Compare and contrast essays are very common at colleges and universities. It must be hard to find a student who has not been assigned this sort of assignment in his study career. However, not everyone can create a compelling compare and contrast essay outline following the standardized practice.
This kind of essay is based on factual analysis. Two popular outline techniques are preferred by experts when it comes to writing a compare and contrast essay. The first one is called point by point method and the second one is the block method. Creating a good outline becomes easy when you follow either of these two methods.
Both structure types have some advantages and disadvantages. However, most students prefer choosing the block technique because it is much easier to create as compared to the point-by-point method.
In the block method, you just need to highlight all the information regarding two subjects. The reader will perform the comparison using the information that you have provided them.
On the other hand, you have to analyze all the points yourself while using a point-by-point outline method. You become responsible for making differences and similarities easier to comprehend by an average reader.
Let’s briefly discuss each compare and contrast outline!
Block Outline Technique
Introduction
In the block method, you start a compare and contrast essay with an introduction. Here you introduce the topic using interesting facts and figures. Make sure to include something exciting in the intro so that it can entice readers to read further.
You can add anything that you consider valuable and exciting to read. Do not add information that is too common to read. No one wants to read something that has already been on the internet for decades. Try finding innovative ideas through which you can hook in readers from the beginning.
Theme
In this part, you have to specify the theme of your essay. Try to make everything clear so that nothing remains ambiguous or difficult to understand for a common reader.
Thesis
Generally, students fail to come up with a striking thesis statement while writing an academic essay. some of them completely forget to add a thesis at the beginning while others do not write it correctly.
It is immensely significant to write a compelling thesis statement. It could be a little challenging task for someone who has no relevant experience. If you get stuck here, make sure to ask for expert assistance.
Ideally, you need to cover the entire essay topic in just a single sentence. This could be a little bit difficult if your essay includes a variety of aspects. Especially writing a good thesis statement for a compare and contrast essay could be annoying. You may find it hard to summarize the entire write-up in just one sentence.
Make sure the statement is exactly according to the information that you are going to write in your essay. If the information described in the essay goes against the thesis statement, then you will not be able to get nice feedback from the teacher. Readers are not likely to pay attention to your work either.
Body Paragraphs
After you have written a good thesis statement, it’s time to continue writing body paragraphs. The number of paragraphs depends upon the topic you have selected. However, try to keep your write-up within the prescribed word count limit.
No one is going to sue you if you write more than the prescribed limit. So, feel free to cover your topic in a justified way and do not get worried about crossing the word limit.
The main difference between the block and step by step method lies in the body. In the Block Method, you discuss all possible aspects of two subjects in the paragraph. For instance, you can talk about the lifestyle, city, and finances in every paragraph.
Every paragraph in a compare and contrast essay should begin with a topic sentence. It should define what you are going to express in the rest of the paragraph.
Try to keep all the paragraphs diverse yet connected. Do not repeat the same information as it can put readers to boredom. Generally, an essay should consist of three paragraphs. Nevertheless, sometimes students can write up to five paragraphs when the topic is hard to cover in three.
However, make sure you do not write about redundant stuff just to make your essay look lengthy. Everything you describe or mention should provide value to readers. That’s how a perfect essay looks like.
Conclusion
In the concluding paragraph, try to summarize everything you have mentioned above in an efficient way. Do not start writing about a new thing here. Highlight the most important aspects that you think are worth mentioning.
Point by Point Outline Technique
Introduction
Just like the block method, the point-by-point outline technique requires you to begin a compare and contrast essay with a catchy introduction. Follow the same intro suggestions as mentioned in the above technique.
Theme
The theme of the essay should be specified at the beginning after the introduction.
Thesis Statement
Condense the concept of your compare and contrast essay in a single sentence. Make sure the thesis statement best represents what you are about to explain in the essay.
Body Paragraphs
Unlike the Block technique, the point-by-point outline method requires you to contrast and compare two subjects by highlighting specific points at one time. You can examine only a single aspect of comparison in body paragraphs.
The rest of the guidelines are almost similar to the block technique. However, make sure to write a compare and contrast essay following the standard practice so that your write-up does not go against the guidelines.
An essay without the use of strong transitions cannot build a good flow. Check the flow of your essay during the proofreading process and make necessary changes to make it sound natural. Never let small errors unattended. Fix every minor error so that it does not dilute the professionalism of your paper.