Compare and Contrast Instructions
The table below provides an extensive list of topic options from which you must select, and we recommend that you choose one that you are interested in beyond this course. For instance, if you are a Finance or Business major, you might be interested in the Stocks v. Bonds topic. If you are a Political Science major, you might choose Monarchy v. Presidency. Or perhaps you're taking StraighterLine's Intro to Philosophy course, in which case you might opt for the Hobbes v. Locke topic. Note that you must use at least one credible source to support your ideas.
Additional helpful resources:
Compare/Contrast Rubric | Compare and Contrast Sample
You may choose any of these topics:
Topic Options
-Stocks v. Bonds
-Socialism v. Capitalism
-Hitler v. Napoleon
-Apple v. Microsoft
-Renaissance Art v. Baroque Art (or any two artistic periods)
-Biology v. Chemistry
-America in the 1950s v. the 1970s
-Women in 1914 v. today
-Pop Culture in the 1980s v. Pop Culture today
-Abraham Lincoln v. Thomas Jefferson (or any two presidencies)
-British English v. American English
-Writing for print v. Writing for the Web-American Government v. Canadian Government (or any world government)
-US Constitution v. Articles of Confederation
-Star Wars v. Star Trek
-Monarchy v. Presidency
-Thomas Hobbes v. John Locke (or any two philosophers)
-The former USSR v. Russia today
-(World War) Allies v. Axis
-Maya Angelou v. Adrienne Rich (or any two poets)
-Nazism v. Fascism
Choose one of the options above and write an essay comparing or contrasting the two topics in your selection using EITHER the point-by-point OR the subject-by-subject method to organize the details and specific examples. Consider focusing on three to five subtopics and generate ideas through prewriting. Develop a strong thesis statement for your essay that includes your two topics from the list above; your three to five subtopics; and a claim about how they are similar, different, or both.
Sample Thesis Statements:
If you will argue that your two topics are mostly similar:
Topic A and Topic B share many similar characteristics, including (Supporting point 1), (Supporting point 2), and (Supporting point 3); while they differ in (Additional supporting point), the similarities greatly outweigh the differences.