What is a comparative essay?
Just like the name suggests, a comparative essay compares a number of items. This means that the assignment usually asks the writer to compare two concepts, books, points of view, or topics. For example, a comparative essay may ask you to compare Shakespeare’sMacbeth and Hamlet,capitalism and communism, or life expectancy in the United States with life expectancy in japan. Please note that while the topic asks you to compare the different points of view, the examiner assumes that you will compare and contrast them. This means that you will give both their similarities and differences. Below are a number of tips that will help you in writing your comparative essays.
1)Develop the Central Theme/ Basis for the comparison.
The first step to writing a good comparative analysis essay is to determine the aspect that you will compare. There are a number of ways to determine the basis for the comparison. Firstly, you can look at the topic to determine what you need to compare. For example, it is easier to determine the central theme for the comparative essay when your topic is to compare the life expectancy in the United States with life expectancy in japan. However, it is much harder to come up with a central them when the topic for the comparative analysis essay is to compare Macbeth and Hamlet. This is because there are a number of issues that you can choose to compare and contrast. In this case, you can choose, the differences in themes, stylistic devices, or the audiences.
2)Write a draft that outlines the similarities and differences.
Once you determine the theme that you will base your comparison on, the next step is to come up with the main points of your essay. You should write all the similarities and differences found within the two aspects that you are comparing. The next step is to write the thesis statement.
3)How To Write A Comparative Essay Thesis
Once you gather the similarities and differences, you should be in a position to determine where the similarities outweigh the differences. This will help you write a thesis statement for the comparative analysis essay. Since this is a comparative essay, the thesis must have both the similarities and differences. An essay on the differences between the 1930 depression and the 2007 recession might be:
While great depression and the 2007 depression were characterized by a severe decline in the value of securities, the great depression resulted from under consumption and over-investment while the 2007 depression occurred due to increase of unregulated subprime lending.
4. Write The Outline.
The next step in writing the paper is coming up with the skeleton for the essay. Write all the similarities and differences in a logical sequence just as they will appear in the final paper. You can decide to use either the alternating format or the block structure. In the alternating structure, you should alternate between the points of your central themes. Assuming them A and B, the points in the paragraphs should have the following structure: ABABAB. The second format is the Block method (Subject-by-subject pattern) where you outline all the points for theme A, then all the points for theme B.