Students of all levels may find the compare and contrast essay creation challenging. You need to understand the difference between the point-by-point and subject-by-subject paper types. Besides, the topic selection and writing requirements can also raise more questions than answers.
Does this sound familiar?
To help you fulfill the task, we created this comprehensive article. These materials provide the following solutions in a short form:
- 450 compare and contrast essay topics
- tips on how to select best topic
- expert advice on how to write this type of paper
We also included illustrative examples in every guide. With these samples, you will quickly learn how to write A+ compare and contrast essays.
Check them below!
🌋 Top 15 Compare and Contrast Essay Topics in 2024
- Sam vs. Frodo Baggins.
- Gandalf vs. Dumbledore.
- Stocks vs. futures.
- Confederation v.s. Constitution.
- Two ways to spend the vacations.
- Two ways to get to school.
- Offense vs. defense.
- Harry vs. Draco.
- Receiving gifts vs. giving gifts.
- Horde or Alliance?
- China’s economy vs. the U.S. economy.
- Fascism vs. Nazism.
- Vegetarianism vs. meat-eating.
- Smoothies vs. Milkshakes.
- Road trip vs. Cruise.
🤔 How to Choose a Compare & Contrast Essay Topic
How to select a suitable theme for the compare and contrast essay?
Here is the answer!
You need to understand its key feature
- The assignment’s context. Your teacher may provide some clues about the task’s main idea. Without these tips, you should analyze the subject and the educator’s common questions during lessons. The gathered information significantly narrows down the relevant topic search area.
- Comparison subjects. Find two or more items that are different and similar at the same time. Having data about the essay’s context, you will quickly figure out the area of knowledge and what you should compare. The only limitation here is the paper’s size.
And you may ask: What is next?
Let’s imagine that “Childhood vs. adulthood” is the chosen theme. You may pick a set of apparent criteria for comparing and contrasting. Here are some differences that first come to mind:
- Financial dependence
- Legal responsibilities
- Mental flexibility
- Needs
And the similarities:
- Social relationships
- Hygienic needs
- Safety
- Entertainment
The listed options allow you to write a decent article, get the score, and proceed to the next task. With the following distinctions, you can create an exciting paper that may expand your knowledge in various fields of studies and cause a discussion:
- Psychological profile
- Social media preferences
- Grandparents-grandchildren relationships
- Time attitude
These are the resemblances for the selected topic:
- Need for personal space
- Childish behavior
- Learning process
- Conflict situations
Factors from both groups represent general concepts only. You will investigate these aspects later in the paper’s body. It’s a good idea to pick the criteria that interest you.
Our ultimate collection of topic ideas makes it possible to quickly find the formulated idea and objects for the compare and contrast analysis. With the gathered data, you can now select the best topic for the exact writing project.
Dive in!
🎨 Art Compare and Contrast Essay Topics
People create music, paint and draw, design clothes, and perform. The list of arts also includes sculpture, knitting, glass blowing, and many other activities. The compare and contrast ideas from this section comprise almost all spheres of human life.
Imagine this:
There are plenty of objects or subjects around that can be discussed from an art perspective. Sculpture vs. painting, jazz vs. opera singing, poetry vs. prose; all of these items are similar and different at the same time. Their designers put some art in all of these items.
That is why they suit well for the compare and contrast art essay. Check out the following collection of ideas for the creativity research:
- The Lord of the Rings and Game of Thrones: color correction and working with light.
- Posters of China and the Soviet Union.
- Offline movie theater vs. streaming services.
- Animation studios of The United States and Europe.
- Rock and K-pop music.
- Drawing and painting.
- Are graffiti and traditional painting similar?
- Pre-defined art classes vs. freestyle ones.
- Anime vs. Disney.
- What is more complicated for production: silent or sound movies?
- CGI animation with motion capture: cartoon or movie?
- Rococo and Baroque styles.
- Digital and traditional drawing.
- Works of art created by an AI and human.
- Medieval vs. modern fashion design: how far and close are they?
- Analysis of the traditional theater and cinema entertaining: similarity and difference.
- Modern Japanese vs. contemporary Chinese poetry.
- European vs. US industrial design.
- The Martian novel by Andy Weir: film adaptation vs. book.
- Manga and American comic books.
- How does classical music affect soundtrack production?
- Photography and realist painting.
- Wind vs. string music instruments.
- Learning technical and creative drawing.
- Thai, US, and Russian modern movies’ main differences and similarities.
