Defining Compare And Contrast Essays + Topic List
It is an essay that deeply explores the differences and similarities of two given objects through contrasting and comparing them concurrently.
When choosing a topic for such an essay, it is vital to choose two subjects that are in a similar field as these can be easily compared and contrasted. The introduction part of the essay should guide the reader towards understanding the reason for the comparison in your paper and from that, know why there is contrast. The introduction should also provide a specification of why the subjects of discussion were chosen for the compare and contrast essay.
The purpose of these essays is to mostly justify why one has a preference for one subject over the other. The writer should let the comparison present his/her preference without necessarily pointing it out directly.
Some compare and contrast essay topics are presented below to enable a student or researcher to easily find a topic.
Religion
- Comparison of the different religions
- Compare Polytheism and Monotheism
- How do the different branches from a similar religion compare
Art
- Compare two periods of art
- Compare two movements of art
- Compare two great people in the art
Modern Technology
- Writing letters vs. current texting
- 3D movies vs. 2D movies
- Compare android vs. iOS
Music
- Compare music trends between the XXI and XX centuries
- Compare the various musical instruments
- Classical music vs. pop music
- Beethoven vs. Straus
Medicine
- Should newborns be vaccinated or not?
- Similarities and differences between psychiatry and phycology
- Which is healthier between corn and wheat grain? Explain with reasons
- Which one is better between aging naturally and plastic surgery?
- Which medical approach is better? Modern or traditional?
Social studies
- Real-time dating vs. online dating
- Emigration vs immigration
- Bringing up children in a family with both working parents vs. children brought up with a stay at home parents.
- Freelancing vs. full-time office work
- Gender roles between the Eastern and Western parts of the world
- Extroverted people vs. introverted people
History
- Aztecs civilization vs. Maya civilization
- Democrat vs. Republican
- Washington vs. Lincoln
- The colonies of England in India and Africa
- Presidency vs. Monarchy
- Chinese Government vs. American Government
Law
- The penalty offered for a domestic violence case approach for the Eastern and Western
- Civil justice vs. Criminal
- Adult and juvenile criminal justice
- Compare the law in the 18th – 19th centuries to the modern law system
Linguistics
- Dialect vs. language
- Compare artificial languages to natural languages
- Compare one language in its old version and the modern version
- Speech vs. written language
Miscellaneous
- Nonfiction vs. fiction
- Tea vs. coffee
- Compare two outdoor sport activities
- Laptop vs. desktop
- Childhood vs. adulthood
- Compare two songs from one musician
- Dresses vs. trousers for women
- Compare two movies from the same production house
- College vs. University lifestyles
For a student preparing to tackle a compare and contrast type of essay, they might need to go through the list of topics provided above. It might help to choose a topic that might be interesting to him/her.