Prompt:
List at least 3 ideas that you have for your Compare/Contrast essay. What was your inspiration for each? Toward which topic are you leaning and why? Which categories might you use for comparison and contrast within that topic? What might an outline for ONE of the topics look like? Ask a related open-ended question at the end of your post.
Example post:
Idea #1: Football vs soccer My inspiration is I enjoy both sports.
Idea # 2: Cats as pets vs dogs as pets. My inspiration is that I have had both as pets. I am leaning toward this topic, as it requires no research.
Idea # 3: Living in Schenectady vs living in Albany. My inspiration for this topic is I have lived both places and found some things different and some similar. I would compare cost of living, restaurants, and high schools.
I would use the point-by-point method and my outline would look like this:
I. Cost of Living
A. Rent in Schenectady is lower than Albany
1. Schenectady rent
2. Albany rent
B. Taxes are higher for homeowners in Schenectady
1. Albany taxes
2. Schenectady taxes
II Restaurants
A. Schenectady has many new restaurants compared to Albany
1. Schenectady restaurants
2. Albany restaurants
B. Albany has more choices for diverse food.
1. Schenectady diverse food
2. Albany diverse food
III. High Schools
A. Albany High
B. Schenectady High
Question: What are some categories I might use besides the ones I listed?

Sample reply
I also like the cats and dogs topic. However, if you aren’t going to use football vs soccer, I might use that. 🙂 Actually, I’m inspired to compare and contrast pro-football and college football. I think it would be hard to guess the taxes in those cities if it has been a while since you paid therm, as those figures do change. I also think that people might argue that Schenectady has very diverse restaurant choices. If you do go for cats vs dogs, you might use the categories: food, play, and maintenance.