Writing a Comparative Essay
Friday, March 26th, 2010Writing comparative essays could be challenging
Getting into the groove of writing a comparative essay calls for some real serious study of the two things you are comparing. Books, films, people, issues, things, concepts… the list of all that you can compare could go just on and on. The point is not what you compare but how you compare them. This is the foundation of any good comparative essay. In order to understand the nuances of such an essay, it is important for the writer to know why he or she is comparing two things. Nobody wakes up one day and decides to compare stuff. Your teacher realizes that for you to understand the benefits or demerits of a particular thing, it is necessary to evaluate the same in relation to another. Hence the rationale behind a good comparison essay.
Since this professional writing service is aware of the difficulties students face while writing comparative essays, a step-by-step way of approaching it is given below. You will find that the instructions we give are easy to follow and understand. Simplicity is the key element in all our essays, term papers and research papers. Read on -
1. Setting up a framework – this refers to the frame of reference or the context in which you compare two things. Let us imagine for the sake of discussion that you want to talk about the views of two important psychologists on the same topic – human sexuality. You are taking into consideration Sigmund Freud and Carl Jung. These are not unfamiliar names to students of psychology. You need to mention at the very beginning of your essay, the terms of reference and areas in which you will be comparing these two important authors. You cannot possibly say that you will compare all the works of Freud and Jung in one essay. It would be wrong and unrealistic to say so.
2. Rationale – this is to answer the ‘why’ question in the essay. Writing a comparative essay would be meaningful only when you are able to justify the reasons for your comparison. There should be sufficient reasoning that explains why or why not you have made a choice regarding the bases of comparison.
3. Thesis statement – the points mentioned above should be rightly combined to present a thesis statement or focus for your essay in order to give it the right direction.
4. Organization – how do you put your points forward? You need to decide whether you are going to talk about Item 1 first and then Item 2 or do the comparison in another way. The other way would be comparing the two, at every point you make in the essay. Using the same example of Freud and Jung, you could say: on the subject of …Freud says this…. Whereas Jung says this….
5. Concluding statements – make sure you draw a few conclusions based on the points you have included in your essay. Also remember that you need to connect it with your intro.
If you are still a bit unsure about this, do feel free to call us and clear your doubts. We are eager to ensure you are fully equipped, while writing comparative essays as part of your assignment.
