essay about comparison between two countries

“Compare and Contrast Two Countries” Essay Example, With Outline

Published by gudwriter on November 21, 2020 November 21, 2020

Comparison and contrast of similarities and differences between China and Japan. Both of the countries are found in Eastern Asia and speak closely related languages. However, there are differences in terms of their food, culture, and natural resources.

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A good compare and contrast paper requires adequate research and focuses on the central point and explains the importance and implications of its analysis. Comparing and contrasting work must make meaningful comparisons. One has to come up with a clear and concise thesis to help convey the core ideas of the essay. Avoid all this tussle and dedicate your paper to a reliable admission essay writing service who will provide a masterpiece at an affordable price.

I have consulted this guide in writing this example essay with an outline.

C omparing Two Countries Essay  Outline

Introduction.

Thesis: There are many differences between Japan and China in terms of their food, culture, natural resources, and population distribution.

Paragraph 1:

The first major difference between China and Japan comes in their food.

• “While the Chinese food is spicy and involves a lot of frying and cooking, the Japanese food is far less spicy, and has very subtle flavors compared to other local foods in Asia.”
• China has diverse food owing to its large geographic extent.
• On the other hand, Japan has an isolated food culture essentially because it is an island. They prefer seafood on a large scale.
• There is minimal use of oil in preparing food and therefore the food is considered healthier.

Paragraph 2:

China and Japan also significantly differ in their culture.

• The culture of China has a lot of heterogeneity owing to the fact that the country has been exposed to several various nationalities in addition to having a long history.
• Some of the notable nationalities that have contributed to this heterogeneity are Europeans and Indians.
• In contrast, Japan has an isolated culture because, according to its recorded history, the country has not experienced significant external influence.
• Coupled with its considerably small size, this lack of external influence by Japan has ensured that its culture is more homogenous.

Paragraph 3:

Another source of difference between China and Japan is the countries’ respective natural resources.

• China has many various natural resources probably because of its vastness.
• China has also advanced technology compared to Japan.
• These resources include arable land, uranium, rare earth elements, zinc, lead, aluminum, magnetite, vanadium, molybdenum, manganese, antimony, tungsten, tin, mercury, natural gas, petroleum, iron ore, and coal.
• Inversely, the mineral resources in Japan are negligible. Apart from having fish and fishing grounds, the country has virtually no resources of natural energy.
• This fact has made Japan the largest liquefied natural gas and coal importer in the world. It also ranks the second in oil importation worldwide.

Paragraph 4:

China and Japan differ in their population distribution.

• In China, the eastern half of the country has the overwhelming majority of the population.
• The west of China, in contrast to the east, has sparse population.
• On the other hand, Japan has a third of its population living around and in Tokyo, the capital city. A significant percentage of the population lives in Kanto plain around Tokyo.
• The coast of the country bears the larger population density of the country.  

China and Japan are countries found in Asia with the former having a vast geographical area and the latter being comparatively far smaller. The countries share the feature of having a coastline, and closeness of the languages they speak. They however have respective distinctive features that define them as individual countries, including their respective foods, cultures, natural resources, and population distribution. Try our speech generator now and captivate your audience with every word.

Compare and Contrast Essay Between Two Countries: China vs. Japan

China and Japan are both found in Eastern Asia and speak languages that though different, are closely related. China is located between Vietnam and North Korea and borders South China Sea, Yellow Sea, Korea Bay, and the East China Sea. Japan, on the other hand, is located east of the Korean Peninsula, between the Sea of Japan and the North Pacific Ocean. They both have a coastline that runs into many thousand kilometers. One would expect that being that the countries are in the same region and close to each other, they should essentially be similar to each other. However, as this essay shows, there are many differences between Japan and China in terms of their food, culture, natural resources, and population distribution.

The first major difference between China and Japan comes in their food. “While the Chinese food is spicy and involves a lot of frying and cooking, the Japanese food is far less spicy, and has very subtle flavors compared to other local foods in Asia” (Expertscolumn.com, 2017). China has diverse food owing to its large geographic extent. Food diversity in China has also been influenced by cuisines from foreign countries, especially Mongolia and the Middle East. Additionally, a lot of oil is used in food preparation in the country, with a heavy use of spices and flavors. Majorly, Chinese food consists of beef, pork, chicken, and duck. On the other hand, Japan has an isolated food culture essentially because it is an island. They prefer seafood on a large scale. There is minimal use of oil in preparing food and therefore the food is considered healthier. Most of the food is consumed raw in Japan. As Historyplex.com (2017) notes, “While slurping when having your meals can draw frowns in China, it is considered as a compliment in Japan”.

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China and Japan also significantly differ in their culture. Expertscolumn.com (2017) points out that there is a long history attached to Chinese culture and that the vastness of the country’s territory makes the culture have a plethora of varieties. The culture has a lot of heterogeneity owing to the fact that the country has been exposed to several various nationalities in addition to having a long history. Some of the notable nationalities that have contributed to this heterogeneity are Europeans and Indians. In contrast, Japan has an isolated culture because, according to its recorded history, the country has not experienced significant external influence. Coupled with its considerably small size, this lack of external influence by Japan has ensured that its culture is more homogenous. Societal harmony is seriously emphasized in the Japanese culture. The society thus expects that every person will always show very high levels of self-discipline. Even when conversing with each other, a very polite approach is followed by Japanese people. This is why it would be difficult to find people yelling at or quarrelling with each other publicly in Japan. “In comparison, China poses the picture of a typical developing country, with level of politeness being less common” (Expertscolumn.com, 2017). This implies one is more likely to be yelled at during conversations in China more than in Japan. Whether this communication culture of China changes in future remains to be seen.

Another source of difference between China and Japan is the countries’ respective natural resources. China has many various natural resources probably because of its vastness. These include arable land, uranium, rare earth elements, zinc, lead, aluminum, magnetite, vanadium, molybdenum, manganese, antimony, tungsten, tin, mercury, natural gas, petroleum, iron ore, and coal. All these resources are probably among the reasons the country has experienced significant economic growth over the past few decades. Noteworthy, China is now one of the strongest world economies, even rivaling the United States in that respect. It is also worth noting that the country has the largest hydropower potential in the world. Inversely, the mineral resources in Japan are negligible. Apart from having fish and fishing grounds, the country has virtually no resources of natural energy. This fact has made Japan the largest liquefied natural gas and coal importer in the world (Indexmundi.com, 2017). It also ranks second in oil importation worldwide. In spite of this, its economy is still considerably very strong.

Further, China and Japan differ in their population distribution. In China, the eastern half of the country has the overwhelming majority of the population. The west, in contrast to the east, has sparse population. This is majorly because the west is characterized by desert areas and mountainous landscape. It should also be of interest to note that China is the most populated country in the world. In spite of this, it has a less overall population density as compared to many countries in Europe and Asia. In the country, “high population density is found along the Yangtze and Yellow River valleys , the Xi Jiang River delta, the Sichuan Basin (around Chengdu), in and around Beijing, and the industrial area around Shenyang” (Indexmundi.com, 2017). On the other hand, Japan has a third of its population living around and in Tokyo, the capital city. A significant percentage of the population lives in Kanto plain around Tokyo (Indexmundi.com, 2017). On the same note, the coast of the country bears the larger population density of the country.

China and Japan are countries found in Asia with the former having a vast geographical area and the latter being comparatively far smaller. The countries share the feature of having a coastline, and closeness of the languages they speak. They however have respective distinctive features that define them as individual countries. These include their respective foods, cultures, natural resources, and population distribution. For instance, while the food in China is diverse, the one in Japan is isolated. The same applies to their respective cultures. In addition, China has numerous natural resources as compared to Japan that hardly has any and resorts to importing.

Expertscolumn.com. (2017). “ Comparing Japanese & Chinese cultures: similarities and differences” . Travelandculture.expertscolumn.com . Retrieved 20 November 2017, from http://travelandculture.expertscolumn.com/comparing-japanese-chinese-cultures

Historyplex.com. (2017). “ The cultural differences and similarities between China and Japan” . Historyplex . Retrieved 20 November 2017, from https://historyplex.com/cultural-differences-similarities-between-china-japan

Indexmundi.com. (2017). “ China vs. Japan – country comparison” . Indexmundi.com . Retrieved 20 November 2017, from http://www.indexmundi.com/factbook/compare/china.japan

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34 Compelling Compare and Contrast Essay Examples

Topics cover education, technology, pop culture, sports, animals, and more.

Do your writers need some inspiration? If you’re teaching students to write a compare and contrast essay, a strong example is an invaluable tool. This round-up of our favorite compare and contrast essays covers a range of topics and grade levels, so no matter your students’ interests or ages, you’ll always have a helpful example to share. You’ll find links to full essays about education, technology, pop culture, sports, animals, and more. (Need compare-and-contrast essay topic ideas? Check out our big list of compare and contrast essay topics! )

What is a compare and contrast essay?

• Education and parenting essays
• Technology essays
• Pop culture essays
• Historical and political essays
• Sports essays
• Lifestyle essays
• Healthcare essays
• Animal essays

When choosing a compare and contrast essay example to include on this list, we considered the structure. A strong compare and contrast essay begins with an introductory paragraph that includes background context and a strong thesis. Next, the body includes paragraphs that explore the similarities and differences. Finally, a concluding paragraph restates the thesis, draws any necessary inferences, and asks any remaining questions.

A compare and contrast essay example can be an opinion piece comparing two things and making a conclusion about which is better. For example, “Is Tom Brady really the GOAT?” It can also help consumers decide which product is better suited to them. Should you keep your subscription to Hulu or Netflix? Should you stick with Apple or explore Android? Here’s our list of compare and contrast essay samples categorized by subject.

Education and Parenting Compare and Contrast Essay Examples

Private school vs. public school.

Sample lines: “Deciding whether to send a child to public or private school can be a tough choice for parents. … Data on whether public or private education is better can be challenging to find and difficult to understand, and the cost of private school can be daunting. … According to the most recent data from the National Center for Education Statistics, public schools still attract far more students than private schools, with 50.7 million students attending public school as of 2018. Private school enrollment in the fall of 2017 was 5.7 million students, a number that is down from 6 million in 1999.”

Read the full essay: Private School vs. Public School at U.S. News and World Report

Homeschool vs. Public School: How Home Schooling Will Change Public Education

Sample lines: “Home schooling, not a present threat to public education, is nonetheless one of the forces that will change it. If the high estimates of the number of children in home schools (1.2 million) is correct, then the home-schooling universe is larger than the New York City public school system and roughly the size of the Los Angeles and Chicago public school systems combined. … Critics charge that three things are wrong with home schooling: harm to students academically; harm to society by producing students who are ill-prepared to function as democratic citizens and participants in a modern economy; and harm to public education, making it more difficult for other parents to educate their children. … It is time to ask whether home schooling, charters, and vouchers should be considered parts of a broad repertoire of methods that we as a society use to educate our children.”