- Traditional Japanese vs. classical Chinese painting.
- Key affinities and diversities of the web design for two countries of your choice.
- Renaissance and Pop Art.
- The movie production process: low and high-budget films.
- Painting by fingers or brushes?
- Cavemen’s, Egyptian, and graffiti artworks.
- Digital and film photography.
🎭 Culture Comparison Paper Topic Ideas
We figured out what art is and what you can write about on this topic. How about culture? Isn’t it a similar thing?
Yes and no.
While art aims to manifest a person’s creative skills, culture defines the personality and sum of knowledge of a particular group of people. The phenomenon includes pop, sub, national cultures, etiquette, myths, fairy tales, and traditions.
Here you may compare and contrast movies, fast-food, games, and plenty of other elements that describe your or foreign societies. Feel free to select two or more similar characteristics, compare them, choose the same number of differences, and perform their comparison. For your convenience, the following list includes compare and contrast ideas with facts, subjects, and objects that represent diverse cultural features.
Take a closer look:
- Traditional festivals in England and the United States of America.
- Private space attitude in China and Japan.
- Relationships with the elderly in European, Asian, and African countries.
- Design of Eve online and Entropia Universe MMO games.
- Roofs in Thailand, China, and Japan.
- Greeting traditions in The US and Japan.
- Work etiquette in South Korea, Japan, and Indonesia.
- Sharing food traditions in Israel and Sri Lanka.
- How do Japanese, Chinese, and Americans drink tea?
- French vs. Italian ways to consume coffee.
- Business clothes in The US in the 1980s vs. today.
- Spirit houses in Indonesia and Japan.
- Espresso vs. Americano.
- The traditional dances in Africa vs. Latin America.
- Australian and Eastern Europe contemporary make-up habits.
- School uniforms in Thailand, China, and Russia.
- Chopsticks in South Korea and Japan.
- Snack culture in France, Italy, and the US.
- Fast-food cuisine in Israel and Turkey: similarities and differences.
- The image of a strong male figure in eastern and western cultures.
- Momijigari vs. Hanami in Japan.
- Decorative gardening in England and Turkey.
- Outdoor family activities in mountainous and coastal regions.
- The subcultures of hippies and hipsters.
😂 Funny Compare and Contrast Topics
What if a teacher asked you to write a compare and contrast essay without any other requirements?
It’s your time to shine!
The current section helps you with picking a humorous topic. There are no limitations on this type of theme except a sense of humor. One may compare and contrast two or more funny items. Moreover, you can find several ordinary objects and figure out their similarities and differences in an amusing way.
It’s true…
The funny compare and contrast topics from this section do not require special knowledge or skills. With the themes from the list below and some imagination, one may create an entertaining and mind-blowing essay.
- Chocolates vs. lollipops.
- Cat, dog, or parrot as a house guardian?
- Ice cream for astronauts vs. a traditional one.
- Cloth washing by hand or in a washing machine?
- Food delivery vs. cooking at home.
- Instant and ground coffee.
- Mr. Bean: the sitcom vs. cartoon series.
- Traveling in space by Millennium Falcon (Star Wars) and Starship Enterprise (Star Trek).
- Getting presents from Santa Claus vs. parents on Christmas.
- Electricity from potato and battery.
- Using chopsticks vs. fork when eating beans.
- The challenges of being tall and short.
- Playing the musical triangle vs. drum set.
- Mohawk vs. pompadour for a school dance.
- Labrador vs. Toy Terrier dog for a baseball partner.
- Pairing peanut butter with jelly or honey on a sandwich.
- Mayan vs. modern calendar for planning.
- Pedicure at home or a beauty salon.
- Using tofu or mozzarella for pizza.
- The key ingredients of dog and cat food.
- Bow or classic necktie: which is more stylish?
- Watching a movie with or without spoilers.
- Burger vs hotdog for a picnic lunch.
- Mittens vs. gloves during cross-country skiing.
- Cockroaches vs. mosquitos: which is more annoying?
- Bollywood-style problem solving vs. non-musical analyzing.
- Store-bought or farm-raised fruits and vegetables?
- Drawing flowers vs. geometric figures while doodling.
- What to wear on a date: contact lenses or glasses?
- Classic toilet vs. spaceship one.
- Should a pet ferret live in a cage or run freely in the house?
- Pickled vegetables vs. fresh ones.
- Which is tastier: deep-fried pickles or chocolate chip cookies?
