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How to Write an Effective Thesis for a Comparative Essay

Take the time to craft your thesis statement carefully.

The thesis statement is one of the most important aspects of writing a successful comparison essay.
Many writers are tempted to write a vague and ineffective thesis, such as "Great Expectations and A Tale
of Two Cities share many commonalities, but are also very different works of fiction." An effective thesis
statement, on the other hand, is extremely specific and informative, and it provides your audience with a
clear idea of the direction in which your paper is headed.

Instructions

Outline the main topics that you want to cover in your essay. Before you write a thesis sentence for a
comparison essay, you should have a strong sense of the comparisons you plan to make throughout
your paper. You should also take note of any differences you may want to highlight in the essay.

Find concrete examples to back up your arguments. You will not need to include these examples in your
thesis statement, but it is important to find examples in order to ensure that you choose ideas you will
be able to discuss with firm evidence.

At the beginning of your thesis statement, designate the subjects you will compare. This will introduce
your audience to the subject of your paper. If you are comparing two novels, for example, be sure to
include both titles and authors in the sentence so there is no confusion.

List the similarities and differences that will be your focus throughout the paper. You should briefly
summarize each similarity and difference and avoid writing a run-on sentence. Highlight only the main
points that will later serve as the topic sentences for each of your main paragraphs.

Do not include details in your thesis statement. Because you need to mention each of the main points
you will discuss, it is important to leave out specific details. Don't worry about giving your reader all the
information you have to offer. You can do that in the body of your paper.

The Comparative Literature Essay Outline

Instructions

o 1

Choose a topic and two works that fit into the topic category. Comparison papers can be
written on virtually any topic in literature; Romantic poetry, 20th-century American novels
and feminist literary criticism are all good choices for comparison papers. If you have been
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provided a list of topics, pick the one that you know best. Choose works that have enough
similarities to be compared, but enough differences to be distinct.

o 2

Identify something that is common to both works, and build comparisons around this
commonality. Two works that deal with a common topic will likely agree on some things
and diverge on others. For example, "Julius Caesar" and "Hamlet" are similar in that both
are Shakespearean plays that deal with the murder of a leader, but differ in that they
explore very different motives for murder. These kinds of similarities and differences make
for a great comparison paper.

o 3

Write a thesis statement. Select two or three points for comparison in the selected work.
State these two points in one sentence (e.g. "Book X and book Y are similar in that they
use the heart motif to develop the theme of heartbreak following love, but differ in the
way they weave this motif into the story.")

o 4

Organize the outline. There are two ways of writing a comparison outline. You can devote
a certain number of paragraphs to one work and a certain number of paragraphs to
another work. You can also devote one or two paragraphs to each point of comparison
and discuss both works in each of these paragraphs or sections. Choose the approach that
you are most comfortable with.

o 5

Write the outline. A comparison paper consists of an introduction, several body

paragraphs and a conclusion. Write "hook," "background info," and "thesis statement" for
the introduction. Write a list of body paragraphs by work or by point of comparison. Write
"restated thesis" and "closing remark" for the conclusion. Write the thesis statement in
two forms: one for the introduction and one for the conclusion. These should be written
out in full on the outline and reproduced on the final paper.

How to Write a Comparative Analysis

Throughout your academic career, you'll be asked to write papers in which you compare and contrast
two things: two texts, two theories, two historical figures, two scientific processes, and so on. "Classic"
compare-and-contrast papers, in which you weight A and B equally, may be about two similar things
that have crucial differences (two pesticides with different effects on the environment) or two similar
things that have crucial differences, yet turn out to have surprising commonalities (two politicians with
vastly different world views who voice unexpectedly similar perspectives on sexual harassment).
Faced with a daunting list of seemingly unrelated similarities and differences, you may feel confused
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about how to construct a paper that isn't just a mechanical exercise in which you first state all the
features that A and B have in common, and then state all the ways in which A and B are different.
Predictably, the thesis of such a paper is usually an assertion that A and B are very similar yet not so
similar after all. To write a good compare-and-contrast paper, you must take your raw data—the
similarities and differences you've observed—and make them cohere into a meaningful argument.
Here are the five elements required.
Frame of Reference
This is the context within which you place the two things you plan to compare and contrast; it is the
umbrella under which you have grouped them. The frame of reference may consist of an idea, theme,
question, problem, or theory; a group of similar things from which you extract two for special attention;
biographical or historical information for example. The best frames of reference are constructed from
specific sources rather than your own thoughts or observations. Thus, in a paper comparing how two
writers redefine social norms of masculinity, you would be better off quoting a sociologist on the topic
of masculinity than spinning out potentially banal-sounding theories of your own. Most assignments tell
you exactly what the frame of reference should be, and most courses supply sources for constructing it.
If you encounter an assignment that fails to provide a frame of reference, you must come up with one on
your own. A paper without such a context would have no angle on the material, no focus or frame for
the writer to propose a meaningful argument. THUS YOU WILL HAVE TO DEVELOP YOUR OWN.
Grounds for Comparison
Let's say you're writing a paper on global food distribution, and you've chosen to compare apples and
oranges. Why these particular fruits? Why not pears and bananas? The rationale behind your choice, the
grounds for comparison, lets your reader know why your choice is deliberate and meaningful, not
random. For instance, in a paper asking how the "discourse of domesticity" has been used in the
abortion debate, the grounds for comparison are obvious: the issue has two conflicting sides, pro-choice
and pro-life. In a paper comparing the effects of acid rain on two forest sites, your choice of sites is less
obvious. A paper focusing on similarly aged forest stands in Maine and the Catskills will be set up
differently from one comparing a new forest stand in the White Mountains with an old forest in the
same region. You need to indicate the reasoning behind your choice.
Thesis
The grounds for comparison anticipate the comparative nature of your thesis. As in any argumentative
paper, your thesis statement will convey the gist of your argument, which necessarily follows from your
frame of reference. But in a compare-and-contrast, the thesis depends on how the two things you've
chosen to compare actually relate to one another. Do they extend, corroborate, complicate, contradict,
correct, or debate one another?
Whether your paper focuses primarily on difference or similarity, you need to make the relationship
between A and B clear in your thesis. This relationship is at the heart of any comparative analysis.
Organizational Scheme
Your introduction will include your frame of reference, grounds for comparison, and thesis. There are
three basic methods or styles of organizing a compare and contrast essay.
With the subject-by-subject or block method, you address each subject in separate paragraphs.
If you have selected the subject-by-subject method for your essay, the body will consist of several pairs
of paragraphs.
First and second paragraphs of body: The first paragraph will address a characteristic of Subject X and
the second paragraph will address the same point for Subject Y.
Third and fourth paragraphs of body: The third paragraph will address another characteristic of Subject
X and the fourth paragraph will address the same point for Subject Y.
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Include additional pairs of paragraphs for additional points of comparison, discussing other points of
similarity and difference, with the characteristics of Subject X being listed first.
In the point-by-point method, you examine one aspect of one subject and the same aspect of the
second subject within the same paragraph.
If you have selected the point-by-point method for your essay, the body should consist of a minimum of
three paragraphs.
First paragraph of body: State a characteristic of Subject X and then state how Subject Y is
similar/dissimilar.
Second paragraph of body: State another characteristic of Subject X and again state how Subject Y is
similar/dissimilar.