Read the full essay: Homeschool vs. Public School: How Home Schooling Will Change Public Education at Brookings

Which parenting style is right for you?

Sample lines: “The three main types of parenting are on a type of ‘sliding scale’ of parenting, with permissive parenting as the least strict type of parenting. Permissive parenting typically has very few rules, while authoritarian parenting is thought of as a very strict, rule-driven type of parenting.”

Read the full essay: What Is Authoritative Parenting? at Healthline

Masked Education? The Benefits and Burdens of Wearing Face Masks in Schools During the Pandemic

Sample lines: “Face masks can prevent the spread of the virus SARS-CoV-2. … However, covering the lower half of the face reduces the ability to communicate. Positive emotions become less recognizable, and negative emotions are amplified. Emotional mimicry, contagion, and emotionality in general are reduced and (thereby) bonding between teachers and learners, group cohesion, and learning—of which emotions are a major driver. The benefits and burdens of face masks in schools should be seriously considered and made obvious and clear to teachers and students.”

Read the full essay: Masked Education? The Benefits and Burdens of Wearing Face Masks in Schools During the Pandemic at National Library of Medicine

To Ban or Not: What Should We Really Make of Book Bans?

Sample lines: “In recent years, book bans have soared in schools, reaching an all-time high in fall 2022. … The challenge of balancing parent concerns about ‘age appropriateness’ against the imperative of preparing students to be informed citizens is still on the minds of many educators today. … Such curricular decision-making  should  be left to the professionals, argues English/language arts instructional specialist Miriam Plotinsky. ‘Examining texts for their appropriateness is not a job that noneducators are trained to do,’ she wrote last year, as the national debate over censorship resurged with the news that a Tennessee district banned the graphic novel  Maus  just days before Holocaust Remembrance Day.”

Read the full essay: To Ban or Not: What Should We Really Make of Book Bans? at Education Week

Technology Compare and Contrast Essay Examples

Netflix vs. hulu 2023: which is the best streaming service.

Sample lines: “Netflix fans will point to its high-quality originals, including  The Witcher ,  Stranger Things ,  Emily in Paris ,  Ozark , and more, as well as a wide variety of documentaries like  Cheer ,  The Last Dance ,  My Octopus Teacher , and many others. It also boasts a much larger subscription base, with more than 222 million subscribers compared to Hulu’s 44 million. Hulu, on the other hand, offers a variety of extras such as HBO and Showtime—content that’s unavailable on Netflix. Its price tag is also cheaper than the competition, with its $7/mo. starting price, which is a bit more palatable than Netflix’s $10/mo. starting price.”

Read the full essay: Netflix vs. Hulu 2023: Which is the best streaming service? at TV Guide

Kindle vs. Hardcover: Which is easier on the eyes?

Sample lines: “In the past, we would have to drag around heavy books if we were really into reading. Now, we can have all of those books, and many more, stored in one handy little device that can easily be stuffed into a backpack, purse, etc. … Many of us still prefer to hold an actual book in our hands. … But, whether you use a Kindle or prefer hardcover books or paperbacks, the main thing is that you enjoy reading. A story in a book or on a Kindle device can open up new worlds, take you to fantasy worlds, educate you, entertain you, and so much more.”

Read the full essay: Kindle vs. Hardcover: Which is easier on the eyes? at Books in a Flash

iPhone vs. Android: Which is better for you?

Sample lines: “The iPhone vs. Android comparison is a never-ending debate on which one is best. It will likely never have a real winner, but we’re going to try and help you to find your personal pick all the same. iOS 17 and Android 14—the latest versions of the two operating systems—both offer smooth and user-friendly experiences, and several similar or identical features. But there are still important differences to be aware of. … Owning an iPhone is a simpler, more convenient experience. There’s less to think about. … Android-device ownership is a bit harder. … Yet it’s simultaneously more freeing, because it offers more choice.”

Read the full essay: iPhone vs. Android: Which is better for you? at Tom’s Guide

Cutting the cord: Is streaming or cable better for you?

Sample lines: “Cord-cutting has become a popular trend in recent years, thanks to the rise of streaming services. For those unfamiliar, cord cutting is the process of canceling your cable subscription and instead, relying on streaming platforms such as Netflix and Hulu to watch your favorite shows and movies. The primary difference is that you can select your streaming services à la carte while cable locks you in on a set number of channels through bundles. So, the big question is: should you cut the cord?”

Read the full essay: Cutting the cord: Is streaming or cable better for you? at BroadbandNow

PS5 vs. Nintendo Switch

Sample lines: “The crux of the comparison comes down to portability versus power. Being able to migrate fully fledged Nintendo games from a big screen to a portable device is a huge asset—and one that consumers have taken to, especially given the Nintendo Switch’s meteoric sales figures. … It is worth noting that many of the biggest franchises like Call of Duty, Madden, modern Resident Evil titles, newer Final Fantasy games, Grand Theft Auto, and open-world Ubisoft adventures like Assassin’s Creed will usually skip Nintendo Switch due to its lack of power. The inability to play these popular games practically guarantees that a consumer will pick up a modern system, while using the Switch as a secondary device.”

Read the full essay: PS5 vs. Nintendo Switch at Digital Trends

What is the difference between Facebook and Instagram?

Sample lines: “Have you ever wondered what is the difference between Facebook and Instagram? Instagram and Facebook are by far the most popular social media channels used by digital marketers. Not to mention that they’re also the biggest platforms used by internet users worldwide. So, today we’ll look into the differences and similarities between these two platforms to help you figure out which one is the best fit for your business.”

Read the full essay: What is the difference between Facebook and Instagram? at SocialBee

Digital vs. Analog Watches—What’s the Difference?

Sample lines: “In short, digital watches use an LCD or LED screen to display the time. Whereas, an analog watch features three hands to denote the hour, minutes, and seconds. With the advancement in watch technology and research, both analog and digital watches have received significant improvements over the years. Especially in terms of design, endurance, and accompanying features. … At the end of the day, whether you go analog or digital, it’s a personal preference to make based on your style, needs, functions, and budget.”

Read the full essay: Digital vs. Analog Watches—What’s the Difference? at Watch Ranker

AI Art vs. Human Art: A Side-by-Side Analysis

Sample lines: “Art has always been a reflection of human creativity, emotion, and cultural expression. However, with the rise of artificial intelligence (AI), a new form of artistic creation has emerged, blurring the lines between what is created by human hands and what is generated by algorithms. … Despite the excitement surrounding AI Art, it also raises complex ethical, legal, and artistic questions that have sparked debates about the definition of art, the role of the artist, and the future of art production. … Regardless of whether AI Art is considered ‘true’ art, it is crucial to embrace and explore the vast possibilities and potential it brings to the table. The transformative influence of AI art on the art world is still unfolding, and only time will reveal its true extent.”

Read the full essay: AI Art vs. Human Art: A Side-by-Side Analysis at Raul Lara

Pop Culture Compare and Contrast Essay Examples

Christina aguilera vs. britney spears.

Sample lines: “Britney Spears vs. Christina Aguilera was the Coke vs. Pepsi of 1999 — no, really, Christina repped Coke and Britney shilled for Pepsi. The two teen idols released debut albums seven months apart before the turn of the century, with Britney’s becoming a standard-bearer for bubblegum pop and Aguilera’s taking an R&B bent to show off her range. … It’s clear that Spears and Aguilera took extremely divergent paths following their simultaneous breakout successes.”

Read the full essay: Christina Aguilera vs. Britney Spears at The Ringer

Harry Styles vs. Ed Sheeran

Sample lines: “The world heard our fantasies and delivered us two titans simultaneously—we have been blessed with Ed Sheeran and Harry Styles. Our cup runneth over; our bounty is immeasurable. More remarkable still is the fact that both have released albums almost at the same time: Ed’s third, Divide , was released in March and broke the record for one-day Spotify streams, while Harry’s frenziedly anticipated debut solo, called Harry Styles , was released yesterday.”

Read the full essay: Harry Styles versus Ed Sheeran at Belfast Telegraph

The Grinch: Three Versions Compared

Sample lines: “Based on the original story of the same name, this movie takes a completely different direction by choosing to break away from the cartoony form that Seuss had established by filming the movie in a live-action form. Whoville is preparing for Christmas while the Grinch looks down upon their celebrations in disgust. Like the previous film, The Grinch hatches a plan to ruin Christmas for the Who’s. … Like in the original Grinch, he disguises himself as Santa Claus, and makes his dog, Max, into a reindeer. He then takes all of the presents from the children and households. … Cole’s favorite is the 2000 edition, while Alex has only seen the original. Tell us which one is your favorite.”

Read the full essay: The Grinch: Three Versions Compared at Wooster School

Historical and Political Compare and Contrast Essay Examples

Malcolm x vs. martin luther king jr.: comparison between two great leaders’ ideologies .

Sample lines: “Although they were fighting for civil rights at the same time, their ideology and way of fighting were completely distinctive. This can be for a plethora of reasons: background, upbringing, the system of thought, and vision. But keep in mind, they devoted their whole life to the same prospect. … Through boycotts and marches, [King] hoped to end racial segregation. He felt that the abolition of segregation would improve the likelihood of integration. Malcolm X, on the other hand, spearheaded a movement for black empowerment.”

Read the full essay: Malcolm X vs. Martin Luther King Jr.: Comparison Between Two Great Leaders’ Ideologies  at Melaninful

Contrast Between Obama and Trump Has Become Clear

Sample lines: “The contrast is even clearer when we look to the future. Trump promises more tax cuts, more military spending, more deficits and deeper cuts in programs for the vulnerable. He plans to nominate a coal lobbyist to head the Environmental Protection Agency. … Obama says America must move forward, and he praises progressive Democrats for advocating Medicare for all. … With Obama and then Trump, Americans have elected two diametrically opposed leaders leading into two very different directions.”

Read the full essay: Contrast Between Obama and Trump Has Become Clear at Chicago Sun-Times

Sports Compare and Contrast Essay Examples

Lebron james vs. kobe bryant: a complete comparison.

Sample lines: “LeBron James has achieved so much in his career that he is seen by many as the greatest of all time, or at least the only player worthy of being mentioned in the GOAT conversation next to Michael Jordan. Bridging the gap between Jordan and LeBron though was Kobe Bryant, who often gets left out of comparisons and GOAT conversations. … Should his name be mentioned more though? Can he compare to LeBron or is The King too far past The Black Mamba in historical rankings already?”

Read the full essay: LeBron James vs. Kobe Bryant: A Complete Comparison at Sportskeeda

NFL: Tom Brady vs. Peyton Manning Rivalry Comparison

Sample lines: “Tom Brady and Peyton Manning were largely considered the best quarterbacks in the NFL for the majority of the time they spent in the league together, with the icons having many head-to-head clashes in the regular season and on the AFC side of the NFL Playoffs. Manning was the leader of the Indianapolis Colts of the AFC South. … Brady spent his career as the QB of the AFC East’s New England Patriots, before taking his talents to Tampa Bay. … The reality is that winning is the most important aspect of any career, and Brady won more head-to-head matchups than Manning did.”

