1. WRITING A COMPARE & CONTRAST ESSAY

2. What is Compare and Contrast?
Comparison is an analysis of how things are alike.
Contrast is an analysis of how things are different.
Both are often involved in everyday life, and weighing of alternatives

3. Thesis Statement The Thesis Statement will:
Name the subjects being compared and contrasted
Indicates whether the essay focuses on comparisons, contrasts or both
State the essays’ main points of comparison.

4. Things to Remember about the Thesis
Note the key words in the essay prompt: Compare and Contrast.
This means you must write a thesis that expresses what 2 civilizations had in common and where they are different.
Your thesis must address the comparison.
Stay within the parameters of the question or prompt. An essay about Egypt should not deal with MesoAmerica.

5. Things to Remember about the Thesis
Your thesis should state an opinion.
Be bold.
Don’t merely restate the question or one of its assumptions.
To argue a point, you must first have one.
Your thesis should contain the categories you will use in the essay as evidence.
Categories show analysis of the topic.

6. Writing Tips Stay focused on your purpose Formulate a strong thesis
Not just to compare and contrast
Also needs to persuade, evaluate, and clear up any misconceptions
Formulate a strong thesis
Select sound points to be discussed
Organize/Prioritize your points
Consider your audience

7. Two C&C Methods
Block Method
Point-by-Point Method

8. BLOCK METHOD
The writer discusses everything relevant about one subject before moving to another subject.
Each subject is addressed in a parallel fashion, and the information is presented in the same order.
This is an easier format to write because it’s less repetitious.

9. Topic: comparing two newspapers
Everything about A: Herald’s news coverage
international
national
local
Everything about B: Beacon’s news coverage
International
National
Local

10. POINT-BY-POINT METHOD
Writer alternates from one aspect of the first
Subject to the same aspect of the other subject within the same paragraph.
This method is more difficult because the writer must be creative when referring to each subject to avoid repetition.

11. Topic: compare newspapers, the Beacon and the Herald.
Everything about international news coverage
The Beacon’s International coverage
The Herald’s International coverage
Everything about national news coverage
The Beacon’s national coverage
The Herald’s national coverage
Everything about local news coverage
The Beacon’s local coverage
The Herald’s local coverage

12. WHICH METHOD OF ORGANIZATION?
BLOCK METHOD
These essays are usually more unified.
This method is more effective with complicated subjects.
This is generally better with brief essays.

13. WHICH METHOD OF ORGANIZATION?
POINT-BY-POINT
Rigid attention to the pattern of the essay will help maintain unity and cohesiveness.
This method is better for subjects with less complex points to compare.
Longer essays with many points of comparison work best in this format.

14. Writing a Solid Conclusion
Conclusion must restate the thesis in an interesting way
Your conclusion should answer the question: “So What?”
In other words provide
Sentence 1 – Restate the thesis
Sentence 2 – provide implications
Sentence 3 – make local to global connection

15. How to Write a Dynamite Compare and Contrast AP Essay
2-3 sentence introduction
Clear, analytical thesis statement
Shows similarities AND differences in three different body paragraphs and analysis of the reason for the similarities and/or differences
Addresses all parts of the question or prompt evenly

16. How to Write a Dynamite Compare and Contrast AP Essay
Includes appropriate historical evidence
Provides at 2-3 relevant comparisons between the civilizations
Provides a local to global connection (How is this prompt relevant to other parts of the world at this time?)
Conclusion restates the thesis in an interesting way.