Americas
Europe
Harder, better, faster, stronger. These are examples of words you would use in a comparison. When writing an essay, you will frequently use comparison to highlight your Evidence and bolster your Thesis. The importance of using comparison in your essay is to explain the way your arguments fit into the big picture. Work harder, organize better, type faster, and write stronger.
Explore our app and discover over 50 million learning materials for free.
Lerne mit deinen Freunden und bleibe auf dem richtigen Kurs mit deinen persönlichen Lernstatistiken
Jetzt kostenlos anmeldenHarder, better, faster, stronger. These are examples of words you would use in a comparison. When writing an essay, you will frequently use comparison to highlight your Evidence and bolster your Thesis. The importance of using comparison in your essay is to explain the way your arguments fit into the big picture. Work harder, organize better, type faster, and write stronger.
Comparisons can be broken down grammatically and logically.
A comparison aims to measure the similarities of two or more things.
In doing so, a comparison can highlight contrasts as well. This is why, sometimes, you will see comparisons paired with contrasts rhetorically.
When writing an essay, you will use comparison in a grammatical manner in order to create logical arguments. Start with understanding the grammar.
There are two types of comparison in English grammar: the comparative and the superlative.
Comparative comparisons indicate a relationship of more or less between two things.
Here is an example of a comparative comparison.
The Enterprise is a larger ship than the Voyager.
On the other hand...
Superlative comparisons indicate a relationship of most or least within a group of things.
Here is an example of a superlative comparison.
The Enterprise is the largest ship in the fleet.
In these examples, follow the adjective (large). This is where you can find the type of comparison being made!
An adjective describes a noun (a person, place, thing, or idea).
That said, you can also see this kind of comparison in adverbs.
Also called comparative adverbs, adverbs of comparison occur in the same two familiar forms: comparative and superlative.
An adverb describes a verb, adjective, or another adverb.
Take the adverb, “hardily.” Here is it used in a comparative comparison.
The dwarf ate more hardily than the other adventurers.
Take a different adverb, “lively.” Here it is used in a superlative comparison.
During the dance, the dwarf was the least lively member of the gang.
Now that the various kinds of grammatical comparisons are understood, it’s time to use them in your essay. Because comparisons highlight similarities and proportions in things, they are great for making a point. Here’s an example.
Bunting Beach has a rat problem. According to a study by RatMetric, Bunting Beach has the most rats per person among cities of its size.
Now imagine this as a Thesis and a Body Paragraph. The thesis would be that Bunting Beach has a rat problem that needs to be fixed. This statistic would be the featured piece of Evidence of a Body Paragraph. It would support the claim that Bunting Beach has a rat problem.
The comparison in this example helps to show scale and scope. Words like more, less, most, and least provide a point of reference. It tells you not only how many rats Bunting Beach has, but also how many more it has than other cities.
Fig. 1 - Comparatively, Hunting Beach has a rat problem.
Think of it this way. Which of these two examples has a greater persuasive impact?
The water supply in Windingo has a lead level in the drinking water of 100µg/dL. This has to change.
The water supply in Windingo has a lead level in the drinking water of 100µg/dL. This is 20 times more than is considered safe.
If your audience is not an expert in your topic, comparisons can provide common examples and easy-to-comprehend ratios. A comparison is an important tool for any essay writer because it allows the writer to frame their Argument relative to the world.
Here is how you might use comparison in an English essay.
Although Robin Hood is meant to be the villain in this alternate retelling of the classic tale, he remains among the most charitable men in Nottingham. On page 129, Robin Hood gives five hundred coins to the sheriff’s daughter. Compare that to Sir Guy, the would-be hero. Through the first 300 pages, Sir Guy spends “nine-hundred coin on his attempts to thwart the royal suck-up, Robin Hood.” (302) If you tally up the monies that Sir Guy counts in his journal entries, Sir Guy stole 1245 coins. This means that he had more money than Robin Hood gave to the sheriff’s daughter—by over twice as much—and proceeded to squander 75% on futile attempts to stop the “green-capped cur.” At most, Sir Guy gave away 345 coins, and that’s assuming he had no other expenses and kept none for himself. Sir Guy certainly knows how to do less with more."
These comparisons are equally humorous and illuminating. The essayist compares the amount of money that Robin Hood and Sir Guy spend and concludes that despite Robin Hood being the villain of the book, he is more charitable than Sir Guy, the protagonist.
Fig. 2 - Use more and less to draw a startling comparison.
Your comparisons don’t have to deal with hard numbers like this, but numerical comparisons do make for persuasive writing.
Quantify your arguments if you can, to impart the power of numbers!
However you write your comparisons, here are some tips to keep in mind.
Use a comparison to keep your reader in the loop. Think back to the lead example. Comparing the lead levels to the national average gave the reader needed context.
Use a comparison to show the scale and scope of your thesis. You can show how big and important something is by comparing it to something smaller. You can also show how small or insignificant something is by comparing it to something bigger.
When writing a comparison, stay relevant. Don’t compare your evidence to loosely related concepts and ideas. This could result in a rhetorical fallacy (logical fallacy).
When writing a comparison, be accurate. Keep your numbers and ideas straight. Again, when a comparison goes awry, you could end up writing something false.
A comparison aims to measure the similarities of two or more things.
Comparative and superlative. Comparative comparisons indicate a relationship of more or less between two things. Superlative comparisons indicate a relationship of most or least within a group of things.
According to a study by RatMetric, Bunting Beach has the most rats per person among cities of its size.
The comparison is an important tool for any essay writer because it allows the writer to frame their argument relative to the world.
YOUR SCORE
Your score:
Already have an account? Log in
SIGNUP SIGNUPFlashcards in Comparison19
Start learningWhat is a comparison?
A comparison aims to measure the similarities of two or more things.
Comparative comparisons indicate a relationship of _____ between two things.
More or less
Superlative comparisons indicate a relationship of _____ within a group of things.
Most or least
What is an adjective?
An adjective describes a noun (a person, place, thing, or idea).
What suffix does the comparative adjective take?
___-er (or more/less ___)
What suffix does the superlative adjective take?
-est (or most/least ___)
Already have an account? Log in
How would you like to learn this content?
How would you like to learn this content?
Free english cheat sheet!
Everything you need to know on . A perfect summary so you can easily remember everything.
The first learning app that truly has everything you need to ace your exams in one place
Sign up to highlight and take notes. It’s 100% free.
Save explanations to your personalised space and access them anytime, anywhere!
Sign up with Email Sign up with AppleBy signing up, you agree to the Terms and Conditions and the Privacy Policy of StudySmarter.
Already have an account? Log in
Explanations 
Exams 
Magazine 
