QUICK! my essay is due tomorrow!

[Catchy Slogan]

What will you be comparing? How will you be copmaring them? Is it going to be similarities/ differences?

Since you're short on time, what subjects/ topics do you feel the most confident writing about?

I can't nail down a single subject but preferably no sciences or Ancient history, both i suck at.

Well, that doesn't help at all.

American football v baseball?

Republicans v Democrats?

cats v dogs?

Of Mice and Men, vs To Kill A Mockingbird?

Science Fiction v Fantasy?

Without knowing what you like it's kinda hard to give you some suggestions.

 

[McMullen]

Okay, a bit more helpful than my last post, hopefully:

Start by freewriting. If you're unfamiliar with it, type what you think without paying attention to structure, spelling, or grammar. Just puke what you're thinking through the keyboard as fast as your fingers can go.

For example right now im thinking about how to describe this better what with the difficulty in conveying meaning through text and all and im actually not doing a good job of it because I'm making typos and correcting them and I think I used an apostrophe back there too oh well you get the point just type what you're thinking and once youre writing stuff or typing it then you will be better able to just dive in as soon as you think of a topic.

Once you're writing, ideas will come to you. Pick a good one, organize it, and get the thing on paper.

 

[zajohnson]

It doesn't have to be more than a page?? ROFL
What are you worrying about! The hardest part will be thinking OF a topic.

 

[CombustibleKoala]

Oooh, I'm a bit biased, but the magic and science one is fantastic. I cast my vote for that.

Thank you. I'm pretty sure that was my idea. Unless I was ninja'd of course.

Yeah, you were the one who proposed it, I absentmindedly clicked "reply" instead of "quote."

 

[Shifty]

Take something that interests you in the present, something you know quite a bit about. Your hobbies, your interests (think of other subjects) and then find something in the past that people thought the opposite of.
Eg some modern science that was explained by religion.
A modern sport and an old one
Modern methods of communication and older ones
Modern methods of war and old. etc etc

The list is endless and once one part of your essay is based on something you know a lot about, it halves your work, the other half should be easy enough to research since they are some bit related.

Hope this helped.

THANK YOU! Finally a small lead to get me out of this writers block!

No problem. And not to lecture cause I have been there (and still am at times) the quickest way I find to write under pressure is get the structure together before. I.e. figure out your word count, divide by your points, note titles for each paragraph, see how many points are in each (saves waffling), fill them out and have your conclusion relate to your introduction. Simple stuff but worth spending an hour on before you start and dont forget presentation and punctuation. I have lost a lot of marks over the years for this. Thinking just putting the information down is all you need does not work. If you know all this already apologies.

 

[Ziggy]

I have to do a comparative essay and its due tomorrow. it doesn't have to be more then a page but i have no clue as to what i could do for a good topic, major brain fart. Any ideas or suggestions?

profile pictures vs/or avatars. when and why

 

[TCPirate]

Take something that interests you in the present, something you know quite a bit about. Your hobbies, your interests (think of other subjects) and then find something in the past that people thought the opposite of.
Eg some modern science that was explained by religion.
A modern sport and an old one
Modern methods of communication and older ones
Modern methods of war and old. etc etc

The list is endless and once one part of your essay is based on something you know a lot about, it halves your work, the other half should be easy enough to research since they are some bit related.

Hope this helped.

THANK YOU! Finally a small lead to get me out of this writers block!

You could compare anti-semetism in WW2 to the anti-semetism displayed in Shakespeares "The Merchant of Venice"? It shows how the ideology of society doesn't progress much.

 

[Kingpopadopalus]

Compare anime and cartoons.

 

[Neverhoodian]

Here's a few ideas off the top of my head:

Compare the demonizing of video games in modern society with the condemnation of comic books fifty-odd years ago.

Compare the American Civil Rights Movement with the end of apartheid in South Africa.

Compare the 2008 economic meltdown with the Great Depression.

Can you tell I'm a History Major?

 

[Lukeje]

Compare doing your homework to not doing your homework.