Read the full essay: NFL: Tom Brady vs. Peyton Manning Rivalry Comparison at Sportskeeda

The Greatest NBA Franchise Ever: Boston Celtics or Los Angeles Lakers?

Sample lines: “The Celtics are universally considered as the greatest franchise in NBA history. But if you take a close look at the numbers, there isn’t really too much separation between them and their arch-rival Los Angeles Lakers. In fact, you can even make a good argument for the Lakers. … In 72 seasons played, the Boston Celtics have won a total of 3,314 games and lost 2,305 or a .590 winning mark. On the other hand, the Los Angeles Lakers have won 3,284 of 5,507 total games played or a slightly better winning record of .596. … But while the Lakers have the better winning percentage, the Celtics have the advantage over them in head-to-head competition.”

Read the full essay: The Greatest NBA Franchise Ever: Boston Celtics or Los Angeles Lakers? at Sport One

Is Soccer Better Than Football?

Sample lines: “Is soccer better than football? Soccer and football lovers have numerous reasons to support their sport of choice. Both keep the players physically fit and help to bring people together for an exciting cause. However, soccer has drawn more numbers globally due to its popularity in more countries.”

Read the full essay: Is Soccer Better Than Football? at Sports Brief

Lifestyle Choices Compare and Contrast Essay Examples

Mobile home vs. tiny house: similarities, differences, pros & cons.

Sample lines: “Choosing the tiny home lifestyle enables you to spend more time with those you love. The small living space ensures quality bonding time rather than hiding away in a room or behind a computer screen. … You’ll be able to connect closer to nature and find yourself able to travel the country at any given moment. On the other hand, we have the mobile home. … They are built on a chassis with transportation in mind. … They are not built to be moved on a constant basis. … While moving the home again *is* possible, it may cost you several thousand dollars.”

Read the full essay: Mobile Home vs. Tiny House: Similarities, Differences, Pros & Cons at US Mobile Home Pros

Whole Foods vs. Walmart: The Story of Two Grocery Stores

Sample lines: “It is clear that both stores have very different stories and aims when it comes to their customers. Whole Foods looks to provide organic, healthy, exotic, and niche products for an audience with a very particular taste. … Walmart, on the other hand, looks to provide the best deals, every possible product, and every big brand for a broader audience. … Moreover, they look to make buying affordable and accessible, and focus on the capitalist nature of buying.”

Read the full essay: Whole Foods vs. Walmart: The Story of Two Grocery Stores at The Archaeology of Us

Artificial Grass vs. Turf: The Real Differences Revealed

Sample lines: “The key difference between artificial grass and turf is their intended use. Artificial turf is largely intended to be used for sports, so it is shorter and tougher. On the other hand, artificial grass is generally longer, softer and more suited to landscaping purposes. Most homeowners would opt for artificial grass as a replacement for a lawn, for example. Some people actually prefer playing sports on artificial grass, too … artificial grass is often softer and more bouncy, giving it a feel similar to playing on a grassy lawn. … At the end of the day, which one you will choose will depend on your specific household and needs.”

Read the full essay: Artificial Grass vs. Turf: The Real Differences Revealed at Almost Grass

Minimalism vs. Maximalism: Differences, Similarities, and Use Cases

Sample lines: “Maximalists love shopping, especially finding unique pieces. They see it as a hobby—even a skill—and a way to express their personality. Minimalists don’t like shopping and see it as a waste of time and money. They’d instead use those resources to create memorable experiences. Maximalists desire one-of-a-kind possessions. Minimalists are happy with duplicates—for example, personal uniforms. … Minimalism and maximalism are about being intentional with your life and belongings. It’s about making choices based on what’s important to you.”

Read the full essay: Minimalism vs. Maximalism: Differences, Similarities, and Use Cases at Minimalist Vegan

Vegetarian vs. Meat Eating: Is It Better To Be a Vegetarian?

Sample lines: “You’ve heard buzz over the years that following a vegetarian diet is better for your health, and you’ve probably read a few magazine articles featuring a celeb or two who swore off meat and animal products and ‘magically’ lost weight. So does ditching meat automatically equal weight loss? Will it really help you live longer and be healthier overall? … Vegetarians appear to have lower low-density lipoprotein cholesterol levels, lower blood pressure  and lower rates of hypertension and type 2 diabetes than meat eaters. Vegetarians also tend to have a lower body mass index, lower overall cancer rates and lower risk of chronic disease. But if your vegetarian co-worker is noshing greasy veggie burgers and fries every day for lunch, is he likely to be healthier than you, who always orders the grilled salmon? Definitely not!”

Read the full essay: Vegetarian vs. Meat Eating: Is It Better To Be a Vegetarian? at WebMD

Healthcare Compare and Contrast Essay Examples

Similarities and differences between the health systems in australia & usa.

Sample lines: “Australia and the United States are two very different countries. They are far away from each other, have contrasting fauna and flora, differ immensely by population, and have vastly different healthcare systems. The United States has a population of 331 million people, compared to Australia’s population of 25.5 million people.”

Read the full essay: Similarities and Differences Between the Health Systems in Australia & USA at Georgia State University

Universal Healthcare in the United States of America: A Healthy Debate

Sample lines: “Disadvantages of universal healthcare include significant upfront costs and logistical challenges. On the other hand, universal healthcare may lead to a healthier populace, and thus, in the long-term, help to mitigate the economic costs of an unhealthy nation. In particular, substantial health disparities exist in the United States, with low socio-economic status segments of the population subject to decreased access to quality healthcare and increased risk of non-communicable chronic conditions such as obesity and type II diabetes, among other determinants of poor health.”

Read the full essay: Universal Healthcare in the United States of America: A Healthy Debate at National Library of Medicine

Pros and Cons of Physician Aid in Dying

Sample lines: “Physician aid in dying is a controversial subject raising issues central to the role of physicians. … The two most common arguments in favor of legalizing AID are respect for patient autonomy and relief of suffering. A third, related, argument is that AID is a safe medical practice, requiring a health care professional. … Although opponents of AID offer many arguments ranging from pragmatic to philosophical, we focus here on concerns that the expansion of AID might cause additional, unintended harm through suicide contagion, slippery slope, and the deaths of patients suffering from depression.”

Read the full essay: Pros and Cons of Physician Aid in Dying at National Library of Medicine

Animals Compare and Contrast Essay Examples

Compare and contrast paragraph—dogs and cats.

Sample lines: “Researchers have found that dogs have about twice the number of neurons in their cerebral cortexes than what cats have. Specifically, dogs had around 530 million neurons, whereas the domestic cat only had 250 million neurons. Moreover, dogs can be trained to learn and respond to our commands, but although your cat understands your name, and anticipates your every move, he/she may choose to ignore you.”

Read the full essay: Compare and Contrast Paragraph—Dogs and Cats at Proofwriting Guru via YouTube

Giddyup! The Differences Between Horses and Dogs

Sample lines: “Horses are prey animals with a deep herding instinct. They are highly sensitive to their environment, hyper aware, and ready to take flight if needed. Just like dogs, some horses are more confident than others, but just like dogs, all need a confident handler to teach them what to do. Some horses are highly reactive and can be spooked by the smallest things, as are dogs. … Another distinction between horses and dogs … was that while dogs have been domesticated , horses have been  tamed. … Both species have influenced our culture more than any other species on the planet.”

Read the full essay: Giddyup! The Differences Between Horses and Dogs at Positively Victoria Stilwell

Exotic, Domesticated, and Wild Pets

Sample lines: “Although the words ‘exotic’ and ‘wild’ are frequently used interchangeably, many people do not fully understand how these categories differ when it comes to pets. ‘A wild animal is an indigenous, non-domesticated animal, meaning that it is native to the country where you are located,’ Blue-McLendon explained. ‘For Texans, white-tailed deer, pronghorn sheep, raccoons, skunks, and bighorn sheep are wild animals … an exotic animal is one that is wild but is from a different continent than where you live.’ For example, a hedgehog in Texas would be considered an exotic animal, but in the hedgehog’s native country, it would be considered wildlife.”

Read the full essay: Exotic, Domesticated, and Wild Pets at Texas A&M University

Should Zoos Be Banned? Pros & Cons of Zoos

Sample lines: “The pros and cons of zoos often come from two very different points of view. From a legal standard, animals are often treated as property. That means they have less rights than humans, so a zoo seems like a positive place to maintain a high quality of life. For others, the forced enclosure of any animal feels like an unethical decision. … Zoos provide a protected environment for endangered animals, and also help in raising awareness and funding for wildlife initiatives and research projects. … Zoos are key for research. Being able to observe and study animals is crucial if we want to contribute to help them and repair the ecosystems. … Zoos are a typical form of family entertainment, but associating leisure and fun with the contemplation of animals in captivity can send the wrong signals to our children.”

Read the full essay: Should Zoos Be Banned? Pros & Cons of Zoos at EcoCation

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Compare and Contrast Essay: Full Writing Guide and 150+ Topics

Compare and contrast essays are academic papers in which a student analyses two or more subjects with each other. To compare means to explore similarities between subjects, while to contrast means to look at their differences. Both subjects of the comparison are usually in the same category, although they have their differences. For example, it can be two movies, two universities, two cars etc.

Good compare and contrast papers from college essay writer focus on a central point, explaining the importance and implications of this analysis. A compare and contrast essay thesis must make a meaningful comparison. Find the central theme of your essay and do some brainstorming for your thesis.

This type of essay is very common among college and university students. Professors challenge their students to use their analytical and comparative skills and pay close attention to the subjects of their comparisons. This type of essay exercises observance and analysis, helps to establish a frame of reference, and makes meaningful arguments about a subject. Let's get deeper on how to write a compare and contrast essay with our research writing services .

How to Start a Compare and Contrast Essay: Brainstorm Similarities and Differences

Now that you know what is compare and contrast essay and are set with your topic, the first thing you should do is grab a piece of paper and make a list with two columns: similarities and differences. Jot down key things first, the most striking ones. Then try to look at the subjects from a different angle, incorporating your imagination.

If you are more of a visual learner, creating a Venn diagram might be a good idea. In order to create it, draw two circles that overlap. In the section where it overlaps, note similarities. Differences should be written in the part of the circle that does not overlap.

Let’s look at a simple example of compare and contrast essay. Let one of the subjects be oranges, and the other one be apples. Oranges have thick peel, originally from India, and are tropical fruit. These characteristics pertain only to oranges and should be in the part of the circle that does not overlap. For the same section on apples, we put thin peel, originated in Turkey or Kazakhstan, and moderate to subtropical. In the section that overlaps, let’s say that they are both fruit, can be juiced, and grow on trees. This simple, yet good example illustrates how the same concept can be applied to many other complicated topics with additional points of comparison and contrast.

This format of visual aid helps to organize similarities and differences and make them easier to perceive. Your diagram will give you a clear idea of the things you can write about.

