Sample Essay Contrasting Two Cities (Comparison – Contrast Essay)

Published by gudwriter on November 23, 2017 November 23, 2017

Compare and contrast essays mean you have to examine the similarities and differences between two or more things. Below is a compare and contrast two cities essay example; New York and Los Angeles, in terms of climate, housing, population, and transportation. Enjoy!

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Comparing two Cities Essay Outline

Introduction.

Thesis: While the cities have some similarities and may be attractive to various people depending on their lifestyles and preferences, New York City and Los Angeles are vastly different, especially in their climate, housing, population, and transportation.

Paragraph 1:

New York City’s (NY) Climate significantly differs with that of Los Angeles (LA).

  • In New York, the winter is glistening and frosty.
  • As such, the atmosphere is classic in the Yuletide season thus making it possible to engage in such activities as snow man assembling and ice skating.
  • In contrast, Los Angeles has winters that are extremely mild and summers that are leisurely and warm.

Paragraph 2:

The cities are different in their housing markets.

  • One would not have a problem finding a good job in either city.
  • They would however have to put up with the expensive nature of the cities’ housing markets.
  • While in Los Angeles people prefer living in a home, New York mostly has apartment dwellers.

Paragraph 3:

NY and LA have populations that have significance differences.

  • “New York is 233% more densely populated than Los Angeles”.
  • New York City has a whopping population of 8,550,405 while that of Los Angles is 3,971,883.
  • It obviously follows that NY has a higher population density than LA. Compared to LA’s 8,475, NY has a population density of 28,259.

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Paragraph 4:

Another major difference between New York City and the city of Los Angeles is public transportation.

  • In LA, there is a huge car culture where almost everybody drives. Most people have their own cars. Although, there is public transportation in the city, few people use it.
  • In New York on the other hand, almost everybody takes some form of public transportation.
  • The most notable form of public transportation in New York is the MTA (Metropolitan Transportation Authority) or the “subway” through which one can access anywhere they would like to go within the city.

New York City and Los Angeles have many differences in spite of having some similarities as large cities within the US. The cities are attractive to people from all over the world owing to their different features and characteristics. However, the climate, housing characteristics, population and public transportation spell how vastly different the cities are.

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Compare and Contrast Essay Between Two Cities: New York vs. Los Angeles

New York City (NY) and Los Angeles (LA) are two big cities found within the United States of America. Very large and populous, the cities are found in different states, New York City being in New York while Los Angeles in California. They both attract thousands of visitors in spite of being hugely crowded and costly to live in. While the cities have some similarities and may be attractive to various people depending on their lifestyles and preferences, New York City and Los Angeles are vastly different, especially in their climate, housing, population, and transportation.

New York City’s Climate significantly differs from that of Los Angeles. Halle & Beveridge (2013) note that in New York, the winter is glistening and frosty. As such, the atmosphere is classic in the Yuletide season thus making it possible to engage in such activities as snow man assembling and ice skating. In contrast, Los Angeles has winters that are extremely mild and summers that are leisurely and warm. In New York, the warmest temperatures are usually experienced in the southeastern lowlands. Noteworthy however, people who are conditioned to warm weather would still find the New York environment hospitable despite the snowfall. Los Angeles also has wet weather during winter. The rainy season occurs between November and January.

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Another difference between the two cities, related to cost of living, is the housing markets. One would not have a problem finding a good job in either city. They would however have to put up with the expensive nature of the cities’ housing markets. While in Los Angeles people prefer living in a home, New York mostly has apartment dwellers. On average, one needs $3,900 for rent and $1.4 million to buy a house in New York. Things are entirely different in Los Angeles. In this Californian city, one needs $4,150 per month as the average rent. This is one of the few areas Los Angeles may be more expensive than New York. The average for buying a home is however much less than in New York as one would part with $785,000 (“Major Differences,” 2018). So, it is an outrageous affair to rent in either city. One may however consider owning a home in Los Angeles.

