Writing Tips, Samples and News for Students

Connections and Differences in a Compare and Contrast Research Paper

When you are told to write a compare and contrast paper, you have to center on the similarities, connections and differences. Many people do make the mistake of centering on just one of this, and this may be their undoing as the research paper will not be a complete one. When you are told to compare and contrast, it means you must point out the similarities and distinctive features.

There is one core value you must not miss, and this is the fact that you should bring in new connections and differences. Now, when you are given such essay, the first thing to do is to decipher whether you are told to write mainly on the connections, or on the differences or even on both of them. This is where your passing or failing the test starts.

You have to start by asking yourself whether you really have enough information about the two items you have been instructed to compare and contrast. Never write the paper with wrong information. Only when you ascertain the level of knowledge you have about them, then you decide whether you should go for more research. The next question to ask is whether these two things are really similar or different in any way.

When you answer these questions affirmatively, then it is time to organize your paper, and there are procedures of organizing your compare and contrast writing. You can start by gathering all information about one of the items in one place. When you do, you can now use either the connections or differences as the transition word.

There are two main methods of doing this. You can write with the block divided format or the alternating point to point method.

The block method means evaluating an entire item and comparing it to the other item in its entirety.

This will give you two different papers, one centering on the similarities and the other on differences. To achieve success with this method you have to start with a very clear introduction and then the body that details the similarities and differences. Here, the two different sections must be linked with a clear transition too. The paper is concluded with a summery and an analysis of the relationships you have noticed between the items.

The next method is the point to point method. Here, you take things with more details. You bring out a point of similarity and difference between the two items and treat it separately before going for another point. Here, you also have to start with introductions, and then link everything with a good transition. The thesis must answer the question of what happens in the long run. One thing you must imbibe here is to organize your points in a logical manner and to offer the relationships noticed in a summery.

Here, you must not make blanket statements. Concentrate on particular aspects. You can start by writing about similarity and difference in appearance. After this, you can move to utility and purpose. Continue with all the other attributes of the items.

Whichever method you want to use, you can go about it by engaging in researching, listing of the similarities and differences, mapping out the most significant points, organizing the essay scope and outline, bringing in the details of the text and editing your work.

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