- Drawing with brushes vs. fingers for a teenager party.
- Dreadlocks vs. shaved head.
- Which is more convenient: skiing in a bikini or swimming in a winter jacket?
- Operating devices via remote control or manually?
- Teasing a gorilla vs. giraffe: which is safer?
- Pros and cons of buying the original or replica of a famous painting?
- Are bananas or chocolate a better snack during hiking?
- Playing real soccer and its computer version.
- Similarities and differences in currency and precious stones usage for payments.
- Straw for drinking: using or not?
- Who is likely to win the race: gecko or tarantula spider?
- Hot, cold, and contrast shower for a good mood.
- A mediocre photo taken by a famous photographer vs. a good one by an unknown person.
- Instant noodles: cup vs. bowl serving.
- Room sweeping vs. vacuuming.
- Playing online and offline games.
- The basketball’s and football’s score systems.
- The convenience of playing games on PC vs. console.
- Watching TV, YouTube, or reading a newspaper for the latest news?
- What to use for refreshment: cucumber or watermelon?
- Chewing gum vs. shampoo for the best bubbles.
- Fixed high salary vs. its gradual increase.
- TV series binge or ongoing watching for a better plot understanding?
- Buying music albums or a streaming service subscription?
- What is more interesting for time traveling: Visiting future and past during time traveling.
- Compare and contrast doodling and mumbling for more efficient thinking.
- Board vs. computer games.
- Climbing a mountain or a wall with professional equipment?
- Handmade pasta vs. factory-made for a family dinner.
👭🏼 Compare and Contrast Essay Topics on Gender
Would you like to dive into actual and widely discussed topics?
We got your back!
The modern world is a complex structure. For many people question of self-identification is becoming more acute and requires in-depth research. The latest social movements, e.g., feminist theory, often require appropriate education to be applied correctly. Our experts formed the following list of compare and contrast gender topics to help you with this comprehensive problem. Feel free to utilize any of these themes for your essay.
Check out these discussion starters:
- How do different genders overcome stress situations?
- Paternity vs. maternity leave in modern society.
- The social relations in Japan and the US between genders.
- Mixed or separated classes: which would you choose?
- Current acting job opportunities for various genders.
- Gender-specific TV shows: are they necessary?
- How do role models affect our lives? Compare and contrast them.
- Sports results evaluation for different genders.
- Cybersport for various genders: should we separate them?
- Unisex vs. gender-specific school uniform.
- Which gender is a better cook?
- Similarities and differences of toys for various genders.
- Physical training standards for different genders.
- Straight and homosexual male attitudes toward dating.
- The transgender transition for biological men and women.
- Raising a child in a traditional or single-gender family?
- Hair color preferences for teenagers of various genders.
- Gender-oriented cosmetics and hygiene products.
- Bodybuilding career for different genders.
- Sleeping habits for older men, women, and other genders.
- First date preferences for various genders.
- The glass ceiling for men, women, and other genders.
- Patriarchal and matriarchal societies.
- Spending habits in high school students of different genders.
- Challenges for boys, girls, and other genders in ballet.
- Problems among siblings of a different gender.
- Computer game preferences for various genders.
- Female etiquette expectations now vs. the beginning of the 20th century.
- High school class preferences for different genders.
- Self-image comparison for boys, girls, and other genders in middle school.
🏥 Comparison Topics in Health and Medicine
Do you prefer something less emotional?
Check this out!
You probably hear about health and various aspects of the medical field of knowledge frequently. That is why you can quickly find several items from the health and medicine sphere to compare and contrast. We investigated this sphere and provided the following list of topics suitable for any study level:
- Regular small portions vs. interval starvation diet.
- Diet or healthy lifestyle?
- Cold training vs. comfortable temperature support.
- Traditional vs. alternative methods to treat cold.
- General fitness and professional sport.
- Professional consulting or self-diagnosis?
- Rural and urban medical systems in The United States.
- The effect of using olive oil and micellar water for makeup removal on human skin.
- Helpful and harmful bacteria in the human body.
- Hygiene in Africa and South Korea.
- Sleeping in a cold and warm room.
- Drinking water and electrolyte solutions during a training session.
- The effects of icing and heating of the body area for common sports injuries.
- Food vs. medicine allergies.
- Botox vs face gymnastics for wrinkle reduction.
- Coffee and tea: physiological benefits and drawbacks.
- Ginger vs. honey for health.