Further, NY and LA have populations that have significance differences. The most essential difference in this respect is that “New York is 233% more densely populated than Los Angeles” (Bestplaces.com, 2017). The implication is that NY’s population is well over double that of LA. This has been the trend over the past two decades. Specifically, New York City has a whopping population of 8,550,405 while that of Los Angles is 3,971,883. It obviously follows that NY has a higher population density than LA. Compared to LA’s 8,475, NY has a population density of 28,259. The median age in LA is 1.1 years younger than that in NY. The median age is also higher in NY (35.7) in comparison to LA’s 34.6. In both the cities, the female population is higher than the male population. While NY has a female population of 52.40% and male population of 47.60%, LA has a female population of 50.39% and male population of 49.61% (Bestplaces.net, 2017).

Another major difference between New York City and the city of Los Angeles is public transportation. In LA, there is a huge car culture where almost everybody drives. Most people have their own cars. Although there is public transportation in the city, few people use it. However, there is still traffic snarl up majorly because of the many personal cars. In New York on the other hand, almost everybody takes some form of public transportation. The most notable form of public transportation in the city is the MTA (Metropolitan Transportation Authority) or the “subway” through which one can access most places within the city (Fung Bros, 2016). This means that transportation in NY is cheaper than that in LA. This is because unlike in LA where personal cars are the order of the day, one would not need regular fueling and parking fee in NY.

New York City and Los Angeles have many differences in spite of having some similarities as large cities within the US. The cities are attractive to people from all over the world owing to their different features and characteristics. However, the climate, housing characteristics, population and public transportation spell how vastly different the cities are. In terms of transportation, NY is cheaper due to the presence of the MTA. Additionally, the cities may both be densely populated but as has been seen, NY is far much more densely populated than LA. They also have distinct housing characteristics that may inform one’s decision to live in either city or acquire or buy a home in either of them. Read and get an in-depth analysis of Candide from our Candide analysis essay.

Bestplaces.net. (2017). “ Comparison: New York, New York – Los Angeles, California” . Bestplaces.net . Retrieved 20 November 2017, from http://www.bestplaces.net/compare-cities/los_angeles_ca/new_york_ny/housing

Fung Bros. (2016). Differences between LA & New York . Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_qA_tuWfLvY

Halle, D., & Beveridge, A. A. (2013). New York and Los Angeles: the uncertain future . New York City, NY: OUP USA.  

Major Differences between Living in Los Angeles and New York. (2018). In Nortronics Moving and Storage . Retrieved July 10, 2020 from http://www.nortronics.com/major-differences-living-los-angeles-new-york/

More comparing and contrasting essays to explore ;

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15.8 Compare-and-Contrast Essay

Learning objective.

  • Read an example of the compare-and-contrast rhetorical mode.

Comparing and Contrasting London and Washington, DC

Both Washington, DC, and London are capital cities of English-speaking countries, and yet they offer vastly different experiences to their residents and visitors. Comparing and contrasting the two cities based on their history, their culture, and their residents show how different and similar the two are.

Both cities are rich in world and national history, though they developed on very different time lines. London, for example, has a history that dates back over two thousand years. It was part of the Roman Empire and known by the similar name, Londinium. It was not only one of the northernmost points of the Roman Empire but also the epicenter of the British Empire where it held significant global influence from the early sixteenth century on through the early twentieth century. Washington, DC, on the other hand, has only formally existed since the late eighteenth century. Though Native Americans inhabited the land several thousand years earlier, and settlers inhabited the land as early as the sixteenth century, the city did not become the capital of the United States until the 1790s. From that point onward to today, however, Washington, DC, has increasingly maintained significant global influence. Even though both cities have different histories, they have both held, and continue to hold, significant social influence in the economic and cultural global spheres.