 

[gorfias]

Keynes vs. Hayek

 

[Shifty]

Take something that interests you in the present, something you know quite a bit about. Your hobbies, your interests (think of other subjects) and then find something in the past that people thought the opposite of.
Eg some modern science that was explained by religion.
A modern sport and an old one
Modern methods of communication and older ones
Modern methods of war and old. etc etc

The list is endless and once one part of your essay is based on something you know a lot about, it halves your work, the other half should be easy enough to research since they are some bit related.

Hope this helped.

THANK YOU! Finally a small lead to get me out of this writers block!

You could compare anti-semetism in WW2 to the anti-semetism displayed in Shakespeares "The Merchant of Venice"? It shows how the ideology of society doesn't progress much.

That would be a good essay, however I would not be inclined to further the point to modern times as communication and travel has changed the face of racism (I do not like using the word antisemitic for something like this as it focuses on one group, which in a way is racist itself.. but thats a topic for another post) in the times you described, different peoples were not as widely traveled as today. The racism that existed then was a social norm, now it comes from social groups which can be much more focused. Thats my view anyway and since this is a forum please feel free to answer back, I always welcome other points of view, even those that change my own.

 

[kouriichi]

The twisted SICK F*CK that are children's rhymes.

Have you really thought about most of them?
"Rock-a-bye Baby". Its about sticking an infant in a tree, and watching it plummet to the ground. Who sticks a baby in a tree to begin with?

What about "Hey diddle diddle"? Its about a stoned dog imagining cats with fiddles, and bowls of gravy running away from it. What kind of message does that send to our children?

What about "Peter peter pumpkin Eater"!?!? Its a story about a bad husband whos wife divorces him, so he locks her in a Pumpkin shell so she couldnt leave!

The paper should totally be on the effects of such stories, and how they have changed todays world.

 

[Kaytastrophe]

You could do a bunch of things:

British imperialism vs. American Imperialism

Western Military Theories (Clausewitz, etc.)vs. Eastern (Sun Tsu, etc.)

Fascism vs. Communism (or Republicanism vs. Democrat-ism)<-I don't know if thats a word

Digital distribution (netflix, xbla, kindle) vs. Physical Distribution (Blockbuster-RIP, disc based games, and books)

theres just some ideas.

 

[Godhead]

Compare how coke and pepsi are exactly the same, or megablocks and legos, or The Godfather and Elf starring Will Ferrell.

 

[WeAreStevo]

Compare two similar ideas that have completely contrasted reviews, something like democrats vs. republicans. Once you find a A vs. B topic, write a page and then bam. Done.

You need to perfect slacking off man...

 

[bojac6]

It's a grade 10 AP English class and the paper is only one page and can be about anything? No guidelines, format restrictions, etc.? That seems really short and easy. Shouldn't take more than an hour.

First question: What's the last movie you watched and enjoyed?
Second question: What's the last book you read and enjoyed?

Essay: why did you like both of them, is it because of the same things or different things? Did you like the movie because of a cool character and the book because of the story? Or was it that the director and the author both used certain styles that you like?

Or do you like them for completely different things? Most Hong Kong action films (or the Matrix) would be a terrible book, because it's all about the visual style and fight choreography.

There's a 5 page essay easy. Hell, with a bit or research into cinematography and writing styles, plus critic styles (like Formalism vs Audience Response), you could easily get a 20 page essay out of this, no matter what movies or books you choose.

 

[TheEndlessSleep]

Sorry but I won't help you, the only way for you to learn is to be punished for it.

What a disturbingly heavy handed approach to teaching you have...

 

[The Funslinger]

Nope, its like some weird strain of writers block where you can only obsess over one topic and can't think of anything else

So you have to compare any two things, no restrictions?

anything...being realistic for something an old lady is going to read.

Try comparing the conflict in Northern Ireland to the Israel/Palestine conflict. If you need help, I'm very knowledgeable about the Northern Ireland conflict. Not so much the Israel/Palestine one, but the two strike me as interestingly similar.

 

[Yopaz]

Compare Tales of Symphonia and the history of Christianity. If you haven't played Tales of Symphonia do that and skip school.