining how students end up with the debt that they have. Wilson’s piece goes on to enlighten a situation that people tend not fully to understand. To make her point across she uses different examples of how money tend to add up against individuals attend college and uses the word borrow and make reference to student loans quite often throughout her article. At what appears to be an epidemic sweeping the nation, Wilson points out a number of articles going about saying the there is a disaster of financial storms, which are consuming students who attend colleges, and who use titles like “The Student Loan Scam: The Most Oppressive Debt in U.S. History and How We Can Fight Back” (256-257). She goes on to use an example that stating the majority of students who have debt listed against their name owe no more than a reasonable priced vehicle. Wilson also states in her writings that some borrow money for more than their schooling even cost and will even reach double the amount of what ones schooling actually cost. Any person that is responsible with money should know not to over borrow especially when it is double what something
In the U.S. students are encouraged to earn a college degree, but the cost of an education turns many away. “Driven by the allure of a decent salary with a college degree, Americans borrowed to go to school. Outstanding student debt doubled from 2005 to 2010, and by 2012 total student debt in the U.S. economy surpassed $1 trillion” (Mian, Sufi 167). There are plenty of opportunities to obtain funds for college, including one of the most common, student loans. A student loan is defined as “a common way to fund education, specifically college and graduate school, and they provide educational opportunities that you otherwise may not be able to afford” (Barr). Student debt is at an all-time high in America. Over half of all lower income
An estimated 20 million Americans attend college each year, and 60% of those students borrow annually to pay for it (qtd. in asa.org, “Student Loan Debt Statistics”). Moreover, citizens continuing to pay off debt after schooling brings the overall number of student-loan-borrowers to about 40 million- with a collective 1 trillion dollars in debt (McCarthy, “10 Fun Facts About the Student Debt Crisis); a fourth of these borrowers owe over $28,000, a tenth owe over $54,000, 3.1% owe more than $100,000, “and 0.45 percent of borrowers, or 167,000 people, owe more than $200,000” (Haughwout, “Grading Student Loans”). While some view this predicament as the result of laziness or carelessness, the bulk of this substantial group are not at fault.
These fraught students display the future, and it’s not looking too bright. With higher education becoming a progressively distant dream for the average American, heftier loads will be landed upon those who can scarcely afford to reach their aspirations. These students are not simple figures on a statistical report, but they are young people at a point in their lives where they must be aided on the basics and essentials of financial lingo and repayment plans (Rajan, 2014). The liability imposed on the current generation can only be noted as atrocious and sleazy, obstructing any economic growth that might’ve been projected before realizing the trap they have fallen into. Worsening as we speak, The New America Foundation has declared that debt
You can compare and contrast items you come across in life. Movies, stories, and even people can be compared. The story "The Most Dangerous Game", which is written by Richard Connell, and the movie High Noon, which is written by Carl Foreman, can be compared and contrasted in multiple ways. High Noon is a movie about a sheriff being hunted down by a murderer that he sent to jail. He was released and plans to hold up his promise of coming back to kill the sheriff.
Student debt has become a large (and growing) problem. The high levels of student debt have served to perpetuate economic inequality, minimizing the opportunity of higher education. In a speech this year, President Obama called higher education "one of the crown jewels of this country" and said it was "the single most important way to get ahead.” The long term impact of student loans have given students every reason not to want to attend college, including myself. That alone has the potential to harm colleges and universities across the country. The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau said student debt is one reason that people between the ages of twenty and thirty seem to be living a prolonged adolescence, or living with their parents.
The act of being habitually and carefully neat and clean can make for an interesting topic in a comparison and contrast essay. Dave Barry compares the differences of how women and men clean in his compare and contrast essay, Batting Clean- Up and Striking out. In Suzanne Britt's compare and contrast essay, Neat People vs. Sloppy People she compares the differences of personalities between Sloppy people and neat people. Both essays compare cleanliness in one way or another however they both have differences regarding their use of humor, examples, and points made in their thesis.
The third discussion was on the context of Political; cognitive. Growing up learning about politics teaches you that as a person you have your own views and opinions on everything. As a child my parents did not discuss politics, it was not a big discussion in my home. My parents were not political at all. This has had a big influence on me, because now that I am an adult I am not interested in politics. I am learning about politics as an adult. I realized that politics are more important than I realized before. This is something I will be teaching my children
Actually, I had written a compare/contrast paragraph before, but it was just basic writing, not professional writing. Writing this paragraph was much harder than I thought it would be, because the format of the writing was complicated. Especially, making smooth paragraph transitions, which is really crucial for point-by-point writing, was one of the parts that I put a lot of efforts to make good coherence. The most difficult part was giving my example of consequences of plagiarism. This is because the issue of plagiarism was not common when I was in Korea, so it was hard to come up with an idea based on my experience. When I read my group members’ paragraph, I learned how to use transition words well to create clear writing and the ways they
The authors have good structure by comparing and contrasting because it helped to give the difference between high school and college, to inform their audience, which is new incoming freshman 's on what to expect in college. Comparing and contrasting makes a good argument, because it gives audiences the similarities and difference between two or more things to make a topic more clear and understandable.
While there are some required, graded discussions in the Discussion area (each of which you should access by going through the Modules),