- Sleeping too much vs. not sleeping enough.
- What is better for the neck health: sleeping on one or two pillows?
- The effects of spicy and sour foods on stomach health.
- Coffee and sugar effects on teeth health.
- Brushing teeth twice a day or after each meal?
- Office work and freelance influence on one’s health.
- The frequency of hair washing: every day vs. less frequently.
- Effects of meditation and physical exercise on human health.
- Home food vs. cafeteria lunches for elementary school.
- Hygiene recommendations for small children and teenagers.
- Drinking sodas and water at school.
- Cold and warm water during physical training.
- The benefits and disadvantages of online fitness classes and visiting a sports club.
- Effects of caffeine drinks intake in the morning and afternoon.
- Sunbathing and staying in the shade while visiting the beach.
- Scheduled water intake vs. responding to thirst in adults.
- The effects of digital detox and limiting screen time on anxiety levels in office workers.
- The benefits of professional and self-massage.
- Fresh vs. canned food for small children.
- Health benefits of drinking cow and soy milk.
- Sleeping-in vs. regular schedule for young adults.
📚 Compare and Contrast Topics: Languages and Literature
Are you interested in linguistic details or literature plots?
Express yourself!
Studying text and various authors may become an exciting investigating project. With the compare and contrast ideas from this section, you will find topics for different study levels. The Place For Papers experts condensed all gathered data about languages and literature topic into the following compact chart:
- Learning foreign languages and reading classic literature for memory development.
- Studying rare languages vs. common ones.
- Should learning poetry at school be mandatory?
- Reading a translated book vs. an original one.
- Should language examinations be oral or written?
- Contemporary or classical books for teenagers?
- The advantages of audiobooks for elderly people.
- Raising children on classical fairy tales or YouTube videos?
- Pros and cons of learning a language with a native speaker.
- Image of American government in English and US literature.
- Learning to read early and late in life.
- Reading for fun or mandatory for elementary students?
- What is more effective: frequent or prolonged language lessons?
- Does music help when studying languages?
- Learning a foreign language with a tutor vs. self-education.
- The Bible: classical and contemporary versions.
- Should elementary school students learn at least one foreign language?
- The role of women in Italian and English literature.
- Should kindergartens teach children to read, or is this parental responsibility?
- Do reading habits affect children’s grammar level?
- Video lessons vs. books when learning a new language.
- Learning a language by watching TV series vs. the classic textbook method.
- Creative writing: mandatory or elective?
- The necessity of marketing research when selling products internationally.
- English language in modern South Africa and India.
- The difficulties of learning Cyrillic and Latin alphabets.
- Should language dictionaries be updated yearly?
- Reading time: morning vs. evening.
- The meaning of black color in Mexican and Spanish literature.
- Nature descriptions in European and Australian classic literature.
💭 Psychology Compare and Contrast Essay Topics
Why not dive into human’s minds and the logic behind our decisions?
Ready?
Psychology is a complicated and broad field of science. It analyzes the human mind and behavior, e.g., during listening to music, doing sports, or communicating with other people. Essays on the topic allow students to understand themselves and others.
Yes, just like that!
Comparing and contrasting items from any of the following psychological topics expand your scope significantly. Besides, these themes make it possible to look at already familiar life aspects from a different perspective.
What are we waiting for?
- Computer games vs. traditional psychological help for post-traumatic stress disorder patients.
- Parental homework checking vs. independent high school study.
- Psychological effects of individual and team sports.
- High schools with and without the grades.
- The environmental and human values in Doughnut Economics.
- Interactive and classic whiteboard for better understanding
- School program with and without homework?
- Discussing sensitive issues in-person and through texting.
- Gamers’ toxic behavior analysis in UK and US.
- Mandatory program vs. elective classes in middle school.
- Informing students’ parents about the grades vs. keeping them private.
- Organized and creatively chaotic workplaces for artists.
- Co-ed schools and single-gender ones.
- The effect of caring for pets and plants on teenagers.
- Aggressive and passive-aggressive behavior.
- Buying vs. renting an apartment.
- Listening to music and silence for more efficient studying.
- Would students prefer a mechanic or electronic clock during the test?
- Parental curfew and schedule freedom for teenagers.
- Bargaining vs. fixed price for souvenirs.
- Wearing glasses and contacts during teenage years.
- Allowing vs. prohibiting the cell phones for elementary students at school.
- Cartoons: translated vs. original for kindergarteners.
