Step-by-Step Guidance: How to Write a Compare & Contrast Essay in Sports

So, you have been assigned a compare and contrast essay in sports, but you have no idea where to begin. That’s the kind of a situation that many students in colleges and universities all over the globe face day by day. We’ve completed a detailed and easy-to-use guide to help you cope with the task. You’re welcome to use it at any time.

First, we’ll take into consideration the purpose of this kind of academic project. To begin with, this essay does exactly what it says. The number one purpose of the compare and contrast essay is to check two or more topics and scan them to detect potential differences and similarities. The topics that you may work on can be both – vastly different (like a rhino and a cat) or closely related (a bike and a car, for instance). What the author of the essay is required to do is simple: you have to inform your readers about something that they don’t know, show whether some points are superior to the others, argue this or that point with the help of strong support, or handle certain misunderstanding.

Typically, the context of the compare and contrast essay depends on the nature of the project. For example, you might be asked to compare and contrast the issue like the ones we’ve given here:

• Specific theories.
• Possible standpoints or positions regarding the issue.
• Literary texts.
• Figures and statistics.
• Current or historic events, etc.

Sometimes the task to produce a clear compare and contrast essay with due cohesion becomes a tough task. The reason is simple – you work not on one, but two or more issues. In other words, if you find yourself in a situation when you don’t know how to start your essay of this type, ensure to begin with a simple outline. Check the examples below. It is about the compare and contrast essay written in the area of sports:

1. An Introduction

• An attention grabber (the so-called “hook”).
• Several sentences developing the key idea of your hook.
• The thesis statement.

2. The Main Body

Paragraph #1:

• A sentence that comprises the main argument.
• Some pieces of evidence backing it up.
• A conclusion.

Paragraph #2:

• A sentence that comprises the main argument.
• Some pieces of evidence backing it up.
• A conclusion.

Paragraph #3:

• A sentence that comprises the main argument.
• Some pieces of evidence backing it up.
• A conclusion.

3. A Conclusion

• Restated thesis statement.
• Reminder of the key evidence.
• Challenge/CTA/question.

A solid outline will become your own roadmap for a compare and contrast essay. It will help you to keep your focus amidst all of the arguments and remember all the ideas you want to mention in the paper.

Select Your Subjects

Settling on the best topics for a compare and contrast essay in sports is the first step that the author has to take and do that properly. Remember that the topics in sports can be different, however, you have to work with the titles that are taken from under the same area. If you’d like to write a compare and contrast essay about two sportsmen, you have to choose two individuals that performed in the same medium. Instead of pairing a swimmer and a basketball player, work with two biathlonists and two boxers.

1. Past and Present Sports Gear of Athletes
2. Compare and Contrast Long and Short Interval Training
3. Bodybuilding, Powerlifting and Weightlifting: Types of Injuries
4. Comparison of the Ways of Increasing the Speed of Tennis Players’ Reaction
5. The Sport Traumas among Preschoolers and Teenagers
6. Comparison of Anthropometry of Sportsmen in Athletics and Martial Arts
7. Comparison of Basic Methods of Drawing up a Well-Balanced Diet for Powerlifters
8. Comparison of The Three Key Independent Variables in Sport: Winning, Extrinsic Rewards and Bureaucratization

Create Two Lists

A strong and easy-to-use outline is a must when it comes to writing a compare and contrast essay. But above that, you have to create the good old list. To do that, you need a piece of paper where you should draw a vertical line. Do that in the center. These two parts should be filled with the similarities and differences that you’ve revealed between two issues. For example, let’s imagine that you’re working on a compare and contrast essay dedicated to two famous sportsmen. Make sure to begin with the similarities that these two people have. Maybe they both are swimmers? When you’re done with the similarities, go on and write down the differences that these personas are known for.

Gather Supporting Evidence

When you know which topic you’d like to research, you have to perform a quick research on internet in order to be absolutely sure that the other scholars have investigated and discussed your topic. Now it is time to ask yourself: “Do I feel comfortable about the topic that I have chosen?” If the answer is “yes”, you know the direction that your comparison process should go. Start collecting supporting evidence. In a compare and contrast essay in sports, statistical evidence is very helpful. This involves stats, facts and evidence. Browse online articles and researches on the portals like The Journal of Sports Science and Medicine, Science for Sport or The Science of Sport to collect relevant information and be kept informed on the latest sports news.

You will also want to browse expert opinions, testimonials and even interview professional sportsmen if you can. If at all possible, search for personal statements related to the debated issue. When talking about the two sportsmen that we have mentioned above, it is better to check what type of commentary one can get from them to use it later to support similarities and differences. Make sure to cite statistics about the places where the sportsmen grew up if you plan to include their upbringing and background into your paper. Thus, your compare and contrast essay will be true-life evidence, not just the list of your personal points of view.

