Begin by choosing a topic for your comparison/contrast essay. You are free to select your own topic, or you
may use one of the sample topics listed below. However, you should choose a topic that you have knowledge
of so that you have sufficient points of comparison or contrast to discuss in your essay. You will need to
compare or contrast two or three primary points about the two subjects you choose to write about, resulting in
an essay with either four or six body paragraphs, an introductory paragraph, and a conclusion.
In order to foster learning and growth, all essays you submit must be newly written specifically for this course.
Any recycled work will be sent back with a 0, and you will be given one attempt to redo the touchstone.
Sample Topic Ideas:
Compare or contrast two cities you’ve visited or that you’ve lived in
Compare or contrast two members of your family

Compare or contrast two sources of news
Compare or contrast two singers in different music genres
Compare or contrast two historical figures
Compare or contrast two artists (for example, Vincent van Gogh and Pablo Picasso or Keith Haring and Andy
Warhol)
Compare or contrast two eras in time
Compare or contrast two television series
Compare or contrast two types of technologies (for example, Android and Apple phones or PlayStation and
Xbox)
Compare or contrast two medical topics (for example, traditional medicine and modern medicine or doctors and
midwives