Both Washington, DC, and London offer a wide array of museums that harbor many of the world’s most prized treasures. While Washington, DC, has the National Gallery of Art and several other Smithsonian galleries, London’s art scene and galleries have a definite edge in this category. From the Tate Modern to the British National Gallery, London’s art ranks among the world’s best. This difference and advantage has much to do with London and Britain’s historical depth compared to that of the United States. London has a much richer past than Washington, DC, and consequently has a lot more material to pull from when arranging its collections. Both cities have thriving theater districts, but again, London wins this comparison, too, both in quantity and quality of theater choices. With regard to other cultural places like restaurants, pubs, and bars, both cities are very comparable. Both have a wide selection of expensive, elegant restaurants as well as a similar amount of global and national chains. While London may be better known for its pubs and taste in beer, DC offers a different bar-going experience. With clubs and pubs that tend to stay open later than their British counterparts, the DC night life tend to be less reserved overall.

Both cities also share and differ in cultural diversity and cost of living. Both cities share a very expensive cost of living—both in terms of housing and shopping. A downtown one-bedroom apartment in DC can easily cost $1,800 per month, and a similar “flat” in London may double that amount. These high costs create socioeconomic disparity among the residents. Although both cities’ residents are predominantly wealthy, both have a significantly large population of poor and homeless. Perhaps the most significant difference between the resident demographics is the racial makeup. Washington, DC, is a “minority majority” city, which means the majority of its citizens are races other than white. In 2009, according to the US Census, 55 percent of DC residents were classified as “Black or African American” and 35 percent of its residents were classified as “white.” London, by contrast, has very few minorities—in 2006, 70 percent of its population was “white,” while only 10 percent was “black.” The racial demographic differences between the cities is drastic.

Even though Washington, DC, and London are major capital cities of English-speaking countries in the Western world, they have many differences along with their similarities. They have vastly different histories, art cultures, and racial demographics, but they remain similar in their cost of living and socioeconomic disparity.

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Deborah Tannen compares and contrasts conversation styles in Sex, Lies and Conversation: Why Is It So Hard for Men and Women to Talk to Each Other?

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Alex Wright examines communication patterns, old and new, in Friending, Ancient or Otherwise :

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How to Compare Two Cities When Writing an Essay

Start with three items:.

  • Clear understanding of the purpose and audience of your essay
  • Travel brochures or visitor websites for each city
  • Outline of points of comparison

If the assignment is open to your choosing and you need help brainstorming,

  • Frommer’s (https://www.frommers.com/),
  • Rick Steve’s Europe (https://www.ricksteves.com/),
  • and Fodor’s Travel Guides (http://www.fodors.com/world/)

are all trustworthy and up-to-date resources for information on cities around the world. Once you have done a little research, you are ready to write the comparison essay, following the steps below.

Choose the scope for the comparison

Choose the scope for the comparison. For example, you could focus your entire essay on the impacts of similar historical events, or on experiencing the local art and music scene, or on the demographics and political leanings in the two cities.

These examples would lead to a more narrowed comparison, whereas a broader comparison might compare the two cities by:

  • major industries,
  • and religious culture.

Outline your points of Comparison

Outline the order in which you will present your points of comparison, and allot one paragraph to each point. ​​ Write a topic sentence that states your overall opinion of how the two cities compare on a specific point ​​.

Here’s an example:

Austin and Nashville have both long been considered fertile ground for budding musicians, so they are both terrific places to see talented up-and-comers at inexpensive, live music venues.

Build upon each topic sentence and develop each paragraph

Write and develop each paragraph by building upon each topic sentence. Write a sentence or two detailing how the topic sentence is true for City A. Next, write a sentence or two detailing how the topic sentence is true for City B.

For example, if your topic sentence introduces the similarities of 18th-century architectural sites in both Philadelphia and Dublin, you might develop the paragraph with a description of Philadelphia’s panoptical Eastern State Penitentiary and next with a description of the Dublin’s panoptical Kilmainham Gaol.

