In educational circles, the compare and contrast essay is one of the most popular essay formats students are expected to use when writing about two similar concepts or terms under a subject matter. Therefore, a student should be ready for essay assignments that compare and contrast two ideas and the best preparation is to understand what is required of you and how you should respond to get the best score possible. This guide intends to provide enough information to help you accomplish your task with ease.
There are three major directions in which a compare and contrast essay follows and each of these directions depends solely on the question you have been assigned to answer. The first direction is writing a compare essay. Here, you are given the simple task of comparing two concepts with the aim of listing just their similarities. A sample topic is ‘comparing the functions of DNA and RNA in computational genomics’. The topic here focuses on one part of the traditional compare and contrast essay for you have been told to only focus on what makes both concepts similar and important to genomics. The second direction your assignment may take is comparing two concepts with emphasis on listing out or discussing only their differences while ignoring known similarities. Here also your compare and contrast essay question will be skewed towards the contrasting features of your subject matter.
The third and the most important direction a compare and contrast essay can take, is actually discussing both the similarities and differences between two concepts in an intelligent manner.
When receiving this task, it is important to note that you are not expected to simply list out similarities and differences, but to develop a structured essay that flows between comparing and contrasting different features. So here are some tips on writing an excellent essay.
Identify and Understand both Concepts
The task of identifying what is expected of you is one of the most important steps to take before drafting your paper and it is the easiest step to take. Here, you are expected to pick up two terms to be compared and contrasted from the assignment’s question and make your research to grasp their roles and what makes them tick.
Develop a Writing Strategy
The writing strategy is the determining factor on how your essay turns out. Therefore, you should focus on what you will include in your introduction and how you intend to compare using similarities. It is important to use clear differences to contrast both terms and apply a coherent summary in your concluding statement, which takes into consideration everything you have discussed in the body of your essay.
Take Stock of your Finished Work
Editing is an integral part of every written assignment and it is imperative that you go through length and breadth of any project you have written. For a compare and contrast essay, the editing process is not only focused on correcting grammar and semantic errors, but it is a way to ensure that you actually compared and contrasted the two given factors as stipulated in your essay question. Here, you have to be sure that the third essay direction was the part you chose and not the first or second as explained above.
For further reading on writing an essay on computational genomics, here are some engaging pieces such as 10 facts for a compare and contrast essay on computational genomics and 20 compare and contrast essay topics on computer genomics developed to help you write your papers excellently.