The main features of a well-written compare and contrast essay

Compare and contrast essays can be a lot of fun to write. You can compare two literary characters such as Macbeth and Hamlet. You can also compare two different settings such as the one in To Kill a Mockingbird and the one in Gone With the Wind.

As the author, you will get to decide how to format this composition. You can mix your comparison and contrast in one paragraph if you want. On the other hand, you can separate the comparisons into one specific paragraph and the contrasts into a completely different paragraph if you chose.

No matter what you select as your topic, or how you decide to structure your composition, there are several important main features that the paper must include. You will need an introductory paragraph, body paragrapphs, and a conclusion.

• You must have an introductory paragraph. In this paragraph you will need some background information, a hook or attention getter, and a thesis statement. It is very important that the first paragraph includes these items. You can place the thesis statement wherever you want in the paragraph. It can be the first sentence, the last sentence, or any of the middle sentences.
• Your middle paragraph will be the body of your paper. If your thesis statement has three main points, then you will have three body paragraphs. When you state your theme of each of these paragraphs, you will need two to three pieces of support. There may be more than one theme in each paragraph. You will want to use your own words in attention to the sources that you are using.
• When you write a paper you want to finish strong and you want to start strong. The last piece of your essay is the conclusion. The conclusion should not be too long. It should never restate everything you have already said. It is short, simple, and very easy to understand. It should never be longer than any of the body paragraphs. In addition to restating the main idea, you will include one or more universal statements in the conclusion.
• There could be other things that your teacher requires from you. Your teacher may want your outlines, your rough draft, and hard copies of your research. If you indeed had research in this composition, you will be expected to turn in a works cited page.