How To Write A Thesis For A Compare And Contrast Essay: A Practical Guide

If you have been set this assignment, you may already be struggling to know what to write about, and now you discover you need to know how to write a thesis for one as well! “What’s that?” I can hear you enquire. Well, let’s take one thing at a time.

What is this sort of essay?

You will choose (usually) two things and examine their similarities (comparisons) and differences (contrasts) in order to (attempt to) reach a conclusion.

What is a thesis and what does it comprise of?

A thesis, also sometimes called a thesis statement, belongs at the beginning of the introduction and (in this case) informs the reader of the results of the comparison (and/or contrast) and what they can expect to read in the forthcoming pages. It should be clear and concise, consisting of no more than a few sentences.

The statement should also state the significance of the study and why the subject is worthy of attention.

Take it step by step.

You should spend some time on constructing it perfectly, so that it has the necessary but bare essentials you need to get across to your reader.

Once you’ve made a note of everything you want to put in the statement and structured a first draft, you can move on to selecting the right vocabulary to create a seamless flow.

An example.

Let’s take the example of an area of education. We’ll call our sample: Home schooling and state schooling in Florida – a study of methods and outcomes.

So in our statement we will need to include: a description of the topic, an outline of the study that has been made and why it is significant, what results are contained in the chapters and what conclusions may be expected. Therefore, the statement may read something like this:

With the practice of home schooling being in the minority in proportion to state schooling, in Florida, it may be easy to assume that the state way is the best way. On closer analysis, by referencing official government education records and by interviewing both the teachers and the parents, over a wide variety of schools, it seems clear that there are certain areas where home schooling is better for a child’s development, whilst in other areas it is the opposite. This much needed study, in a time of more and more cuts to education, looks just as much at the impacts upon learning as it does on a child’s social interaction, and many more related themes. In the conclusion, I will be pinpointing those areas upon which we may hopefully agree upon and conclude.