Comparison and Contrast Essay

Submitted By jamie188
Words: 449
Pages: 2

A Comparison or Contrast essay is an essay in which you either compare something or contrast something. A comparison essay is an essay in which you emphasize the similarities, and a contrast essay is an essay in which you emphasize the differences. We use comparison and contrast thinking when deciding which university to attend, which smartphone to buy, or whether to vacation at home or abroad.
When comparing or contrasting something, writers have two classic organizational patterns from which to choose. One is called block arrangement of ideas; the other is called point-by-point or alternating arrangement of ideas. Suppose you are interested in showing the differences between vacationing in the mountains and vacationing at the beach. You will then write a contrast essay. One way to arrange your material is to use the block arrangement which is to write about vacationing in the mountains in one paragraph and vacationing at the beach in the next. If you mention a particular point in the mountains paragraph, you must mention the same point in the beach paragraph, and in the same order. The following outline shows this block organization. The first paragraph (the introduction) is followed by the mountains paragraph, then the beach paragraph, then the conclusion. The fully developed essay is just four paragraphs.People are always looking forward to their vacation period. There are many options where to choose. I think that the two most common places people choose for taking a vacation are the mountains and the beaches. Both places offer a variety of fun activities. The beach offers activities that the mountain cannot offer and vice versa. The mountain and the beach are totally different. The purpose of this essay is to