Lighthearted topics for introducing compare and contrast essays

by Greta Greeb
(Winchester, Virginia)

Here's a light-hearted list for introductory compare and contrast exercises. These can be used to ease students into the compare and contrast writing process.

Caution: Some of these are regional. Stick to the familiar, even if it sounds like a Consumer Report.

• Quaker 3 Minute Oatmeal vs. Cheerios
• Kellogg's Cornflakes vs. Corn Pops
• Almond Hershey Bar vs. Almond Joy
• Molasses vs. corn syrup
• Maple syrup vs. corn syrup
• Granulated white sugar vs. table salt
• Chocolate 2% milk vs. skim white milk
• Cheap flip-flops vs. cheap sneakers
• Polo shirts vs. T-shirts
• Cowboy boots vs. snow boots
• Buttons vs. snaps
• Artificial Christmas tree vs. traditional cut Christmas tree
• dyed hard boiled egg vs. 2-piece plastic Easter egg
• Miniature golf vs. Par 3
• Merry go round vs. Ferris wheel
• Roller coaster vs. sliding board

Once the technique is learned, like learning the scales, you can throw in heavier content, and you can quickly be in thesis territory.

Chemistry

• Hydrogen vs. oxygen

History

• George Washington vs. Thomas Jefferson
• Alexander Hamilton vs. Andrew Jackson
• Robert E. Lee vs. Dwight D. Eisenhower
• Woodrow Wilson vs. Jimmy Carter
• Marie Antoinette vs. Lady Di
• Teddy Roosevelt vs. George W. Bush
• Winston Churchill vs. Sarkozy

Literature (on the light side):

• Sherlock Holmes vs. Dr. Watson
• Tom Sawyer vs. Huck Finn
• Meg vs. Amy (Little Women)
• Your favorite character (or incident) in a book vs. its movieversion. (Baloo the Bear in The Jungle Book, anyone?)
• Any Regency romance vs. any Jane Austen novel
• Any thriller vs. John Buchan's 39 Steps or its sequels

As a survivor of writing 500 word essays for class detention, I can promise any of these can make a 500 word essay within an hour.

Linda responds
To read Greta's explaination of how she uses these lighthearted topics to introduce students to the writing process for compare and contrast essays click here.