Start a Compare & Contrast Essay in Sports

Once you’re done with the list of the issues that you find similar or different between the items that you compare and contrast, check if the similarities dominate over the differences or vice versa.

The thesis statement will reflect all of your research results. Typically, a good thesis statement will comprise both differences and similarities. Here are the outcomes that you will eventually face:

• The similarities tend to overshadow the differences.
• The differences tend to overshadow the similarities.

It is up to you to decide which way to go, but the writing format you’re going to deal with will always look the same: the introduction, the body and the conclusion.

The Introduction

When you write an introduction for your compare and contrast essay, use it to engage your target readers as well as encourage every person to keep on reading what you have to say. In this part, it is important to focus on one fact about the things that you compare. On the other hand, you can ask a question that will be answered later in the essay’s body of conclusion.

Keep in mind that the introduction in the compare and contrast essay in sports is built on a hooking and effective description of what your paper is going to discuss.

Therefore, if you’re about to compare the types of injuries and their treatments in different sports, make sure to use clear language. It is important to keep away from verbiage like “the topic of my compare and contrast essay will be comparison of different tactics and techniques of cricket” and instead ensure to make use of more attention-grabbing statements like “Even though the task of a player is to hit the ball, it’s the technique that either boosts one’s chances to succeed or dooms you to failure. Backlift, Leave, Stance, Forward and Back – these techniques have loads of differences; however, they have more similarities than you originally thought.

Your introduction should also inform your readers about the overall outline of the project. For example, if the initial paragraph of the paper is about comparing and contrasting each of the techniques, make sure to dedicate the second paragraph on a different point such as the techniques’ esthetics. The third paragraph you can focus on the differences in upkeep.

The Body

Just like in case with the other essays that you write in college, compare and contrast paper in sports requires you to plan it. In other words, before you do the same job (comparing and contrasting), create a list of every piece of information that you know about every issue.

• What is it that you know?
• What exactly requires further research?

Now look at your list. Who knows, maybe you have written down more dissimilarities than similarities. If yes, do more research to see more connections between the issues.
Every body paragraph that you include into your paper will have to involve the next sections:

1. Topic sentence. The topic sentence will introduce the key idea and the subject of the paragraph. Besides, it can include certain transition from the ideas you discussed in the previous paragraph.
2. The body. The sentences that are part of the body give concrete evidence that back up the topic sentence, as well as the main idea.
3. The conclusion. Use the conclusion sentence in order to summarize the ideas within the paragraph. What is more, this sentence may also include a certain link to the ideas presented in the next paragraph.

How to Conclude Compare and Contrast Essay in Sports?

The conclusion paragraph of the essay should sum up the key points that you have covered in the body of the compare and contrast essay. But you should remember that you need to go beyond the standard analysis. Use the conclusion to evaluate everything said in the body. Ensure to remind your readers the overall aim of the compare and contrast essay. Paraphrase your thesis, but don’t give any new information at the end of the paper.

Strictly speaking, the compare and contrast essay conclusion is your final opportunity to show the significance of your work. Besides, this part should include a vivid presentation of your point of view regarding the sports topic. For example, if you dedicate your paper to comparing and contrasting different kinds of sport fans, ensure to tell your readers again why fans truly matter and why types of fans receive most of attention: “Likewise, fans are an integral part of sport. They are one of the factors of whether or not teams, coaches and athletes gain the extrinsic reward of prestige. Different types of fans such as super violent fans, social fans, city fans, lovers of the game and culture fans help promote and perpetuate sports heroes. They do recall the best moment in sports, compare which coach, athlete or team was better. So, for coaches, athletes and teams to receive the desired prestige, they are in need of fans”.

Don’t Forget to Review

Now as you’ve finished your compare and contrast essay, check it again and try to find all kinds of confusing sentences and phrases, grammatical mistakes and repetitive issues. Find out if your paper in sports has the balance. In other words, you need to give about the same amount of information about every topic to keep away from bias. Consider some things before you submit your essay:

• Don’t use first person pronouns. In some cases, your professor may want you to use “you” and “I” in the paper. Nonetheless, if your professor or the assignment does not mention it, ensure to use only third-person pronounce instead, such as “people may like” or “one may enjoy”.
• Proofreading is something you can’t avoid. Punctuation and spelling errors are an integral part of the writing process, but not fixing them can cause some disappointing results. In other words, you have to go over your paper carefully, as well as ask someone for help if you’re not sure if your knowledge is enough to do the proofreading.