How to Compare and Contrast in an Essay on Information Technology

At this point, you’re well informed on various aspects of information technology and how it can help academics, as well as the problems of implementing it.
In the first part of our guide, 12 IT facts from an academic perspective for a compare-and-contrast essay, you got to know some interesting facts. The second part 20 topics on IT in the Academic Perspective for a compare-and-contrast essay gave you ideas with one sample paper to understand it better.

In the last part of our guide, we’re going to show you how to write a compare-and-contrast essay. Once you’ve gone through all three guides, you’ll be better equipped to deal with what role IT plays in academic institutions.

These essays are very specific; the professor or teacher who assigned you a compare-and- contrast essay would have also given you an assignment sheet that has all the mandatory rules and regulations, while outlining general expectations.

Let’s look at some key points:

Comparative essays show similarities and differences.
A contrast essay on the other hand, shows only the differences.
Your comparison or contrast essay should establish a specific point or serve a unique purpose. Through these essays, you can remove confusions and refute things that are a subject of confusion. You can create new ways of doing something, while providing fresh insights and sharper focus. You can go with providing more positive points to be compared or contrasted, though how you manage the flow of the essay and how your thoughts skew is entirely up to you.
In the thesis part of the essay, where you tell your readers what this essay is all about, you can tell them whether you want to compare, contrast or do both. That’s your choice.
When it comes to comparing and contrasting, you should ideally do it on same parameters. For example, if you’re talking about financial benefits of point A, you should compare to financial benefits of point B. However, the number of benefits discussed need not be same.
You can choose to go with a block, compare and then contrast or a point-by-point approach, when structuring your essay.
If you keep some connective-words in your mind, it will be easier for you to keep track of the subject you’re discussing, comparing or contrasting. These words also make it easier for your readers to better understand the point being discussed.
If it’s ‘comparison’ you’re focusing on, you can use connective words such as “correspondingly”. In addition, also use ‘compared to’, ‘similarly’, ‘as well as’, ‘just as’, ‘at the same time’, ‘same as’, or ‘likewise’.
If it’s ‘contrast’ then you can use connective words such as ‘on the contrary’, ‘however’, ‘on the other hand’, ‘even though’, ‘in contrast’, ‘unlike’, ‘although’, ‘meanwhile’, and ‘conversely’.

So there you have it. This marks the end of the third part of our guide. We hope this will help you create a great essay in college or university.