Another good idea for brainstorming in preparation for your comparison contrast essay is to create a list with 2 columns, one for each subject, and compare the same characteristics for each of them simultaneously. This compare and contrast format will make writing your comparison contrast paper argument a breeze, as you will have your ideas ready and organized.

One mistake you should avoid is simply listing all of the differences or similarities for each subject. Sometimes students get too caught up in looking for similarities and differences that their compare and contrast essays end up sounding like grocery lists. Your essay should be based on analyzing the similarities and differences, analyzing your conclusions about the two subjects, and finding connections between them—while following a specific format.

Compare and Contrast Essay Structure and Outline

So, how do you structure this compare and contrast paper? Well, since compare and contrast essay examples rely heavily on factual analysis, there are two outline methods that can help you organize your facts. You can use the block method, or point-by-point method, to write a compare and contrast essay outline.

While using the block structure of a compare and contrast essay, all the information is presented for the first subject, and its characteristics and specific details are explained. This concludes one block. The second block takes the same approach as the first for the second subject.

The point-by-point structure lists each similarity and difference simultaneously—making notes of both subjects. For example, you can list a characteristic specific to one subject, followed by its similarity or difference to the other subject.

Both formats have their pros and cons. The block method is clearly easier for a compare and contrast essay writer, as you simply point out all of the information about the two subjects, and basically leave it to the reader to do the comparison. The point-by-point format requires you to analyze the points yourself while making similarities and differences more explicit to the reader for them to be easier to understand. Here is a detailed structure of each type presented below.

Point-by-Point Method

• Introduce the topic;
• Specify your theme;
• Present your thesis - cover all areas of the essay in one sentence.

Example thesis: Cars and motorcycles make for excellent means of transportation, but a good choice depends on the person’s lifestyle, finances, and the city they live in.

Body Paragraph 1 - LIFESTYLE

• Topic Sentence: Motorcycles impact the owner’s lifestyle less than cars.
• Topic 1 - Motorcycles
• ~ Argument: Motorcycles are smaller and more comfortable to store.
• ~ Argument: Motorcycles are easy to learn and use.
• Topic 2 - Cars
• ~ Argument: Cars are a big deal - they are like a second home.
• ~ Argument: It takes time to learn to become a good driver.

Body Paragraph 2 - FINANCES

• Topic sentence: Cars are much more expensive than motorcycles
• ~ Argument: You can buy a good motorcycle for under 300$.
• ~ Argument: Fewer parts that are more accessible to fix.
• ~ Argument: Parts and service are expensive if something breaks.
• ~ Argument: Cars need more gas than motorcycles.

Body Paragraph 3 - CITY

• Topic sentence: Cars are a better option for bigger cities with wider roads.
• ~ Argument: Riding motorcycles in a big city is more dangerous than with cars.
• ~ Argument: Motorcycles work great in a city like Rome, where all the streets are narrow.
• ~ Argument: Big cities are easier and more comfortable to navigate by car.
• ~ Argument: With a car, traveling outside of the city is much easier.
• Sum up all you wrote in the article.

Block Method

• Thesis — cover all areas of the essay in one sentence

Body Paragraph 1

• Topic Sentence: Motorcycles are cheaper and easier to take care of than cars.
• Aspect 1 - Lifestyle
• Aspect 2 - Finances
• ~ Argument: Fewer parts, easier to fix.
• Aspect 3 - City
• ~ Argument: Riding motorcycles in a big city is more dangerous than cars.

Body Paragraph 2

• Topic sentence: Cars are more expensive but more comfortable for a big city and for travelling.
• ~ Argument: Cars are a big deal—like a second home.
• ~ Argument: With a car, traveling outside the city is much more comfortable.

Body Paragraph 3 ‍

Use the last paragraph to evaluate the comparisons and explain why they’re essential. Giving a lot of facts can be intense. To water it down, try to give the reader any real-life applications of these facts.

Depending on the structure selected, you can begin to create an outline for your essay. The typical comparison essay follows the format of having an introduction, three body paragraphs, and a conclusion — though, if you need to focus on each subject in more detailed ways, feel free to include an extra paragraph to cover all of the most important points.

To make your compare and contrast essay flow better, we recommend using special transition words and phrases. They will add variety and improve your paper overall.

For the section where you compare two subjects, you can include any of the following words: similarly, likewise, also, both, just like, similar to, the same as, alike, or to compare to. When contrasting two subjects, use: in contrast, in comparison, by comparison, on the other hand, while, whereas, but, to differ from, dissimilar to, or unlike.

Show Your Evidence

Arguments for any essay, including compare and contrast essays, need to be supported by sufficient evidence. Make good use of your personal experiences, books, scholarly articles, magazine and newspaper articles, movies, or anything that will make your argument sound credible. For example, in your essay, if you were to compare attending college on campus vs. distance-based learning, you could include your personal experiences of being a student, and how often students show up to class on a daily basis. You could also talk about your experience taking online classes, which makes your argument about online classes credible as well.

Helpful Final Tips

The biggest tip dissertation writing services can give you is to have the right attitude when writing a compare contrast essay, and actively engage the reader in the discussion. If you find it interesting, so will your reader! Here are some more compare and contrast essay tips that will help you to polish yours up:

• Compare and contrast essays need powerful transitions. Try learning more about writing transition sentences using the words we provided for you in the 'Compare and Contrast Structure and Outline' section.
• Always clarify the concepts you introduce in your essay. Always explain lesser known information—don’t assume the reader must already know it.
• Do not forget to proofread. Small mistakes, but in high quantities, can result in a low grade. Pay attention to your grammar and punctuation.
• Have a friend or family member take a look at your essay; they may notice things you have missed.

Compare and Contrast Essay Examples

Now that you know everything there is to know about compare and contrast essays, let’s take a look at some compare and contrast examples to get you started on your paper or get a hand from our essay helper .

Different countries across the world have diverse cultural practices, and this has an effect on work relationships and development. Geert Hofstede came up with a structured way of comparing cultural dimensions of different countries. The theory explains the impacts of a community’s culture on the values of the community members, and the way these values relate to their behaviors. He gives scores as a way to help distinguish people from different nations using the following dimensions: long-term orientation, individualism, power distance, indulgence, necessity avoidance, and masculinity. Let us examine comparisons between two countries: the United Kingdom and China — based on Hofstede’s Six Dimensions of Culture.

Over the last two decades, the demand from consumers for organic foods has increased tremendously. In fact, the popularity of organic foods has exploded significantly with consumers, spending a considerably higher amount of money on them as compared to the amount spent on inorganic foods. The US market noted an increase in sales of more than 10% between 2014 and 2015 (Brown, n.p). The increase is in line with the views of many consumers that organic foods are safer, tastier, and healthier compared to the inorganic foods. Furthermore, considering the environmental effects of foods, organic foods present less risk of environmental pollution — compared to inorganic foods. By definition, organic foods are those that are grown without any artificial chemical treatment, or treatment by use of other substances that have been modified genetically, such as hormones and/or antibiotics (Brown, n.p).

Still feeling confused about the complexities of the compare and contrast essay? Feel free to contact our paper writing service to get a professional writing help.

Finding the Best Compare and Contrast Essay Topics For You

When choosing a topic for your comparison essay, remember that subjects cannot be drastically different, because there would be little to no points of comparison (similarities). The same goes for too many similarities, which will result in poor contrasts. For example, it is better to write about two composers, rather than a composer and a singer.

It is extremely important to choose a topic you are passionate about. You never want to come across something that seems dull and uninspiring for you. Here are some excellent ways to brainstorm for a topic from essay writer :

• Find categories: Choose a type (like animals, films or economics), and compare subjects within that category – wild animals to farm animals, Star Wars to Star Trek, private companies to public companies, etc.
• Random Surprising Fact: Dig for fun facts which could make great topics. Did you know that chickens can be traced back to dinosaurs?
• Movie vs. Book: Most of the time, the book is better than the movie — unless it’s Blade Runner or Lord of the Rings. If you’re a pop culture lover, compare movies vs. books, video games, comics, etc.

Use our rewrite essay service when you need help from professionals.

How to Choose a Great Compare and Contrast Topic

College students should consider providing themselves with a chance to use all topic examples. With enough revision, an advantage is gained. As it will be possible to compare arguments and contrast their aspects. Also, discuss numerous situations to get closer to the conclusion.

For example:

• Choose a topic from the field of your interests. Otherwise you risk failing your paper.
• It is a good idea to choose a topic based upon the class subject or specialist subject. (Unless the requirements say otherwise.)
• Analyze each argument carefully. Include every detail for each opposing idea. Without doing so, you can definitely lower grades.
• Write a conclusion that summarizes both arguments. It should allow readers to find the answer they’re looking for.
• It is up to you to determine which arguments are right and wrong in the final conclusion.
• Before approaching the final conclusion, it’s important to discuss each argument equally. It is a bad idea to be biased, as it can also lower grades.

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150 Compare and Contrast Essay Topics to Consider

Choosing a topic can be a challenging task, but there are plenty of options to consider. In the following sections, we have compiled a list of 150 compare and contrast essay topics to help you get started. These topics cover a wide range of subjects, from education and technology to history and politics. Whether you are a high school student or a college student, you are sure to find a topic that interests you. So, read on to discover some great compare and contrast essay ideas.

Compare and Contrast Essay Topics For College Students

When attending a college, at any time your professor can assign you the task of writing this form of an essay. Consider these topics for college students from our team to get the grades you deserve.

• Attending a College Course Vs. Distance-Based Learning.
• Writing a Research Paper Vs. Writing a Creative Writing Paper. What are the differences and similarities?
• The differences between a Bachelor’s Degree and a Master’s Degree.
• The key aspects of the differences between the US and the UK education systems.
• Completing assignments at a library compared with doing so at home. Which is the most efficient?
• The similarities and differences in the behavior among married and unmarried couples.
• The similarities and differences between the EU (European Union) and ASEAN (The Association of Southeast Asian Nations)?
• The similarities and significant differences between American and Canadian English.
• Writing an Internship Report Vs. Writing a Research Paper
• The differences between US colleges and colleges in the EU?

Interesting Compare and Contrast Essay Topics

Some topics for the compare and contrast essay format can be boring. To keep up motivation, doing a research , have a look at these topics. Maybe they can serve you as research paper help .

• Public Transport Vs. Driving A Car. Which is more efficient?
• Mandarin Vs. Cantonese: What are the differences between these Chinese languages?
• Sports Cars Vs. Luxurious Family Cars
• Wireless Technology Vs. Wired Devices
• Thai Food Vs. Filipino Cuisine
• What is the difference and similarities between a register office marriage and a traditional marriage?
• The 2000s Vs. The 2010s. What are the differences and what makes them similar?
• Abu Dhabi Vs. Dubai. What are the main factors involved in the differences?
• What are the differences between American and British culture?
• What does the New York Metro do differently to the London Underground?

