Writing interesting Comparison Essays
In writing this type of essay you will be comparing at least two and sometimes more, items or ideas. It could be a position on an issue, a theory, events that happened or text that was written. Usually an essay that compares will also contrast. This means that both the similarities and differences will be examined.
To make your essay especially interesting, employ these 5 tips:
- Choose two things to compare that have approximately equal number of similarities and differences. To illustrate this point, if two topics have many similarities but only 1 or 2 differences, it won’t grab the reader’s attention as much. The more evenly weighted the argument is for both, the more intrigue is generated.
- Choose topics or events that are somewhat familiar to the reader, but not in great detail. The familiarity will give them the desire to start reading, and the details you supply will keep them interested enough to keep reading.
- Use an interesting structure for your essay, such as the alternating method. In this method, you present a paragraph of event A followed by a paragraph of event B so that the reader can compare and contrast with each two paragraphs of the essay. Another way to do it is to completely present event A in the first half of the essay followed by event B in the second half. This method is not as interesting because the reader must go back and forth too much to compare and contrast.
- Focus on what’s not obvious. In other words, don’t just compare the obvious facets of each event. Dig in a little deeper and draw out some nuances that may not be obvious at first. This process adds a lot more interest as well as depth to the comparison.
- Keep the most interesting facts for the last. End your essay with a comparison that really surprises and intrigues your reader. You want them to be deep in thought about your last comparison. This is a great way to leave a good impression on your teacher.
The introduction and summarizing paragraphs are essential. Formulate the introduction so that it gives the reader a little taste about your topics and gets them wanting to read more. The summarizing paragraph should restate the introduction but in different words of course. It’s just a way of wrapping things up for the reader and reminding them of what they just read.
