Teacher Discusses a Compare/Contrast Essay

We’re going to talk about this compare-and-contrast essay. Remember that we’re writing a point-by-point essay, so that means that you’ll have three body paragraphs. In each body paragraph, you’ll talk about the two things that you are comparing or contrasting and you’ll go back and forth talking about each one. So let’s see how this writer does that. This writer has a short introduction. It just has four sentences. Remember, you don’t have to write a very long introduction. Just start with some kind of a hook like this essay does. Starts with, good morning is what people to say to communicate in the morning, but does everyone use this word? That’s an interesting question that will make the reader want to keep reading. And then notice at the end of the introduction we have the thesis statement. People have different characteristics and routines, and it is likely they come from two different planets. So what is this writer going to be talking about? Different characteristics and routines. And we know that the writer is going to talk about the differences between two people. Now, there is one problem with this topic sentence. We know that the writer is going to be telling us about two types of people, but we don’t know what those two types are. So the writer should be more specific in a thesis statement. But let’s read on and see if we can figure out what those two people are, those two types of people. In the first body paragraph, the writer uses a good transition, one major difference. So we know this paragraph is about the first difference between those two types of people. In the supporting sentence, the first supporting sentence here, we see that writer is talking about morning people. That’s our first type of people. And then in the middle of the paragraph, we have the transition, on the other hand. That’s a contrast transition. And the writer tells us about the other type of person, night people. So what the writer should have done up here in the thesis statement, the writer should have used the words morning people and night people. Remember, your thesis statement needs to be specific and tell the reader what the topic is. All right. But now we know that the writer is talking about morning people and night people. So in this first body paragraph, the point that is being made is the difference in the times that they get up. In the second body paragraph, the writer uses another transition. We have, another difference. So we know that this paragraph is the second difference. And the writer tells us what that difference is, their priority in life. So then in the body of this paragraph, the writer first talks about morning people and who they are committed to, what their priority is. Then the writer gives us some details and examples of that. And then there’s a transition, however, to switch over and talk about night people. So then the details are about the priorities of night people. Notice this paragraph ends with a conclusion sentence. Morning and night people have two different perspectives on life. Remember, your body paragraphs need to have some kind of a conclusion or a transition so that they flow into the next paragraph. So in the third body paragraph here, the writer doesn’t use a transition, but the writer does use the key words morning and night people. And we get the third way that they’re different, which is the kind of activities they choose. Here the writer uses the transition, for example, and mentions the first type of people, morning people, and tells us about their activities. And down here we see the transition again, on the other hand, night people. And then we learn about their activities. And then this essay has a short conclusion. They had a short introduction and a short conclusion and that’s all you need. You don’t need to spend a lot of time on these two parts. This one uses the transition, to sum up, and it just uses three sentences to give a summary of the points made in this essay. So that’s a pretty good example of a compare-and-contrast essay. If you’re just starting out, try to do as well as this student did. And if you’re a little more experienced, see if you can use more details in your body paragraphs. And, remember, the thesis statement must tell us what the topic is and then what kind of an essay you’ll be writing, whether it’s compare or contrast. Have fun writing your own essay.