Lesson 1: What Is a Comparison/Contrast Essay?
Estimated Time: 35 minutes
Lesson Objective: At the end of this lesson, you will be able to use a Venn diagram to compare and contrast ideas
Once you have chosen your topic, brainstorm for ideas and try to write down every single one of them, choosing those that are relevant for the topic. You might want to divide your sheet of paper into two main sections and start taking notes on everything that comes to your mind, including similarities and differences. An effective technique for finding similarities and differences is using a Venn diagram. A Venn diagram is a scheme that represents logical relations between two objects. It has two overlapping circles, these areas show the similarities, while the part that does not overlap, is for the differences.
A very important point in writing an effective compare and contrast essay is correct selection of the lines of comparison. What does this mean, if you are comparing two objects, you should be comparing them against one and the same parameter.
image courtesy of Julie Bang Investopedia 2020
For example, the Venn diagram above shows how you might compare and contrast the features of two different automobiles. Notice that the area where the two circles intersect is reserved for things they have in common.
Explore Further
Looking for more compare and contrast examples? Check out these resources on Scribd.