Comparison and Contrast Essay

 

1. The Definition  of  Essay, Comparison and Contrast Essay

Comparison and Contrast essay is one of writing academic essays taught at the university level to assess students' ability to express ideas or thoughts in written form. Students find this type of essay as a complex type of writing since they have to compare and contrast a phenomenon or anissue they are interested in. Also, students are required to compose this essay under several conditions. One of these provisions includes the number of words in the essay ranging from2,000 to 5000 words (Alphacrucis College, n.d.).

Alice Oshima and Ann Hogue (1997:191) stated that Comparison contrast is to compare the similarities and the differences between two items. In order to write a comparison contrast essay, we will need to first select the two items or concepts that you will write about. When selecting concepts or items to write about, be sure to pick topics that actually have similarities rather than those that are complete opposites.

2. Comparison and Contrast Essay Structure

The compare and contrast essay has a rather simple structure but nevertheless it is important to specify its contents:

1.      Introduction (Introduction is used to choose what will be compared and contrasted and to identify the major lines of comparison. The introduction must be very bright as it is supposed to catch the attention of the reader and make the rest of the essay appealing to the reader.

2.      Body

a) Each of the compared points has to be presented in a separate paragraph or if it is necessary in two paragraphs.

 b) When all the compared points are revealed to the reader the writer is suggested to put analyze them one more time together in order to put in one solid comprehension of the essay. The paragraphs must be connected with each other with very strong topic sentences. The reader is not supposed to face any difficulties understanding the reason the material is organized the way it is. In other words the reader is expected to understand the reason the writer is analyzing these given aspects.

c) The body should be critically read, as each topic sentence has to clearly summarize the main point of the paragraph.

d) For better result the body should be analyzed from the perspective of an independent analytic, so it should be read a day after it was written or by another trusted person for review.

3.      Conclusion (Conclusion is used to summarize the key similarities and differences of the two analyzed things. Word for word restatements should be avoided.

3. The Organization Of Comparison And Contrast Essay

a.      Point-by-Point Organization

This way is used to compare each point of the objects, rather than describe one thing at a time. First, make a list of factors that important in your essay, each point of comparison becomes the topic of a paragraph.

Example model point-by point organization:

 1) Introduction Thesis statement: one way to decide between two job offers is to compare them on important points

2) Body

      a) Salary

     b) Benefits

    c) Opportunities for advancement

    d) Workplace atmosphere

    e) Commuting distance from home

 3) Conclusion

b.      Block organization

The other ways to organize a comparison contrast essay is to arrange all the similarities together in a block and all the differences together in a block. Discuss either the similarities first or the differences first.

Example model Block organization

1) Introduction Thesis statement: one way to decide between two job offers is to compare them on important points.

2) Body

 a) Similarities

      (1) Benefits

     (2) Commute distance from home

b) Differences

    (1) Salary

    (2) Opportunities for advancement

    (3) Workplace atmosphere

                        c) Conclusion

 

D.   Example Of Comparison And Contrast Essay

Difference and similarities between taking private lesson and learning in a classroom.

Would you take your lesson alone?

Technological and social advances have led to a great many changes in all aspects of life. People have changed their way of living, entertaining, working and studying. These changes have created different forms of learning and teaching methods. Some students prefer taking private lessons whereas some others prefer learning in a classroom. Even though there are a great many similarities between private lesson and classroom lesson,  there are also important differences.

To begin with, there are significant similarities between learning through private lesson and classroom studies. The first similarity is to have a schedule. For example, students , both in private lessons and classroom, have to follow a certain schedule. Subjects are taught according to a program, not randomly. The second similarity is that students have to do homework in both situations. If students do not do homework, they cannot improve their knowledge about that lesson. In brief, having a certain schedule and doing homework are important similarities between private lesson and classroom studies.

Despite similarities, private lesson and classroom studies have some differences as well. The first difference is to ask questions comfortably. In private lessons, students can ask their questions comfortably whereas/while students in a classroom cannot do this because of the high number of students in a classroom. Physical comfort is the second difference between these two forms. Private lessons can be held in a comfortable room on comfortable seats and desks or even in a café and the student and the teacher can have tea or coffee. However, in a classroom, there are desks and chairs, which are usually no very comfortable. As a result, asking questions comfortably and physical comfort are visible differences between these two learning forms.

To sum up, there are not only similarities but also differences between private lessons and classroom studies. As far as l am concerned, both forms of learning can work as long as students are determined to achieve their goals.

 

 

 

References:

Rusni, (2010)  Improving The Fourth Semester Students’ Ability In Writing Essay Through Comparison Contrast Essay In English Education Department  (Skripsi UIN alaudin Maksasar)  Diakses dari https://repositori.uin-alauddin.ac.id/4446/1/Rusni.pdf

Universitas  Islam Negeri Maulana Malik Ibrahim  Malang . (2020)  Genre Based Approach An Alternative in Teaching Comparison and Contrast Essay   Diakses  pada 8 Maret 2022, dari  https://scholar.google.com/scholar?hl=id&as_sdt=0%2C5&q=comparison+and+contrast+essay&btnG=#d=gs_qabs&t=1652061000874&u=%23p%3DxUEtyKhvj40J