Compare and Contrast Essay Topics for High School Students

When writing essays for high school, it is good to keep them informative. Have a look at these compare and contrast sample topics.

• Highschool Life Vs. College Life
• Paying College Fees Vs. Being Awarded a Scholarship
• All Night Study Sessions Vs. Late Night Parties
• Teenager Vs. Young Adult Relationships
• Being in a Relationship Vs. Being Single
• Male Vs. Female Behavior
• The similarities and differences between a high school diploma and a college degree
• The similarities and differences between Economics and Business Studies
• The benefits of having a part-time job, instead of a freelance job, in college
• High School Extra Curricular Activities Vs. Voluntarily Community Services

Compare and Contrast Essay Topics for Science

At some point, every science student will be assigned this type of essay. To keep things at flow, have a look at best compare and contrast essay example topics on science:

• Undiscovered Species on Earth Vs. Potential Life on Mars: What will we discover in the future?
• The benefits of Gasoline Powered Cars Vs. Electric Powered Cars
• The differences of the Milky Way Vs. Centaurus (Galaxies).
• Earthquakes Vs. Hurricanes: What should be prepared for the most?
• The differences between our moon and Mars’ moons.
• SpaceX Vs. NASA. What is done differently within these organizations?
• The differences and similarities between Stephen Hawking and Brian Cox’s theories on the cosmos. Do they agree or correspond with each other?
• Pregnancy Vs. Motherhood
• Jupiter Vs. Saturn
• Greenhouse Farming Vs. Polytunnel Farming

Sports & Leisure Topics

Studying Physical Education? Or a gym fanatic? Have a look at our compare and contrast essay topics for sports and leisure.

• The English Premier League Compared With The Bundesliga
• Real Madrid Vs. Barcelona
• Football Vs. Basketball
• Walking Vs. Eating Outside with Your Partner
• Jamaica Team Vs. United States Team: Main Factors and Differences
• Formula One Vs. Off-Road Racing
• Germany Team Vs. Brazil Team
• Morning Exercise Vs. Evening Exercise.
• Manning Team Vs. Brazil Team
• Swimming Vs. Cycling

Topics About Culture

Culture can have several meanings. If you’re a Religious Studies or Culture student, take a look at these good compare and contrast essay topics about culture.

• The fundamental similarities and differences between Pope Francis and Tawadros II of Alexandria
• Canadian Vs. Australian Religion
• The differences between Islamic and Christian Holidays
• The cultural similarities and differences between the Native Aboriginals and Caucasian Australians
• Native American Culture Vs. New England Culture
• The cultural differences and similarities between Italians and Sicilians
• In-depth: The origins of Buddhism and Hinduism
• In-depth: The origins of Christianity and Islam
• Greek Gods Vs. Hindu Gods
• The Bible: Old Testament Vs. New Testament

Unique Compare and Contrast Essay Topics

What about writing an essay which is out of the ordinary? Consider following these topics to write a compare and contrast essay on, that are unique.

• The reasons why some wealthy people pay extortionate amounts of money for gold-plated cell phones, rather than buying the normal phone.
• The differences between Lipton Tea and Ahmad Tea
• American Football Vs. British Football: What are their differences?
• The differences and similarities between France and Britain
• Fanta Vs. 7Up
• Traditional Helicopters Vs. Lifesize Drones
• The differences and similarities between Boston Dynamics and the fictional equivalent Skynet (From Terminator Movies).
• Socialism Vs. Capitalism: Which is better?
• Curved Screen TVs’ Vs. Regular Flat Screen TVs’: Are they really worth big bucks?
• Is it better to wear black or white at funerals?

Good Compare and Contrast Essay Topics

Sometimes, it may be a requirement to take it back a notch. Especially if you’re new to these style of writing. Consider having a look at these good compare and contrast essay topics that are pretty easy to start off.

• Is it a good idea to work on weekdays or weekends?
• Black of White Coffee
• Becoming a teacher or a doctor? Which career choice has more of an impact on society?
• Air Travel Vs. Sea Travel: Which is better?
• Rail Travel Vs. Road Travel: Which is more convenient?
• What makes Europe far greater than Africa? In terms of financial growth, regulations, public funds, policies etc…
• Eating fruit for breakfast Vs. cereals
• Staying Home to Read Vs. Traveling the World During Holidays. Which is more beneficial for personal growth?
• Japanese Vs. Brazilian Cuisine
• What makes ASEAN Nations more efficient than African Nations?

Compare and Contrast Essay Topics About TV Shows, Music and Movies

We all enjoy at least one of these things. If not, all of them. Why not have a go at writing a compare and contrast essay about what you have been recently watching or listening to?

• Breaking Bad Vs. Better Call Saul: Which is more commonly binge watched?
• The differences between Dance Music and Heavy Metal
• James Bond Vs. Johnny English
• Iron Man Vs. The Incredible Hulk: Who would win?
• What is done differently in modern movies, compared to old black and white movies?
• Dumber and Dumber 2 Vs. Ted: Which movie is funnier?
• Are Horror movies or Action Movies best suited to you?
• The differences and similarities between Mozart and Beethoven compositions.
• Hip Hop Vs. Traditional Music
• Classical Music Vs. Pop Music. Which genre helps people concentrate?

Topics About Art

Sometimes, art students are required to write this style of essay. Have a look at these compare and contrast essay topics about the arts of the centuries.

• The fundamental differences and similarities between paintings and sculptures
• The different styles of Vincent Van Gogh and Leonardo Da Vinci.
• Viewing Original Art Compared With Digital Copies. How are these experiences different?
• 18th Century Paintings Vs. 21st Century Digitally Illustrated Images
• German Art Vs. American Art
• Modern Painting Vs. Modern Photography
• How can we compare modern graphic designers to 18th-century painters?
• Ancient Greek Art Vs. Ancient Egyptian Art
• Ancient Japanese Art Vs. Ancient Persian Art
• What 16th Century Painting Materials were used compared with the modern day?

Best Compare and Contrast Essay Topics

Almost every student at any stage of academics is assigned this style of writing. If you’re lacking inspiration, consider looking at some of the best compare and contrast essay topics to get you on track with your writing.

• The United States and North Korea Governmental Conflict: What is the reason behind this phenomenon?
• In the Early Hours, Drinking Water is far healthier than consuming soda.
• The United States Vs. The People’s Republic of China: Which economy is the most efficient?
• Studying in Foreign Countries Vs. Studying In Your Hometown: Which is more of an advantage?
• Toast Vs. Cereal: Which is the most consumed in the morning?
• Sleeping Vs. Daydreaming: Which is the most commonly prefered? And amongst who?
• Learning French Vs. Chinese: Which is the most straightforward?
• Android Phones Vs. iPhones
• The Liberation of Slaves Vs. The Liberation of Women: Which is more remembered?
• The differences between the US Dollar and British Pound. What are their advantages? And How do they correspond with each other?

Easy Compare and Contrast Essay Topics

In all types of academics, these essays occur. If you’re new to this style of writing, check our easy compare and contrast essay topics.

• The Third Reich Vs. North Korea
• Tea Vs. Coffee
• iPhone Vs. Samsung
• KFC Vs. Wendy’s
• Laurel or Yanny?
• Healthy Lifestyle Vs. Obese Lifestyle
• Forkes Vs. Sporks
• Rice Vs. Porridge
• Roast Dinner Vs. Chicken & Mushroom Pie
• What’s the difference between apples and oranges?

Psychology Compare and Contrast Essay Topics

Deciding upon good compare and contrast essay topics for psychology assignments can be difficult. Consider referring to our list of 10 psychology compare and contrast essay topics to help get the deserved grades.

• What is a more severe eating order? Bulimia or Anorexia
• Modern Medicine Vs. Traditional Medicine for Treating Depression?
• Soft Drugs Vs. Hard Drugs. Which is more dangerous for people’s psychological well-being?
• How do the differences between Lust and Love have an effect on people’s mindsets?
• Ego Vs. Superego
• Parents Advice Vs. Peers Advice amongst children and teens.
• Strict Parenting Vs. Relaxed Parenting
• Mental Institutions Vs. Stress Clinics
• Bipolar Disorder Vs. Epilepsy
• How does child abuse affect victims in later life?

Compare and Contrast Essay Topics for Sixth Graders

From time to time, your teacher will assign the task of writing a compare and contrast essay. It can be hard to choose a topic, especially for beginners. Check out our easy compare and contrast essay topics for sixth graders.

• Exam Preparation Vs. Homework Assignments
• Homeschooling Vs. Public Education
• High School Vs. Elementary School
• 5th Grade Vs. 6th Grade: What makes them different or the same?
• Are Moms’ or Dads’ more strict among children?
• Is it better to have strict parents or more open parents?
• Sandy Beaches Vs. Pebble Beaches: Which beaches are more popular?
• Is it a good idea to learn guitar or piano?
• Is it better to eat vegetable salads or pieces of fruit for lunch?
• 1st Grade Vs. 6th Grade

Funny Compare and Contrast Essay Topics

Sometimes, it is good to have a laugh. As they always say : 'laughter is the best medicine'. Check out these funny compare and contrast essay topics for a little giggle when writing.

• What is the best way to waste your time? Watching Funny Animal Videos or Mr. Bean Clips?
• Are Pug Dogs or Maltese Dogs crazier?
• Pot Noodles Vs. McDonalds Meals.
• What is the difference between Peter Griffin and Homer Simpson?
• Mrs. Doubtfire Vs. Mrs. Brown. How are they similar?
• Which game is more addictive? Flappy Bird or Angry Birds?
• Big Shaq Vs. PSY
• Stewie Griffin Vs. Maggie Simpson
• Quarter Pounders Vs. Big Macs
• Mr. Bean Vs. Alan Harper

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Writing a Comparison-and-Contrast Essay

First, choose whether you want to compare seemingly disparate subjects, contrast seemingly similar subjects, or compare and contrast subjects. Once you have decided on a topic, introduce it with an engaging opening paragraph. Your thesis should come at the end of the introduction, and it should establish the subjects you will compare, contrast, or both as well as state what can be learned from doing so. Be sure to make an argument in your thesis; explain to the reader what’s at stake in analyzing the relationship between your stated subjects.

The body of the essay can be organized in one of two ways: by subject or by individual points. The organizing strategy that you choose will depend on, as always, your audience and your purpose. You may also consider your particular approach to the subjects as well as the nature of the subjects themselves; some subjects might better lend themselves to one structure or the other. Make sure to use comparison and contrast phrases to cue the reader to the ways in which you are analyzing the relationship between the subjects.

After you finish analyzing the subjects, write a conclusion that summarizes the main points of the essay and reinforces your thesis. This conclusion is the “and so” statement for your essay, giving you the place to offer a judgment based on the examination you have just offered.

Sample Comparison-and-Contrast Essays

A South African Storm

By Allison Howard – Peace Corps Volunteer: South Africa (2003-2005)

It’s a Saturday afternoon in January in South Africa. When I begin the 45–minute walk to the shops for groceries, I can hear thunder cracking in the distance up the mountain in Mageobaskloof. But at 4 p.m. the sky is still light and bright and I am sure—famous last words—I will be fine without an umbrella.