- Sharing a house with other people vs. living alone.
- Organizing vs. creating chaos.
- Decorated vs. messy meal for better self-esteem.
- Playing chess and fishing for patience development.
- Full family vs. single-parent households.
- The key differences and similarities of volunteering activities and paid jobs.
- Mature behavior in children and juvenile acts of adults.
- Classical and chillout music for studying.
- Daily habits of introverts and extraverts during the COVID-19 pandemic.
- Discipline vs. freestyle methods of raising children.
- Strict discipline effects on teenage boys and girls.
- Psychologists vs. psychiatrist: rights and responsibilities.
- Social influence of Facebook and Instagram.
- Is video content more effective for school subjects than textbooks today?
- The roles of genetics, self-care, and charisma in young adults.
- Psychological effects of winning and losing as a sports team.
- Painting vs. music therapy for well-being.
- Is yoga or boxing better for anger management?
- Religion on the Purple and Blue levels of Spiral Dynamics.
- Sunrise and sunset effects on human mood.
- Conscious and involuntary usage of lying.
⚾ Sports Comparison Topics
Are you a fan of a sporty and active lifestyle?
So, let’s get down to business.
Early equivalents of modern formal sports were more focused on training hunters and warriors. You may notice that when reading about various ancient customs. Communities or individuals compete by throwing sharp objects, rolling heavy stones, or simulating a real fight.
Moreover…
Modern sports aim at cooperation, communication, and human physical limits exploration. Professional athletes no longer prepare for competitions alone. It is now also a scientific challenge.
Check out this compare and contrast sports topics:
- Curling vs. hockey for children.
- Chess and cybersport: similarities and differences.
- Track vs. cross country running.
- What will you choose: fitness club or home-based physical training?
- Tennis vs. ping-pong for children’s motor skills.
- Surfing and skateboarding: compare and contrast their safety.
- Playing tennis with a wall vs. a human opponent.
- Should children start doing sports from elementary school or later?
- Morning vs. evening physical training for middle school students.
- Parkour vs. rock climbing: training details.
- Physical education lessons at school and the external sport clubs.
- Chess vs. Go board game for high school students.
- Home-based AR fitness vs. gym training with an instructor.
- Healthy and fast-food meals: what to select for physical training?
- Winter and summer activities for school holidays.
- The best way to learn swimming: individual or group training?
- Which waves are better for surfing and wind-surfing?
- Long vs. short haircut for sports.
- Running with a human or dog partner?
- Jogging with music vs. listening to nature.
- Olympic fencing and medieval reconstruction fighting.
- Scuba or free diving?
- Which one is more entertaining: bobsleigh or wingsuit flying?
- The challenges of swimming in the pool vs. open water.
- Horse or ostrich racing competitions?
- Social and ballroom dancing: art or sports?
- Effects of upper and lower body training.
- Ashtanga and Hatha yoga: which one is better for relaxation?
- The details of running in a hot and cold environment.
- Safe and dangerous ways to do CrossFit.
- Boxing with and without massage: is there a difference?
- Skiing vs. snowboarding: which sport is better for small children?
🖥️ Compare & Contrast: Technology Topics
Does another scientific or technological breakthrough inspire you? Or, what if your science teacher assigned you an essay about something geeky?
Keep reading, and you’ll find fresh ideas!
Technology is a broad concept that has rapidly burst into all areas of our life. Inventions in medicine, information delivery, materials, entertainment, and surrounding world exploration lead us to a current state. If you like programming, gaming, robotics, AI, or science, this section is at your service.
Sounds good?
Pick one of the following popular compare and contrast technology topics, and describe their differences and similarities. You will quickly find plenty of information about all of the comparing items from the following topic list:
- Laptop vs. smartphone for gaming.
- MacBook and Windows PC: which one would you choose for programming?
- Compare and contrast the Fortnite online game’s PC, console, and mobile versions.
- React or Vue as a preferable JavaScript framework for a social network development?
- Solar panels, wind, and turbogenerators: what is more suitable for your location?
- Wired vs. wireless internet for schools.
- GPS navigator vs. paper map: differences and similarities.
- The dangers and benefits of cooking on the stove and using a microwave regarding small children.
- Who should evaluate class performance: AI or a teacher?
- Which has more potential: space or ocean exploration?
- Manual and automatic photo correction for social networks.
- The Large Hadron Collider: experiments vs. simulations.
- Visual and radio-telescopic space analysis.
