Writing a Comparison-Contrast Essay
You've chosen two topics to compare and contrast, conducted research about them, and created a working thesis statement. You're ready to draft your comparison-contrast essay. The following activities will help you build a strong beginning, develop middle paragraphs, and create an ending that effectively wraps up your essay.
Writing the Beginning Paragraph
The first sentence or two of your comparison-contrast essay needs to grab your reader's interest. You can experiment with a number of different strategies to write an effective lead.
Write a lead sentence.
Experiment with leads for your essay using each strategy below. Read the examples for ideas. Then choose your favorite lead to start your essay.
- Start with a fascinating question.
Would you rather be completely normal, with all the typical abilities and disabilities, or exceptional in one or two areas but impaired in others?
- Start with a thoughtful quotation.
"Nobody realizes that some people expend tremendous energy merely to be normal."
—Albert Camus
- Provide an anecdote.
We've all been stuck on a slow bus, starting and stopping in heavy traffic, crammed with others just waiting to get to a destination. When the patent clerk Albert Einstein was stuck on such a bus, he imagined instead riding on a photon at the speed of light . . . and came up with the Special Theory of Relativity.
- Make a shocking statement.
People with synesthesia process sound with the part of their brains meant to see pictures. As a result, they see music. When the rest of us hear a D major chord, they might see a bright blue mountain or a vibrantly orange rabbit.