Conclude each paragraph with a sentence that sums up the importance of this particular comparison.

Proofread your essay three times

Proofread your essay three times.

  • Read the paper through once with fresh eyes to ensure that the information would make sense to you if you were reading the essay for the first time.
  • Read through a second time to polish any sentences that would sound better with different words, phrases, or sentence structures.
  • A third and final read—especially if you read it out loud—will help you catch any final misspellings or missing words.

Many cities have local newspapers that report on the less touristy goings-on in town. Examples include the “Portland Mercury” (https://www.portlandmercury.com/), “Phoenix New Times” (https://www.phoenixnewtimes.com/) and Philadelphia’s “City Paper” (https://www.citypaper.net/). Consulting one of these will give you an insider’s perspective and might even make your essay sound better.

Remember to cite your sources

Give credit where credit is due. . If you have used statistics, figures or quotations, make sure to include a citation (as a footnote or in parentheses at the end of the respective sentence or paragraph) and a reference list.

The person assigning the essay may have specified the style (e.g., MLA, APA or Chicago) to follow when formatting your citations. Ask for clarification if you are unsure of how to properly cite your sources. Not citing is considered plagiarism.

  • OWL Purdue Online Writing Lab
  • Eastern State Penitentiary
  • Many cities have local newspapers that report on the less touristy goings-on in town. Examples include the "Portland Mercury" (http://www.portlandmercury.com/), "Phoenix New Times" (http://www.phoenixnewtimes.com/) and Philadelphia's "City Paper" (http://www.citypaper.net/). Consulting one of these will give you an insider's perspective and might even make your essay sound better.
  • Give credit where credit is due. Remember to cite your sources. If you have used statistics, figures or quotations, make sure to include a citation (as a footnote or in parentheses at the end of the respective sentence or paragraph) and a reference list. The person assigning the essay may have specified the style (e.g., MLA, APA or Chicago) to follow when formatting your citations. Ask for clarification if you are unsure of how to properly cite your sources. Not citing is considered plagiarism.

Maddie Maloy is a junior at Indiana University (IU) studying journalism and minoring in marketing and public and environmental affairs. She is passionate about advancing social justice globally through communication and storytelling. At IU, she works as a reporter for the Arnolt Center of Investigative Journalism. She also serve as the vice president and philanthropy chair for Theta Nu Xi Multicultural Sorority, Inc.

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comparison between two cities essay

Sao Paulo and New York

       Two of the biggest, most famous cities in the world are Sao Paulo, Brazil and New York, New York. They are busy cities with cultural, and historical importance. They are also business centers in their respective countries. They differ from each other in many ways. These cities are on opposite hemispheres and have different languages, food, and culltures. Their climates and economies are also very distinct from one another. With all of these obvious differences, you may be surprised that there are also many similarities that these two large cities share. Both cities have a lot of immigration, attract many tourists, and have a high cost of living.

       One similarity between Sao Paulo and New York is that they both have many immigrants. There are various reasons why both New York and Sao Paulo receive many immigrants. The first reason many immigrants go to these cities is to find more work opportunities. Since Sao Paulo and New York both have large, international companies that require many employees, it is easier to get a job in these cities than in smaller cities or rural areas. It is also easier to get a job there because in large cities with large populations, there are many people who need to go shopping, go to restaurants, travel, and so forth. Each of these businesses needs many employees to meet the needs of the population. The second reason that immigrants go to these cities is for education. Schools are easier to access in large cities that host universities and job training programs. For these reasons, immigrants go to Sao Paulo and New York.