- Wingsuit vs. parachute: modern technologies used in the fabric.
- Which similarities and differences do Python and Swift programming languages have?
- Elon Musk vs. NASA: are they doing the same things or not?
- Playing chess with a human and AI opponent.
- Fire extinguishing from the air or land?
- Listening to music through headphones or speakers?
- Traditional vs. automatic farming.
- World of Warcraft vs. Lineage 2 online computer games economics comparison.
- Atomic clock and sundial for long-term planning.
- Electric vs. analog acoustic guitar.
- What similarities and differences do Space Shuttle and SpaceX reusable rockets have?
- Plastic vs. glass windows for daily use.
- Where are Intel processors and Apple silicon chips close to each other and apart?
- Fingerprint vs. iris scan for mobile devices.
- Plastic and ceramic dishes on the plane.
- Air conditioner vs. fan.
- Playing electric guitar with fingers or a pick?
- Smart and mechanical watch: which will you choose for mountain climbing?
- Canned vs. frozen food: which is better for health?
- Augmented and virtual reality gaming.
- Paper vs. electronic calendar for the task management.
- Ceramic coffee cups vs. alternatives.
- Using typewriters or word processors for writing books?
- Central heating and boiler systems.
🏫 Compare and Contrast Topics for School
Don’t know how to turn your chosen topic into a strong compare and contrast school essay?
Believe it or not.
To write this kind of essay, you require figuring out a few things:
- You need to select or know from a teacher a field of knowledge in which to look for analyzing objects.
- Having this information, perform quick research and pick two or more items to compare.
- Highlight a number of their similarities and differences.
The Place For Papers team prepared three sets of topics below for all school levels with numerous fresh ideas. Select the theme that fits well for your assignment and find more tips about writing an essay immediately after this section.
🎒 Comparison Topics for Elementary School
- Cartoons vs. computer games for studying.
- Field trip and in-class learning.
- Grading students’ art works vs. discussing them only.
- Drinking fountains vs. bottled water.
- A handmade present vs. a bought one.
- Snacking during class time or eating only lunch at school?
- Having many school friends or a few close ones?
- Celebrating your birthday at school or home?
- Writing with a blue pen vs. colorful ones.
- What is scarier: darkness or boogeyman?
- Stickers or candy as a reward for correct answers?
- A lesson about the profession vs. inviting parents as speakers.
- Playing sports or running during PE classes?
- Cooking vs. tasting in a nutrition class.
- Doing homework with or without parental help?
- Smile vs. serious face expression when saying hello.
- Bringing candy or apples as a snack to school?
- Studying the plants outside vs. reading in a book.
- Starting school at 7 a.m. or 9 a.m.?
- Sharing a desk vs. having an individual one.
- Traveling to school on rainy and sunny days.
- Pajama vs. regular day.
- Football vs. baseball games.
- Long vs. short breaks between classes.
- Fruits and vegetables: differences and similarities.
- What are the Sun and the Moon?
- Having one or two-door entrances in the classroom?
- Watching a cartoon or answering the teacher’s questions in class?
- Real vs. plastic flowers in a classroom.
- Assigned seats during lunch vs. choosing them.
- Solving math problems with the teacher or independently?
- Washing dishes or vacuuming the floors as home chores?
- Christmas celebration at school and with family.
✏️ Comparison Topics for Middle School
- Focusing on social life vs. grades in middle school.
- Sports vs. academic afterschool activities.
- Speech or essay examinations?
- Practical and theoretical biology lessons.
- Healthy snacks or candy in school vending machines?
- Do multiple-choice or short-answer tests evaluate the knowledge better?
- Boarding vs. traditional schools.
- Garage sale and school fare as a first business project.
- Gymnastics vs. dance classes.
- Using calculators vs. counting by hand.
- Is studying the US or the State history more interesting?
- How often should the exams take place: annually or after each semester?
- Electric light vs. natural one.
- Using chopsticks or a fork at a cafeteria?
- Detention time vs. extra essay writing.
- Biology vs. chemistry classes.
- Learning about dreams and real life.
- Should the exams be comprehensive or chapter by chapter?
- Day and nighttime animals.
- Waking by alarm vs. family member.
- Traveling by train or car?
- Wearing flip-flops vs. closed shoes to school.
- Buying or making Halloween clothes?
- Professional repairment vs. tinkering.
- Babysitting vs. grass mowing as a summer job.
- The typical mood during the summer and winter months.