Just the basics: eggs, bread, Diet Coke in a bag slung into the crook of my elbow. Halfway from town, two black South African women—domestic workers in the homes of white Afrikaner families—stop me with wide smiles. They know me; I’m the only white person in town who walks everywhere, as they do. They chatter quickly in northern Sotho: “Missus, you must go fast. Pula e tla na! The rain, it comes!” They like me, and it feels very important to me that they do.“Yebo, yebo, mma,” I say—Yes, it’s true—and I hurry along in flip-flops, quickening my pace, feeling good about our brief but neighborly conversation. These are Venda women.

My black South African friends tell me it’s easy to tell a Venda from a Shangaan from a Xhosa from a Pedi. “These ones from Venda, they have wide across the nose and high in the cheekbones,” they say. But I don’t see it; I’m years away from being able to distinguish the nuances of ethnicity. Today, I know these women are Vendas simply because of their clothing: bright stripes of green and yellow and black fabric tied at one shoulder and hanging quite like a sack around their bodies. They’ve already extended a kindness to me by speaking in northern Sotho. It’s not their language but they know I don’t speak a word of Afrikaans (though they don’t understand why; Afrikaans is the language of white people). They know I struggle with Sotho and they’re trying to help me learn. So they speak Sotho to me and they’re delighted and amused by my fumbling responses. And I am, quite simply, delighted by their delight.

The Venda ladies are right: the rain, it comes. Lightly at first, and by habit I begin trotting to hurry my way home. Just a little rain at first and there are plenty of us out in it. I can see others up ahead on the street and others still just leaving the shops to get back before the real rain begins.

The people who are walking along this swath of tar road are black. Black people don’t live in this neighborhood—or in my town at all, for the most part. They work and board here as domestic workers, nannies, gardeners. Their families live in black townships and rural villages—some just outside of my town; others far away, in places like Venda.

Today, we’re walking together in the rain, and I’m quickening my pace because—after all, it’s raining. That’s what you do in the rain. And even though it’s coming down noticeably harder, it’s 80 degrees and I’m not cold, I’m just wet. My hair is stuck to my forehead and my T-shirt is soaked … and I’m the only one running for cover. And I think: So what? It’s just water and in the middle of the January summer, it’s warm, refreshing water. Why run? Why do we run from the rain?

In my life back in the United States, I might run because I was carrying a leather handbag, or because I wore an outfit that shouldn’t get wet. I would run because rain dishevels and messes things up. Mostly though, we run because we just do; it’s a habit. I’ve done it a hundred times: running to my car or the subway station with a newspaper sheltering my head. I have never not quickened my pace in the rain until today.

It took all of my 27 years and a move to Africa, where I don’t have a leather handbag to shelter or a pretty outfit to protect. I’m wearing an old cotton skirt and a T-shirt, and I’m drenched, and I love it. I learn things here in the most ordinary circumstances. And I feel like a smarter, better woman today because I got groceries in the rain.

But on the long walk home, positively soaked and smiling like a fool, I notice a car pulling over and a man yelling in Afrikaans to get in, get in. I look in the direction I’ve come from and several meters behind me is a woman with a baby tied to her back and an elderly man carrying bags, leading a young boy by the hand. On the road ahead, a woman about my age carries a parcel wrapped in plastic, balanced precariously on her head. There are maybe 20 people walking with me in my reverie of rain and they are black. And the man in the car is white and he’s gesturing frantically for me to get in. Why me? Why not the others? Because I’m white and it’s about race. Everything is about race here.

This man in the car is trying to do something kind and neighborly. He wants to help me and his gesture is right, but his instincts are so wrong. How do you resent someone who is, for no benefit of his own, trying to help? But I do. I resent him and I resent the world he lives in that taught him such selective kindness. This whole event unravels in a few seconds’ time. He’s leaned over and opened the car door, urging me in … and I get in. And we speed past my fellow walkers and he drops me at my doorstep before I have time to think of anything besides giving him directions.

It feels like a mistake because I’m ashamed to think what the Venda women would have felt if he’d ignored them and they had watched me climb into that car. In some ways, the whole episode seems absurd. I’m not going to atone for 400 years of South African history by walking with black people in the rain. If I’d refused his ride, he wouldn’t have thought anything besides the fact that I was certifiably crazy. That’s the thing about being here: I’m not going to change anything. But I believe it matters in some infinitesimal way that people like the Venda women, and the dozens of people who may walk alongside me on any given day, know that I’m there. In black South African culture it is polite to greet every person you pass. That’s what they do, so I do it, too. On the occasional morning, someone might greet me as “sesi,” sister. I have to believe that matters; I know it matters to me.

I was disappointed in myself for getting into the car because I acted according to the same habit that makes us think rain an inconvenience. Just as we run from the rain, I hopped into that car because I’m supposed to. Conventionally, it makes sense. But convention compels us to do so many things that don’t make any sense at all. Convention misinforms our instincts. And in a larger sense, it is convention that propels Afrikaner culture anachronistically into the future. Ten years after the supposed end of apartheid, I’m living in a world of institutionalized racism. Convention becomes institution—and it’s oppressive and it’s unjust. I know that if I’m going to make it here for two more years, I need to walk in the rain. It’s a small, wasted gesture, but it’s an uncorrupted instinct that makes me feel human.

So much about living here feels like that fraction of a second when the Afrikaner man was appealing to my conventional sensibilities and the people on the street were appealing to my human instincts. It may feel unnatural to reject those sensibilities just as, at first, it feels unnatural to walk in the rain. But if I lose a hold on my instincts here, I’ll fail myself and I’ll fail to achieve those tiny things that matter so much. It’s simple and it’s small; and it’s everything. Gandhi said, “Be the change you wish to see in the world.” Indeed. Let it rain.

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.

Sample Student Outline

In “Batman: A Hero for Any Time,” Jacob Gallman-Dreiling compares the traditional portrayal of the superhero Batman with the modern version. As you read, look for the comparison and contrast phrases that the author uses to help the reader understand the argument he is making. What kind of organizational structure does the essay follow?

Jacob Gallman-Dreiling

English 1101

16 March 2013

Thesis : Although the framework of the Batman story always remains the same, the character has been re-imagined over time to suit the changing expectations of a hero through his characterization as well as that of those who surround him, both friends and foes.

• Bruce Wayne’s parents are murdered in front of him.
• Bruce Wayne grows up to inherit his parents’ fortune.
• Batman fights crime with the help of Commissioner Gordon and others.
• Batman employs an arsenal of non-lethal weapons to aid him.
• Characters could not use concealed weapons.
• Stories required “morals.”
• Stories could not use kidnapping or excessive violence.
• Stories incorporated elements of science fiction.
• Stories had limitations on the portrayal of female characters.
• Batman’s suits often had ridiculous properties he conveniently prepared for the upcoming mission.
• Batman is haunted by the death of his parents.
• Batman has become a skilled detective and fighter.
• Batman’s suit is more armor than spandex.
• Batman is haunted by his mistakes.
• Batman and Commissioner Gordon conspire to hide the truth about Harvey Dent from the people of Gotham.
• Characters like Ace the Bat-Hound, Bat-Mice, and Batwoman were created to draw in children.
• Issues were built around a villain-of-the-week.
• Dick Grayson grows up and goes to college.
• Batgirl is paralyzed by the Joker.
• Joker is given several conflicting backstories explaining his psychosis.
• Catwoman has changed from a harmless cat-burglar to a reformed prostitute.

Sample Student Essay

Batman: A Hero for Any Time

Few ideas in this world are as timeless as that of a superhero. The ancient Greeks had Odysseus and Hercules. The British have Sherlock Holmes and Allan Quatermain. The Americans developed the modern concept of the superhero with characters like Superman and Spider-Man and created elaborate stories for the origin of their powers, much like the Greeks used when creating their heroes. While the world of superheroes was originally a white man’s club, the creation of Wonder Woman ushered in a new era of diversity. Now men, women, people of color, even those of differing sexual orientations are represented among the ranks of those who fight against evil. Though teams of superheroes like the Justice League of America and the XMen have enduring popularity, few superheroes have captured the imagination like Batman. Created in 1939 by Bob Kane and Bill Finger, a boy orphaned by violence grows to become the Caped Crusader, avenger of the fictional of Gotham. This comic book hero has spurred film, radio, and television adaptations, has spawned action figures and video games, and has maintained an uninterrupted comic book publication, something few other superhero titles can boast. Although the framework of the Batman story always remains the same, the character has been re-imagined over time to suit the changing expectations of a hero through his characterization as well as through the portrayal of those who surround him, both friends and foes.

The basic framework of the Batman story has stayed the same since his debut in May, 1939. At the age of eight, Bruce Wayne, the son of wealthy socialites, witnesses his parents’ murder at the hands of a desperate mugger and swears to avenge their deaths by waging war on all criminals. He grows up to inherit their fortune and the family company, using the money to fund charitable efforts and to reside in stately Wayne Manor. By night, he becomes Batman, ridding the Gotham City streets of menacing foes like the Joker, the Riddler, and Two-Face. He is aided in his fight by his sidekick Robin, Batgirl, and Commissioner Gordon, as well as his butler Alfred Pennyworth. His most enduring love interest is Selina Kyle, who is also known as the notorious cat-burglar, Catwoman. Batman eschews lethal weaponry such as guns, instead preferring to outwit his foes using his intellect to bring them to justice.

While the key details of Batman’s backstory have remained unchanged for almost seventy-five years, his characterization has changed to suit the ever-evolving expectations of a superhero. When the character debuted in the Silver Age of comics—the decades between 1950 and 1970—he was a sunny, pulpy character: he was billed as the “World’s Greatest Detective” and performed as such, while reflecting what is considered to be a more innocent time. His villains were grand, but he outsmarted them using his intelligence and science. The introduction of the Comics Code Authority in 1954 restricted not only the way that stories were presented but also the types of stories that could be presented. For instance, concealed weapons were forbidden, stories were required to have “morals,” and kidnapping and excessive violence were forbidden. As such, Batman’s stories began incorporating elements of science fiction. As the comics demonstrate, Batman famously repels aliens and an island of animatronic dinosaurs during this period. Also, female characters in the Batman stories of this time are poorly treated. The villain Catwoman had to be shelved due to regulations regarding women and violence, while the original Batwoman was brought on as a potential love interest to quiet the growing assertion of conservative culture warriors that Batman and Robin were, in fact, lovers. When this version of Batwoman was deemed unnecessary, she was written out. This period is also famous for Batman having “batsuits” with heretofore unseen special properties, such as fireproofing and thermal heating.

