Such essay aims to check not only your writing skills and your knowledge of English spelling or punctuation. Comparative essays can be really complicated to write, as they usually require some basic research and shallow analysis of the information found. At the same time, good comparison and contrast allow and even need a pinch of creativity, which could turn a dry sequence of facts into a witty and interesting story.
Especially when it comes to comparing the present and past of your home country. In most cases, it is recommended that the current situation should be compared with the situation before some big and significant changes happened in any sphere of life of a state and its citizens, whether it is politics or science and technology. However, this is where the main difficulties take their roots from.
What You Do Not Need to Know About Comparison Essays
Have you ever felt like you are lost forever among the enormous number of different facts, ideas and their explanations or interpretations which look very similar, almost indistinguishable? They all keep telling you seemingly the same things, but you still cannot make anything out. Very often it happens so because the information you find is too general and lacks bright remarkable details, which are actually more important and helpful as well as just easier to remember. What is then so unnecessary about the comparative and contrast essay when its topic concerns life in your native country?
- Generalizing. In reality, life of a state and in a state implies a great many of interconnected facts, events, tendencies, processes, phenomena and so on. Just put up with the idea that it is impossible to cover all of them in your essay which, according to the state educational standards, should contain 500 words. So, you only should focus on a certain number (2 or 3 but not more) of the most noticeable or the most interesting of them.
- Unhealthy patriotism. No doubt, it is good that you love your motherland and want to labor for its prosperity, or something like that. Your teacher also may respect or even share your patriotic feelings. But you do not need them for the comparison essay. Even if your country has rich military history which is not older than 40-50 years, still you should try to avoid any very personal and irrational remarks about it. Remain reasonable and diplomatic, and base on reliable sources and authors if you want to mention it anyway.
- Hopes for the future. You see, the instructions for your assignment state that you should compare (and contrast) only the past and present times of your country’s existence on the world map. So, just for the sake of simplicity and sensibility you should better not make any predictions for the future. The soundest conclusion for such essay should look like a very brief summary of the main changes and evaluate their negativeness or positiveness.
What Is Really Worth Comparing: Pick up the Right Things
The right choice of 2-3 aspects and/or things to compare in your paper is the safe pledge of its success. Firstly, if you decide what exactly you would like to write about, you will not have to waste your time on scrolling through numerous titles and searching for the most suitable ideas. Secondly, in terms of such type of essay it is still preferable to connect the compared issues logically despite the fact that they may refer to very different spheres of people’s life and activity. Consequently, here is another tip for you: when you are make your choice, it will be helpful to opt for the naturally and historically interconnected issues.
Politics: International Relationships
Unless you are a Law student, it may be quite boring to write about the latest reforms and amendments in the political sphere. What is more essential, for you it definitely will be very difficult to understand the entire importance of the changes. So, why not concentrate merely on the tendencies in the international relationships between your country and others. You can consider the following aspects:
- membership in regional or international organizations;
- economic partnership;
- collaboration oriented towards environment protection;
- provision of opportunities for youth;
- tourism and transportations.
Economics: Employment
Speaking generally, state’s prosperity can be judged by the living standards it sets for its citizens. So, if you choose to discuss the issue of employment, you will kill two (or, maybe, even more) birds with one stone, literally. Musing over this topic, you can consider:
- popularity and relevance of different professions in your country;
- students’ employment;
- jobs for men and women;
- qualities of an ideal contemporary candidate;
- particularities of retirement period.
Science: Higher Education
As for a current student, this topic can be one of the easiest for you. Even if now you are a high school graduate and not a college or university student yet, it will be useful for you to find out more about the features of modern education system and to analyze the changes in it. Again, the quality of education and learning can very well reflect the general situation in the country, as this issue involves such aspects as employment, government policies, and even international collaboration. So, you can:
- write about remarkable changes/improvements in HEIs admission regulations;
- compare the grading principles of the education system of the past and present;
- analyze the popularity of college/university majors among students today and 10-15 years ago;
- compare the opportunities for studying abroad;
- think about opportunities for part- and full-time jobs.
Social Life: Family Roles and Statuses of Men and Women
Figuratively speaking, families are bricks with which a society and state can be built. The better and stronger these bricks are, the stronger are the latter. However, this is a very traditional and, maybe, somewhat conservative approach. Let’s see how you can develop this thought in your essay:
- check the average age for marriage and childbirth;
- compare the influence of both parents on upbringing;
- compare the rate of and reasons for divorce;
- think about the changes in regulations for adoption;
- analyze changes in family duties.
Hope, you have found these ideas really interesting and useful for your writing. Try to be more precise and stick to certain aspects/issues, without digressing into the unembraceable. And remember to proofread the finished text.
Good luck!