Teachers, please help

How do I write a compare and contrast essay? What is the format? I've looked everywhere for it, but what I found are too difficult to understand. Bascically it's comparing and contrasting the views of 2 authors. How do I begin?

[Tdol]

Which authors, which works?

I'd start by making a list of points for each author, so I'd need to know who they are.

[MikeNewYork]

Originally Posted by hmong04

How do I write a compare and contrast essay? What is the format? I've looked everywhere for it, but what I found are too difficult to understand. Bascically it's comparing and contrasting the views of 2 authors. How do I begin?

The idea is to talk about what the authors have in common and what they do or say differently.

For example: Two authors write fictional accounts about life in a small town. They both concentrate on making the readers really understand what is going on the minds and hearts of the characters. However, one author exposes the characters to the reader by use of extensive narratives about the character's thoughts and feelings; the other author reveals his charcter's thoughts and feelings through the use of dialogue between characters.

Which approach is more effective for you? Who does a better jocb at character development?