- Backpacks or school purses for carrying books?
- Colorful vs. black and white textbooks.
- Hurricane vs. fire drill.
- Which is more dangerous: alligator or crocodile?
- Eating fruits raw vs. cooking them.
- Discussing personal problems with the family vs. solving them independently.
📐 Compare and Contrast Topics for High School
What if your background and experience make it possible to discuss and defend a chosen position?
Think about this.
You know almost all about school life and start thinking about the close/distant future. Your interests are also becoming more complex and diversified. Internet and social networks speed up this process even more.
What’s the bottom line?
Here, we put together the compare and contrast ideas that allow high school students (maybe like you?) to improve their analytical expertise and begin interesting discussions with classmates and teachers. At this study level, you may also bring the modern vision of the problem.
Take a closer look at this set of compare and contrast high school topics:
- Social relationships in middle and high school.
- Expectations and reality of the first year of high school.
- Bullying effects in middle and elementary schools.
- Popular and geeks.
- Riding a school bus or driving a car to school?
- Advantages of studying in the library vs. home.
- Handwriting vs. using a computer for essays.
- Prom traditions and beauty pageants.
- Scholarly articles vs. Wikipedia as sources for essay writing.
- Marching band or cheerleading as an extracurricular activity?
- Sex education as school or parental responsibility.
- Basic computer science and programming.
- Many simple tasks vs. a few complicated ones for homework.
- Graphic design and classical painting in art classes.
- ID-card or cash payments in a school cafeteria?
- Dress code vs. free school clothes style.
- Debate vs. Model EU clubs.
- Formal vs. informal graduation celebrations.
- Dictation vs. essay as a classroom activity.
- Same or different schedules throughout the week?
- Volunteering at an animal shelter vs. cleaning the streets.
- Names vs. nicknames in a school setting.
- Mandatory or chosen activities during homeroom class?
- Geography lesson vs. travel abroad.
- Formal and informal class structure.
- American Presidents with and without military experience.
- Should teachers try to be modern or remain classical?
- Using information from a teacher vs. referring to YouTube sources.
- Wikipedia and credible academic resources for essays.
- Parent meeting vs. online chat.
- Life as a popular student vs. ordinary one.
- Schools that allow hair coloring and make-up vs. conservative ones.
- Encouraging discussion vs. lecture format.
- Customized vs. general class curriculum.
- Writing notes in textbooks vs. separate documents.
- Should school or students regulate classroom temperature?
- Using or avoiding smartphones during the class?
✔️ How to Write Compare and Contrast Essay
You may ask: why do I need to write an essay according to any rules?
Here is the answer: the current type of academic writing teaches you to express your thoughts efficiently.
There are several critical things you need to know for successful compare and contrast essay writing. All standard essays require a thesis statement, and this exact kind is not an exception. Depending on the situation, you should select between the “point-by-point” and “subject-by-subject” article structures.
Last but not least.
You need to finalize the discussed topic in conclusion. All of these features look more complicated than they are. Below, we formed a quick, straightforward, and comprehensive tutorial describing how to write compare and contrast essays.
✨ Compare and Contrast Thesis
What do you need to work on first?
Essays of this type require an introduction paragraph with a thesis at the end. The compare and contrast thesis includes the following elements and logic:
- It tells the reader about the necessity of the chosen topic/subject.
- In this part of an introduction, one makes a statement that can be debatable.
- The thesis is like a paper’s agenda that helps a reader to understand its structure.
If the topic asks a question, you should also include an answer in a thesis. Besides, do not put the subject itself in this part of an essay. Rephrase it to let readers think about the discussing theme. Usually, a thesis consists of one or two sentences.
To make it even clearer.
For example, you received a compare and contrast essay assignment on the topic: origami vs. wood carving as a hobby for modern teenagers.
The thesis can be the following: Though both wood carving and origami improve essential motor skills and 3D thinking, the latter art is more convenient for modern teenagers because it does not require specific tools and much time for learning.
Let’s analyze the headline first:
- There are two subjects: origami and wood carving arts.
- The “vs.” word means that you need to select one of them as a more suitable hobby for modern teenagers.
- From the task, we know that it is a compare and contrast essay.
Let’s discuss both subjects using physical and mental points of comparison. The thesis structure is the following:
- You tell a reader about the necessity of the chosen topic/subject, claiming that motor skills and 3D thinking are essential for teenagers.
