Comparison essay papers essentially require a writer to find the most significant similarities or difference of two things, people, facts, ideas, events, et al. The flow of this kind of essay usually starts with the less significant points then ends with the most significant ones. Topics for comparison essay papers should not be totally unrelated, they should have some basic similarities. One cannot compare windsurfing with Albert Einsten.

Comparison essay is considered one of the most usually assigned English papers. It usually appears in the following form: Compare and contrast X and Y, or Discuss the similarities and difference of X and Y. When a student is required to submit a comparison essay paper on two literary pieces, he is usually asked to compare or contrast the main idea or theme of what he read. In order to produce a well-written comparison essay it is important to have an organization that will help reveal the similarities or difference of the two subjects in the most detailed way. For a student, this can be done by drawing a grid first before starting the essay.

Listing various points relevant to the subjects while writing the essay will help a writer attain clarity. For example: A writer who will do a comparison essay on two places need to jot down the things he noticed in both places, like climate, food, people, government and other integral aspects. Noting down details is an effective way to clearly see the similarities and differences of two subjects. The comparison essay requires the writer to have a keen understanding of the topic he chooses. He must know the various aspects of his two subjects and must be able to clearly present their inherent similarities and differences.

Organizing the collected points into paragraphs is the next step. This is the moment when the writer decides the number of similarities and differences he would like to discuss. Normally, similarities are discussed first before the differences. Each paragraph should have one focus and must be arranged with thought process, otherwise it will confuse readers.

Having a strong thesis statement is also an important element of a comparative essay paper. The writer must keep in mind that the thesis statement is about similarities or differences that can be proven and must be backed-up with details, statistics or examples. The conclusion of the paper should show the correlations of the two subjects and a justification of the thesis statement.

Comparison essay papers follow two structures. The first structure discusses the two subjects in the first half of the essay, then are compared at the second half. This structure is for subjects with small similarities or differences. The second structure discusses one similarity or difference in one paragraph. This structure is for subjects with larger similarities or differences.

The format comparison essay papers follow is similar to what other types of essays use. A writer who chooses this type of essay must comply to the universal style of format for all essay elements - title, headings, paragraphs, text pages, emphasis, fonts, page numbers, indents, justifications, spacing, footnotes, references, etc.