       Another similarity between the two cities is their tourism. New York and Sao Paulo have both attracted many tourists from all parts of the world. When visiting these cities, people can choose from many fun activities to do with friends or as a family. They can go shopping, visit famous museums, attend cultural entertainment events, and so forth. Tourists in New York often want to experience famous places like Broadway, Times Square, The Rockefeller Center, and the Statue of Liberty. People plan trips and vacations around these places because they are so famous. Tourists in Sao Paulo also have many famous sites they can visit, like the Sao Paulo Museum of Art, Paulista Avenue, and Ibirapuera Park. These fascinating places encourage many tourists to visit Sao Paulo. Both cities are home to aquariums, zoos, and restaurants that encourage trouism within these countries as well. With all of the notable attractions in both cities, it is easy to see that they are similar in tourism.

       The high cost of living is a final way that these two cities are similar. Because many people want to live in these cities, there is a lot of competition for housing and food, which increases the cost of living there. It can be more expensive to rent a tiny apartment in New York than it is to rent an entire house in a suburb away from the city. Shopping in Sao Paulo makes it very apparent that there are many people in competition for the commodities there. Even though the cost of living is so high, salaries do not always match this increased cost because there are so many people willing to work in these cities that companies can pay their employees less. Many workers in both cities have to work multiple jobs to earn enough money to support their families. The high cost of living is very comparable between Sao Paulo and New York.

       Due to the high cost of living, the tourism, and immigration, Sao Paulo and New York are two cities that are very similar to each other. There are differences that are easy to identify, but these cities are more similar than people might think initially. A visitor to one city may be able to feel that she has already experienced the other city because they share so many traits, even though the people in each city are speaking a different language, eating different food, and are used to different weather. 

Exercise 1: Analyze an essay

Read one of the two Process Example Essays on the following pages to complete this exercise.

  • Label the introduction paragraph, the body paragraphs, and the conclusion paragraph.
  • Circle the hook.
  • What is the general topic of the essay?
  • Underline the thesis.
  • Underline each of the topic sentences.
  • Do each of the topic sentences support the thesis?
  • Does the conclusion paragraph start by restating the thesis?

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  • Comparing and contrasting in an essay | Tips & examples

Comparing and Contrasting in an Essay | Tips & Examples

Published on August 6, 2020 by Jack Caulfield . Revised on July 23, 2023.

Comparing and contrasting is an important skill in academic writing . It involves taking two or more subjects and analyzing the differences and similarities between them.

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Table of contents

When should i compare and contrast, making effective comparisons, comparing and contrasting as a brainstorming tool, structuring your comparisons, other interesting articles, frequently asked questions about comparing and contrasting.

Many assignments will invite you to make comparisons quite explicitly, as in these prompts.

  • Compare the treatment of the theme of beauty in the poetry of William Wordsworth and John Keats.
  • Compare and contrast in-class and distance learning. What are the advantages and disadvantages of each approach?

Some other prompts may not directly ask you to compare and contrast, but present you with a topic where comparing and contrasting could be a good approach.

One way to approach this essay might be to contrast the situation before the Great Depression with the situation during it, to highlight how large a difference it made.

Comparing and contrasting is also used in all kinds of academic contexts where it’s not explicitly prompted. For example, a literature review involves comparing and contrasting different studies on your topic, and an argumentative essay may involve weighing up the pros and cons of different arguments.

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comparison between two cities essay

As the name suggests, comparing and contrasting is about identifying both similarities and differences. You might focus on contrasting quite different subjects or comparing subjects with a lot in common—but there must be some grounds for comparison in the first place.

For example, you might contrast French society before and after the French Revolution; you’d likely find many differences, but there would be a valid basis for comparison. However, if you contrasted pre-revolutionary France with Han-dynasty China, your reader might wonder why you chose to compare these two societies.

This is why it’s important to clarify the point of your comparisons by writing a focused thesis statement . Every element of an essay should serve your central argument in some way. Consider what you’re trying to accomplish with any comparisons you make, and be sure to make this clear to the reader.

Comparing and contrasting can be a useful tool to help organize your thoughts before you begin writing any type of academic text. You might use it to compare different theories and approaches you’ve encountered in your preliminary research, for example.