Modern portrayals of Batman show him as a deeply flawed, psychologically scarred hero. During the 1980s the Comics Code’s influence was waning, and writers like Frank Miller took advantage of this to tell brutal, psychological stories. Haunted by the murder of his parents, a modern Batman is dangerous and calculating. He has returned to his roots as a skilled detective and fighter, which has made him suspicious and paranoid. He is often depicted as having calculated how to defeat his allies, should the need arise, with contingency plans for everyone from Robin to Superman. Modern writers have a young Bruce Wayne train as a ninja before returning to Gotham to become Batman, so greater emphasis is placed on his stealth and fighting skills. The batsuit has reflected this change as well, shifting from a cloth/spandex suit to one that is very clearly body armor, built to withstand bullets and knives.

He is also haunted by his mistakes. After the death of Jason Todd, the second sidekick to go by the codename Robin, Batman spirals into anger and depression over not being able to prevent Jason’s death at the hands of the Joker. For the next decade, Jason’s murder haunts Batman alongside that of his parents as his greatest failure. He puts Jason’s costume on display in the Batcave as motivation. In the 2008 Christopher Nolan film The Dark Knight , Batman and Commissioner Gordon conspire to hide the truth of the popular District Attorney Harvey Dent’s descent into madness so that Gotham City will have a symbol of hope. While that decision is for the good of the city, it leads to Bruce Wayne’s reclusion and an eight year hiatus as Batman. Such dark, psychological stories would never have been allowed during the heyday of the Comics Code Authority.

Just as the portrayal of Batman has shifted to meet the current expectations of a superhero, so too have the depictions of the characters around him, both allies and enemies. During the Silver Age, Batman’s associates are, like Batman himself, light-hearted. Characters like Ace the Bat-Hound and the Bat-Mice were introduced to bring in more young readers, though these characters were rarely seen after 1964. Issues were built around a villain-of-the-week who is purely evil and has no outside motivation. These stories also tend to be episodic with no story arcs or even character arcs. The Joker is originally a calculating murderer, but his character becomes a gleeful trickster to comply with the Code.

As readers matured, the creative forces driving the various Batman outlets were able to tell more complex, meaningful stories. Thus, in modern portrayals, Batman’s associates deal with real, lasting consequences and changes. Beginning with Frank Miller’s The Dark Knight comic series, Batman’s friends begin their trials. Dick Grayson, the original Robin, grows up and goes to college, being replaced by the ill-fated Jason Todd. He becomes a hero in his own right, going by the codename Nightwing and becoming the leader of the Teen Titans. In the seminal 1988 graphic novel The Killing Joke , Batgirl is partially paralyzed by the Joker, who shoots her through her spine as part of an effort to drive her father, Commissioner Gordon, insane. This condition lasts until the DC-Universe-wide reboot in 2011, and she is now able to walk and has resumed the mantle of Batgirl. The Joker himself has been given many different backstories, all of them horrific. Filmmakers give a nod to the Joker’s varied backstories in the film The Dark Knight by having the Joker give conflicting accounts of how he received his trademark scars. Catwoman is originally just a bored housewife who turns to crime, but beginning in the 1980s her story retroactively changes to her being a prostitute who turns to burglary to buy freedom for herself and her sister. Once a staunch villain of Batman, this new version of the character is portrayed more as an antihero; though she is not necessarily an upstanding citizen, the new Catwoman will join forces with Batman to fight evil when it suits her. These stories appeal to an audience craving depth and substance to their characters, far different from the Pre-Vietnam War era Batman stories.

While the key details to the Batman story never change, the way the character has been presented has changed over time, as has the way his associated characters have been presented. It is perhaps this adaptability that has allowed Batman to flourish in popularity for almost seventy-five years, with no signs of that popularity waning. As the demographic for Batman’s stories matures, the power wielded by the Comics Code Authority has diminished, making darker, more meaningful stories possible. Previously one dimensional characters were given subtleties and nuances, much in the way modern film versions depict the heroes of old, from Odysseus to Sherlock Holmes. As society’s norms change, this change is reflected in the way films, stories, and comic books depict superheroes. With all the changes occurring in culture worldwide, who knows what the next generation’s Batman will be like?

External Links

“ Disability ” ( https://tinyurl.com/y99te6e2 ) by Nancy Mairs: In “Disability,” writer Nancy Mairs discusses the experience of being a disabled person in a world focused on the able-bodied. It seems to be titled “Hers” but it is the correct essay.

“ Friending, Ancient or Otherwise ” ( https://tinyurl.com/y85u8ae8 ) by Alex Wright: In “Friending, Ancient or Otherwise,” writer Alex Wright explores the evolution and purpose of friendship in the age of social media.

“ Sex, Lies and Conversation: Why Is It So Hard for Men and Women to Talk to Each Other ? ” ( https://tinyurl.com/y95dpehx ) by Deborah Tannen. In this essay, Tannen compares and contrasts conversation styles. You can view the essay here ( https://tinyurl.com/y9vnjqv8 ) also.

Contributors and Attributions

Adapted from  Successful College Composition (Crowther et al.) . Sourced from  LibreTexts , licensed under  CC BY-NC-SA  .

Adapted from  Let's Get Writing (Browning, DeVries, Boylan, Kurtz and Burton) . Sourced from  LibreTexts , licensed under  CC BY-NC-SA  .

Comparing and Contrasting

What this handout is about.

This handout will help you first to determine whether a particular assignment is asking for comparison/contrast and then to generate a list of similarities and differences, decide which similarities and differences to focus on, and organize your paper so that it will be clear and effective. It will also explain how you can (and why you should) develop a thesis that goes beyond “Thing A and Thing B are similar in many ways but different in others.”

Introduction

In your career as a student, you’ll encounter many different kinds of writing assignments, each with its own requirements. One of the most common is the comparison/contrast essay, in which you focus on the ways in which certain things or ideas—usually two of them—are similar to (this is the comparison) and/or different from (this is the contrast) one another. By assigning such essays, your instructors are encouraging you to make connections between texts or ideas, engage in critical thinking, and go beyond mere description or summary to generate interesting analysis: when you reflect on similarities and differences, you gain a deeper understanding of the items you are comparing, their relationship to each other, and what is most important about them.

Recognizing comparison/contrast in assignments

Some assignments use words—like compare, contrast, similarities, and differences—that make it easy for you to see that they are asking you to compare and/or contrast. Here are a few hypothetical examples:

• Compare and contrast Frye’s and Bartky’s accounts of oppression.
• Compare WWI to WWII, identifying similarities in the causes, development, and outcomes of the wars.
• Contrast Wordsworth and Coleridge; what are the major differences in their poetry?

Notice that some topics ask only for comparison, others only for contrast, and others for both.

But it’s not always so easy to tell whether an assignment is asking you to include comparison/contrast. And in some cases, comparison/contrast is only part of the essay—you begin by comparing and/or contrasting two or more things and then use what you’ve learned to construct an argument or evaluation. Consider these examples, noticing the language that is used to ask for the comparison/contrast and whether the comparison/contrast is only one part of a larger assignment:

• Choose a particular idea or theme, such as romantic love, death, or nature, and consider how it is treated in two Romantic poems.
• How do the different authors we have studied so far define and describe oppression?
• Compare Frye’s and Bartky’s accounts of oppression. What does each imply about women’s collusion in their own oppression? Which is more accurate?
• In the texts we’ve studied, soldiers who served in different wars offer differing accounts of their experiences and feelings both during and after the fighting. What commonalities are there in these accounts? What factors do you think are responsible for their differences?

You may want to check out our handout on understanding assignments for additional tips.

Using comparison/contrast for all kinds of writing projects

Sometimes you may want to use comparison/contrast techniques in your own pre-writing work to get ideas that you can later use for an argument, even if comparison/contrast isn’t an official requirement for the paper you’re writing. For example, if you wanted to argue that Frye’s account of oppression is better than both de Beauvoir’s and Bartky’s, comparing and contrasting the main arguments of those three authors might help you construct your evaluation—even though the topic may not have asked for comparison/contrast and the lists of similarities and differences you generate may not appear anywhere in the final draft of your paper.

Discovering similarities and differences

Making a Venn diagram or a chart can help you quickly and efficiently compare and contrast two or more things or ideas. To make a Venn diagram, simply draw some overlapping circles, one circle for each item you’re considering. In the central area where they overlap, list the traits the two items have in common. Assign each one of the areas that doesn’t overlap; in those areas, you can list the traits that make the things different. Here’s a very simple example, using two pizza places:

To make a chart, figure out what criteria you want to focus on in comparing the items. Along the left side of the page, list each of the criteria. Across the top, list the names of the items. You should then have a box per item for each criterion; you can fill the boxes in and then survey what you’ve discovered.

Here’s an example, this time using three pizza places:

As you generate points of comparison, consider the purpose and content of the assignment and the focus of the class. What do you think the professor wants you to learn by doing this comparison/contrast? How does it fit with what you have been studying so far and with the other assignments in the course? Are there any clues about what to focus on in the assignment itself?

Here are some general questions about different types of things you might have to compare. These are by no means complete or definitive lists; they’re just here to give you some ideas—you can generate your own questions for these and other types of comparison. You may want to begin by using the questions reporters traditionally ask: Who? What? Where? When? Why? How? If you’re talking about objects, you might also consider general properties like size, shape, color, sound, weight, taste, texture, smell, number, duration, and location.

Two historical periods or events

• When did they occur—do you know the date(s) and duration? What happened or changed during each? Why are they significant?
• What kinds of work did people do? What kinds of relationships did they have? What did they value?
• What kinds of governments were there? Who were important people involved?
• What caused events in these periods, and what consequences did they have later on?

Two ideas or theories

• What are they about?
• Did they originate at some particular time?
• Who created them? Who uses or defends them?
• What is the central focus, claim, or goal of each? What conclusions do they offer?
• How are they applied to situations/people/things/etc.?
• Which seems more plausible to you, and why? How broad is their scope?
• What kind of evidence is usually offered for them?

Two pieces of writing or art

• What are their titles? What do they describe or depict?
• What is their tone or mood? What is their form?
• Who created them? When were they created? Why do you think they were created as they were? What themes do they address?
• Do you think one is of higher quality or greater merit than the other(s)—and if so, why?
• For writing: what plot, characterization, setting, theme, tone, and type of narration are used?
• Where are they from? How old are they? What is the gender, race, class, etc. of each?
• What, if anything, are they known for? Do they have any relationship to each other?
• What are they like? What did/do they do? What do they believe? Why are they interesting?
• What stands out most about each of them?

Deciding what to focus on

By now you have probably generated a huge list of similarities and differences—congratulations! Next you must decide which of them are interesting, important, and relevant enough to be included in your paper. Ask yourself these questions:

• What’s relevant to the assignment?
• What’s relevant to the course?
• What’s interesting and informative?
• What matters to the argument you are going to make?
• What’s basic or central (and needs to be mentioned even if obvious)?
• Overall, what’s more important—the similarities or the differences?

