Writing a Compare and
Contrast Essay with
In-Text Citations
Digital
CommunicationsT.N.T.
Step 1: Choose two topics / subjects that
can be compared and contrasted
Poor examples: a book and a car, dirt bikes
and candy, basketball and ice cream

Good examples: mountains and beaches,
middle school and high school, Ryan and
Jordan
*A great topic makes a great essay!
Step: 2



Begin researching your topics
List Similarities and Differences
Use charts or graphs to organize ideas
Use Columns
Differences
Ryan
Similarities
Venn Diagrams
Differences
Jordan
Ryan
B-day- March
Age 13
Age: 7
Blue eyes
Green eyes
Jordan
Step 3: Document Your Sources
As you visit websites, write down information
and record URL addresses
For example:

A beach is a geological landform along the shoreline of a body of water.
(information)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beach (URL address)
A beach consists of loose particles which are often composed of rock, such as
sand, gravel, shingle, pebbles, or cobblestones. (information)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beach (URL address)
Step 4: Writing Your Thesis
Your thesis will have two parts
Part 1: will state your topic
-Ryan and Jordan

Part 2: will state the point of the essay
-share many similarities and differences
Thesis: Ryan and Jordan share many
similarities and differences.
Step 5: Begin Writing Body Paragraphs

Start by taking one of your main points and writing
it in sentence form
-Ryan has blue eyes whereas Jordan has green eyes like his
dad.
Continue this process for each of your points about
your topics
-The month of March is shared by both Ryan and Jordan as their birth month.
-There are six years between the birth dates of Ryan, age 13, and
Jordan, age7.
*Experiment with your sentence structure…it will help you later 
Step 6: Crafting of Body Paragraphs
1. Sort or group all similarity sentences
together and all dissimilarity sentences
2. Begin linking sentences together with
transition words (see next slide)
3. Add topic sentences and concluding
sentences after all points are linked
together
Transition Words / Phrases
Transitions Words:
Contrast: On the contrary, contrarily, notwithstanding, but, however,
nevertheless, in spite of, in contrast, yet, on one hand, on the other hand,
rather, or, nor, conversely, at the same time, while this may be true.
Addition: in addition to, furthermore, moreover, besides, than, too, also, bothand, another, equally important, first, second, etc., again, further, last, finally,
not only-but also, as well as, in the second place, next, likewise, similarly, in
fact, as a result, consequently, in the same way, for example, for instance,
however, thus, therefore, otherwise
*These are just a few examples; feel free to research other transition words/phrases
Step 7: In-Text Citation

Use in-text essay citations when you:
1. Add a direct quote to your essay
2. Paraphrase an idea from a source
3. Summarize information from a single source
A beach is a geological landform along the shoreline of a body of water.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beach)
In-text citation are also called parenthetical reference
*Note, this is not a complete citation; only an extract of a citation
Step 8: Writing an Introduction
Purpose: to attract the reader’s interest and attention.
It should also inform the reader about the focus of
the essay.
Techniques:
Anecdote
Startling Information
Dialogue
Summary
Interesting Fact
A Thought Provoking Question
Introduction Techniques






Anecdote-a short story the illustrates the point of the
paper
Startling Information- must be true and accurate; may
need a sentence or two of explanation
Dialogue- may only include two or three exchanges; no
need to reveal speakers
Summary- briefly explain your topic
Interesting Fact- statistical information related to topic
Thought Provoking Question- used to grab reader’s
attention
Step 9: Conclusion
Purpose:
brings closure to the reader
Method:
sum up your main points and provide a final
perspective on your topic and incorporate one of
the Introduction Techniques (Anecdote, Startling
Information, Dialogue, Summary, Interesting Fact, A Thought
Provoking Question)