Add additional paragraphs for additional points of comparison, keeping the target length of your essay
in mind.
The Combined Method

As with all writing, there is no simple formula for a paper that uses comparison. You will read some
professionally written comparisons that use a combination of these two methods, and you may find that
a combination makes sense for your own papers as well. Some longer papers may begin with a few
paragraphs using the block pattern and then move on to point-by-point pattern. This may be especially
useful if the paper is comparing three or more articles and you want to provide a brief overview of each
before you begin the comparison.
Ø If you think that B is an extension of A, you'll probably use a subject-by-subject scheme; if you see A
and B to act as parallel texts, you’ll probably want to use a point-by-point approach. Be aware, however,
that the point-by- point scheme can come off as a ping-pong game. You can avoid this effect by
grouping more than one point together, thereby cutting down on the number of times you alternate
from A to B. But no matter which organizational scheme you choose, you need not give equal time to
similarities and differences. In fact, your paper will be more interesting if you get to the heart of your
argument as quickly as possible.
Linking of A and B
All argumentative papers require you to link each point in the argument back to the thesis. Without
such links, your reader will be unable to see how new sections logically and systematically advance your
argument. In a compare-and contrast, you also need to make links between A and B in the body of
your essay if you want your paper to hold together. To make these links, use transitional expressions of
comparison.

Getting Started

Prewriting for comparison and contrast papers can be conducted visually, through charts. Draw vertical
lines down the centre of a sheet of notebook paper, allowing one column for each thing to be compared
and a small margin on the left. If you prefer to work on your computer, make a table using your word
processing software or a spreadsheet program. List the main points, topics, or features in the left margin
or column and then note how each text responds or represents it in the relevant column. You might find
it helpful to indicate all of the similarities using a highlighter, marks next to each similarity, or some
other system. This technique will help you identify and keep track of the important similarities and
differences.
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Transitions

Transitions are usually needed to express the relationship between different points you are making. For
example, when moving from sentence to sentence within a paragraph, or from paragraph to paragraph,
you will need transitions to clarify how the reader is to understand the relationship between what you
just said and what you are getting ready to say. Here are some words and phrases that can help clarify
these points of transition:
ü similarity
also, in the same way, just as ... so too, likewise, similarly
ü contrast
but, however, in spite of, on the one hand ... on the other hand, nevertheless, nonetheless,
notwithstanding, in contrast, on the contrary, still, yet
ü time
after, afterward, at last, before, currently, during, earlier, immediately, later, meanwhile, now, recently,
simultaneously, subsequently, then
ü examples
for example, for instance, namely, specifically, to illustrate
ü position
above, adjacent, below, beyond, here, in front, in back, nearby, there
ü cause and effect
accordingly, consequently, hence, so, therefore, thus
ü additional support
additionally, again, also, and, as well, besides, equally important, further, furthermore, in addition,
moreover, then
Getting Started
Know your material. It is pointless to start work on an essay until you are really familiar with the text in
hand. Go back and re-read until you are completely confident in your grasp of the details of the text.
One of the best ways to start is to list the questions that have been bothering you about your text, or to
try and articulate hunches you had while you read.
In addition to a question or hunch, a starting point may be a single passage, part of a scene, a single line,
particular image that seems to be repeated, or one particular character. Whatever you choose, make
sure that it's something that genuinely interests you, something that you want to know more about.
Once you have identified your starting point, you need to relate it to a larger, more general topic in the
work in hand. Your topic is basically the area of ground that you are going to investigate, and it is quite
distinct from your argument.
Now that you have decided on a starting point and a topic, it's time to return to the text to being
assembling your evidence. At this stage, you'll have some beliefs and hypotheses about your topic, but
your argument will probably not have solidified yet. Your argument is the ultimate position you are
going to take on your topic; it is an opinion, your personal claim about the text in hand, which will be
supported with textual evidence. It is crucial to realize that not all claims are equally valid; how
convincing a case you make with textual evidence depends not only on how well you argue your points,
but also on how well the text supports your interpretations.