- The statements about motor skills, 3D thinking, specific tools, and time for learning are debatable. For instance, your classmates may argue with proof that there are many people able to master the carving quickly.
- As you may notice, the similarities’ and differences’ order clarifies the comparison’s structure.
- In the second part of the sentence, we provide an opinion or answer the question saying that origami art is more convenient for modern teenagers.
Believe it or not.
At times, a thesis can take more time than the whole paper creation. Some people prefer to write this part of the essay after they finish all other sections. However, this detailed guide will help you to write strong theses quickly.
🔥 Types of Compare and Contrast Essay Organization
Is there more than a single way to organize my essay?
Yes, there are two!
There are two ways you can compose the compare and contrast essays: point-by-point and subject-by-subject. It is necessary to select one of the mentioned types of paper organization and follow it during writing. The strictly structured article allows you to discuss the comparing subjects’ similarities and differences in a more efficient form.
You should select two or more points of comparison of the chosen items depending on the assignment requirements. Let’s assume you are comparing cartoons of the 1960s and 2000s. The points of comparison can be the following: technology, budget, and the target audience.
Now, let’s get down to the business!
Point-by-Point
How to deal with this method?
This essay organization format makes it easier for the reader to understand the comparing and contrasting discussing subjects. Each body paragraph includes both points of comparison about all picked subjects.
Enough talk!
Let’s get back to our topic about cartoons and analyze the point-by-point structure. There are two subjects: cartoons of the 1960s and cartoons of the 2000s.
- In the first body paragraph, you ought to discuss both subjects from the technological point of view. The “technology” here is the first point of comparison.
- In the second body paragraph, you discuss the budgets of the animation of the selected periods of our history.
- The last body paragraph respectively is about the target audience.
Pay attention to the subjects’ order; it should be the same throughout all body paragraphs.
Subject-by-Subject
What about the subject-by-subject format?
Look: using this method, you need to review the first subject and all points of comparison about it, then the second one, and so-on depending on the paper requirements. According to the sample topic about cartoons, the basic structure of this method will be the following:
- In the first body paragraph, you can discuss the cartoons of the 1960s and include all three comparisons: technology, budget, and the target audience.
- The second body paragraph should be about the cartoons of the 2000s discussed from the technological, financial, and social points of view.
Discuss the points of comparison about each subject in the same order.
🎓 Compare and Contrast Essay Outline
How to assemble the compare and contrast essay from its key elements?
Knowing all the information from the previous sections, you can organize the paper. There are three standard parts that you should include in any writing of this kind: introduction, body, and conclusion.
Two of the mentioned items will be more or less similar from essay to essay.
- The first section (introduction) persuades people to read the entire article and contains the thesis.
- In the final part (conclusion), you summarize the paper’s key ideas in a short form.
The only difference will be in the paper’s body.
The compare and contrast essays have the following schematic structure:
A. For the point-by-point comparison method:
- Introduction with a thesis statement.
- The body paragraph discussing the first point of comparison about all subjects.
- The body paragraph discussing the second point of comparison.
- …
- Conclusion with a summary.
B. For the subject-by-subject comparison method:
- Introduction with a thesis statement.
- The body paragraph discussing the first subjects with all points of comparison about it.
- The body paragraph discussing the second subject.
- …
- Conclusion with a summary.
Feel free to save and use this precise and compact outline for all your compare and contrast essays.
💡 Conclusion
Thank you for reading this comprehensive article. We hope this ultimate guide with examples will simplify the compare and contrast essay creation for school students of all study levels. Here is what you have learned so far:
- We explained how to pick or create a suitable topic for this kind of essay.
- You also figured out the selection technic of the comparison subjects. Our experts provided this information with descriptive samples.
- The Place For Papers team put together a large collection of topics for popular and actual fields of knowledge. All 450 themes are up to date and reflect current science, social, and art tendencies.
- You will find plenty of formulated ideas for elementary, middle, and primary school levels.
- Students may find a detailed guide about writing compare and contrast essays handy. We clarified how to create a strong thesis, the paper’s body writing methods, and overall text structure. These materials have necessary examples with supportive explanations.
What does it mean?
The topics from the provided collection form a well-structured list. You will quickly find the required theme. We have divided these ideas into art, culture, funny, gender, health and medicine, languages and literature, psychology, sports, technology, and separate school levels sections.
Ready for action?
With this detailed article, you improve the essay writing skills and save a significant amount of time. Tell your friends about the topic ideas and share this rich collection through the favorite social media.