Let’s say your research involves the competing psychological approaches of behaviorism and cognitive psychology. You might make a table to summarize the key differences between them.

Or say you’re writing about the major global conflicts of the twentieth century. You might visualize the key similarities and differences in a Venn diagram.

A Venn diagram showing the similarities and differences between World War I, World War II, and the Cold War.

These visualizations wouldn’t make it into your actual writing, so they don’t have to be very formal in terms of phrasing or presentation. The point of comparing and contrasting at this stage is to help you organize and shape your ideas to aid you in structuring your arguments.

When comparing and contrasting in an essay, there are two main ways to structure your comparisons: the alternating method and the block method.

The alternating method

In the alternating method, you structure your text according to what aspect you’re comparing. You cover both your subjects side by side in terms of a specific point of comparison. Your text is structured like this:

Mouse over the example paragraph below to see how this approach works.

One challenge teachers face is identifying and assisting students who are struggling without disrupting the rest of the class. In a traditional classroom environment, the teacher can easily identify when a student is struggling based on their demeanor in class or simply by regularly checking on students during exercises. They can then offer assistance quietly during the exercise or discuss it further after class. Meanwhile, in a Zoom-based class, the lack of physical presence makes it more difficult to pay attention to individual students’ responses and notice frustrations, and there is less flexibility to speak with students privately to offer assistance. In this case, therefore, the traditional classroom environment holds the advantage, although it appears likely that aiding students in a virtual classroom environment will become easier as the technology, and teachers’ familiarity with it, improves.

The block method

In the block method, you cover each of the overall subjects you’re comparing in a block. You say everything you have to say about your first subject, then discuss your second subject, making comparisons and contrasts back to the things you’ve already said about the first. Your text is structured like this:

  • Point of comparison A
  • Point of comparison B

The most commonly cited advantage of distance learning is the flexibility and accessibility it offers. Rather than being required to travel to a specific location every week (and to live near enough to feasibly do so), students can participate from anywhere with an internet connection. This allows not only for a wider geographical spread of students but for the possibility of studying while travelling. However, distance learning presents its own accessibility challenges; not all students have a stable internet connection and a computer or other device with which to participate in online classes, and less technologically literate students and teachers may struggle with the technical aspects of class participation. Furthermore, discomfort and distractions can hinder an individual student’s ability to engage with the class from home, creating divergent learning experiences for different students. Distance learning, then, seems to improve accessibility in some ways while representing a step backwards in others.

Note that these two methods can be combined; these two example paragraphs could both be part of the same essay, but it’s wise to use an essay outline to plan out which approach you’re taking in each paragraph.

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Some essay prompts include the keywords “compare” and/or “contrast.” In these cases, an essay structured around comparing and contrasting is the appropriate response.

Comparing and contrasting is also a useful approach in all kinds of academic writing : You might compare different studies in a literature review , weigh up different arguments in an argumentative essay , or consider different theoretical approaches in a theoretical framework .

Your subjects might be very different or quite similar, but it’s important that there be meaningful grounds for comparison . You can probably describe many differences between a cat and a bicycle, but there isn’t really any connection between them to justify the comparison.

You’ll have to write a thesis statement explaining the central point you want to make in your essay , so be sure to know in advance what connects your subjects and makes them worth comparing.

Comparisons in essays are generally structured in one of two ways:

  • The alternating method, where you compare your subjects side by side according to one specific aspect at a time.
  • The block method, where you cover each subject separately in its entirety.

It’s also possible to combine both methods, for example by writing a full paragraph on each of your topics and then a final paragraph contrasting the two according to a specific metric.

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Home / Essay Samples / World / Cities / Comparing Two Cities: Exploring Contrasts and Similarities

Comparing Two Cities: Exploring Contrasts and Similarities

  • Category: World
  • Topic: Cities

Pages: 1 (480 words)

  • Downloads: -->

Introduction

New york city: features and characteristics, paris: features and characteristics, cultural offerings.

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