Suppose that you are writing a paper comparing two novels. For most literature classes, the fact that they both use Caslon type (a kind of typeface, like the fonts you may use in your writing) is not going to be relevant, nor is the fact that one of them has a few illustrations and the other has none; literature classes are more likely to focus on subjects like characterization, plot, setting, the writer’s style and intentions, language, central themes, and so forth. However, if you were writing a paper for a class on typesetting or on how illustrations are used to enhance novels, the typeface and presence or absence of illustrations might be absolutely critical to include in your final paper.

Sometimes a particular point of comparison or contrast might be relevant but not terribly revealing or interesting. For example, if you are writing a paper about Wordsworth’s “Tintern Abbey” and Coleridge’s “Frost at Midnight,” pointing out that they both have nature as a central theme is relevant (comparisons of poetry often talk about themes) but not terribly interesting; your class has probably already had many discussions about the Romantic poets’ fondness for nature. Talking about the different ways nature is depicted or the different aspects of nature that are emphasized might be more interesting and show a more sophisticated understanding of the poems.

Your thesis

The thesis of your comparison/contrast paper is very important: it can help you create a focused argument and give your reader a road map so they don’t get lost in the sea of points you are about to make. As in any paper, you will want to replace vague reports of your general topic (for example, “This paper will compare and contrast two pizza places,” or “Pepper’s and Amante are similar in some ways and different in others,” or “Pepper’s and Amante are similar in many ways, but they have one major difference”) with something more detailed and specific. For example, you might say, “Pepper’s and Amante have similar prices and ingredients, but their atmospheres and willingness to deliver set them apart.”

Be careful, though—although this thesis is fairly specific and does propose a simple argument (that atmosphere and delivery make the two pizza places different), your instructor will often be looking for a bit more analysis. In this case, the obvious question is “So what? Why should anyone care that Pepper’s and Amante are different in this way?” One might also wonder why the writer chose those two particular pizza places to compare—why not Papa John’s, Dominos, or Pizza Hut? Again, thinking about the context the class provides may help you answer such questions and make a stronger argument. Here’s a revision of the thesis mentioned earlier:

Pepper’s and Amante both offer a greater variety of ingredients than other Chapel Hill/Carrboro pizza places (and than any of the national chains), but the funky, lively atmosphere at Pepper’s makes it a better place to give visiting friends and family a taste of local culture.

You may find our handout on constructing thesis statements useful at this stage.

Organizing your paper

There are many different ways to organize a comparison/contrast essay. Here are two:

Subject-by-subject

Begin by saying everything you have to say about the first subject you are discussing, then move on and make all the points you want to make about the second subject (and after that, the third, and so on, if you’re comparing/contrasting more than two things). If the paper is short, you might be able to fit all of your points about each item into a single paragraph, but it’s more likely that you’d have several paragraphs per item. Using our pizza place comparison/contrast as an example, after the introduction, you might have a paragraph about the ingredients available at Pepper’s, a paragraph about its location, and a paragraph about its ambience. Then you’d have three similar paragraphs about Amante, followed by your conclusion.

The danger of this subject-by-subject organization is that your paper will simply be a list of points: a certain number of points (in my example, three) about one subject, then a certain number of points about another. This is usually not what college instructors are looking for in a paper—generally they want you to compare or contrast two or more things very directly, rather than just listing the traits the things have and leaving it up to the reader to reflect on how those traits are similar or different and why those similarities or differences matter. Thus, if you use the subject-by-subject form, you will probably want to have a very strong, analytical thesis and at least one body paragraph that ties all of your different points together.

A subject-by-subject structure can be a logical choice if you are writing what is sometimes called a “lens” comparison, in which you use one subject or item (which isn’t really your main topic) to better understand another item (which is). For example, you might be asked to compare a poem you’ve already covered thoroughly in class with one you are reading on your own. It might make sense to give a brief summary of your main ideas about the first poem (this would be your first subject, the “lens”), and then spend most of your paper discussing how those points are similar to or different from your ideas about the second.

Point-by-point

Rather than addressing things one subject at a time, you may wish to talk about one point of comparison at a time. There are two main ways this might play out, depending on how much you have to say about each of the things you are comparing. If you have just a little, you might, in a single paragraph, discuss how a certain point of comparison/contrast relates to all the items you are discussing. For example, I might describe, in one paragraph, what the prices are like at both Pepper’s and Amante; in the next paragraph, I might compare the ingredients available; in a third, I might contrast the atmospheres of the two restaurants.

If I had a bit more to say about the items I was comparing/contrasting, I might devote a whole paragraph to how each point relates to each item. For example, I might have a whole paragraph about the clientele at Pepper’s, followed by a whole paragraph about the clientele at Amante; then I would move on and do two more paragraphs discussing my next point of comparison/contrast—like the ingredients available at each restaurant.

There are no hard and fast rules about organizing a comparison/contrast paper, of course. Just be sure that your reader can easily tell what’s going on! Be aware, too, of the placement of your different points. If you are writing a comparison/contrast in service of an argument, keep in mind that the last point you make is the one you are leaving your reader with. For example, if I am trying to argue that Amante is better than Pepper’s, I should end with a contrast that leaves Amante sounding good, rather than with a point of comparison that I have to admit makes Pepper’s look better. If you’ve decided that the differences between the items you’re comparing/contrasting are most important, you’ll want to end with the differences—and vice versa, if the similarities seem most important to you.

Our handout on organization can help you write good topic sentences and transitions and make sure that you have a good overall structure in place for your paper.

Cue words and other tips

To help your reader keep track of where you are in the comparison/contrast, you’ll want to be sure that your transitions and topic sentences are especially strong. Your thesis should already have given the reader an idea of the points you’ll be making and the organization you’ll be using, but you can help them out with some extra cues. The following words may be helpful to you in signaling your intentions:

• like, similar to, also, unlike, similarly, in the same way, likewise, again, compared to, in contrast, in like manner, contrasted with, on the contrary, however, although, yet, even though, still, but, nevertheless, conversely, at the same time, regardless, despite, while, on the one hand … on the other hand.

For example, you might have a topic sentence like one of these:

• Compared to Pepper’s, Amante is quiet.
• Like Amante, Pepper’s offers fresh garlic as a topping.
• Despite their different locations (downtown Chapel Hill and downtown Carrboro), Pepper’s and Amante are both fairly easy to get to.

You may reproduce it for non-commercial use if you use the entire handout and attribute the source: The Writing Center, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

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• Writing Tips

How to Write a Compare and Contrast Essay

• 5-minute read
• 9th March 2021

In a compare and contrast essay , you look at the similarities and differences between two subjects. How do you write one, though? Key steps include:

• Pick two things to compare based on the assignment you were given.
• Brainstorm the similarities and differences between your chosen subjects.
• Choose a structure for your essay and plan how you will write it.
• Write up your comparison and use evidence to support your argument.
• Revise and proofread your essay to make sure it is perfect.

For more advice on each stage, check out our guide below.

1. Pick Two Subjects to Compare and Contrast

A compare and contrast assignment will ask you, unsurprisingly, to compare and contrast two things. In some cases, the assignment question will make this clear. For instance, if the assignment says “Compare how Mozart and Beethoven use melody,” you will have a very clear sense of what to write about!

Other times, you will have a choice of what to compare. In this case, you will want to pick two things that are similar enough to make a useful comparison.

For example, comparing Mozart and Beethoven makes sense because both are classical composers. This means there will be lots of points of comparison between them. But comparing Mozart to a Ferrari SF90 Stradale would just be confusing: one is a renowned composer and musician, the other is a high-end sports car, so they have very little in common that we could usefully compare.

At the same time, the things you pick should be different enough that you can find points of contrast. Were you asked to compare the calorific content of two types of fast food, for example, it might not make sense to compare hamburgers and cheeseburgers as they are too similar. But you could compare hamburgers and pizzas since both are forms of fast food but they differ in other respects.

As such, if you need to pick the subjects of your essay, read your assignment question carefully and try to find two things that will produce a helpful comparison.

2. Brainstorm Their Similarities and Differences

The next step is to brainstorm similarities and differences between your chosen subjects. You can do this as a simple list, but you could also use a Venn diagram .

This is a set of overlapping circles, each of which represents one subject. You can then add characteristics to each circle, with anything your subjects have in common going in the overlapping bit in the middle.

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Once you’ve listed characteristics, you’ll need to pick out the similarities and differences relevant to your essay. If you were assigned a question, use this to guide your choices. Otherwise, look for features that seem surprising or interesting and plan your essay around these. The key is to pick points of comparison that help us to understand each thing better, or where the similarities and differences show us something that we might not have expected or noticed otherwise.

3. Choose a Structure for Your Essay

As with any essay, you will want to start with a short introduction where you introduce your topic and what you will argue. Beyond this, most compare and contrast essays are structured in one of two ways. Decide which approach to take before you write your essay outline :

• Divide by subject – Cover each subject in turn, looking at the key features you’ve identified in the previous step. You can then include a final section where you highlight what comparing the subjects tell us.
• Divide by individual points – Break your essay down into a series of sections. Each section will then focus on one of the key features you’ve identified, explaining the similarities and differences between your chosen subjects.

For instance, if you were comparing two novels, you could write about each novel in turn and then compare them at the end. Alternatively, you could structure your essay so that each section covers an individual idea (e.g., one on structure, one on characters, one on language), looking at how each book uses these things.

In either case, you will want to end on a conclusion where you summarize what the comparison has shown us about the two subjects.

4. Use Supporting Evidence for Your Argument

It is important that you also back up your statements with supporting evidence. In some cases, this will simply involve pointing to the features of each subject that you’re discussing (e.g., citing specific parts of the novels you’re comparing).

However, you can also do extra research to back up your arguments. Were you comparing two countries’ economic performance, for example, you could use statistics from other studies or reports to show the similarities and differences.

5. Proofread Your Compare and Contrast Essay

Once you have a first draft of your compare and contrast essay, take a break. If you have time, leave it overnight. The aim is to come back to it with fresh eyes and reread it, looking for any areas you could improve. After this, you can redraft your essay to make sure your argument is clear, concise, and convincing.

It is also a good idea to have your essay proofread before submitting it. This will ensure your work is error free and help you get the marks you deserve.

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Comparing and Contrasting: A Guide to Improve Your Essays

Walter Akolo

Essays that require you to compare and contrast two or more subjects, ideas, places, or items are common.

They call for you to highlight the key similarities (compare) and differences (contrast) between them.

This guide contains all the information you need to become better at writing comparing and contrasting essays.

This includes: how to structure your essay, how to decide on the content, and some examples of essay questions.

Let’s dive in.

What Is Comparing and Contrasting?

Is compare and contrast the same as similarities and differences, what is the purpose of comparing and contrasting, can you compare and contrast any two items, how do you compare and contrast in writing, what are some comparing and contrasting techniques, how do you compare and contrast in college level writing, the four essentials of compare and contrast essays, what can you learn from a compare and contrast essay.

At their most basic, both comparing and contrasting base their evaluation on two or more subjects that share a connection.

The subjects could have similar characteristics, features, or foundations.

But while a comparison discusses the similarities of the two subjects, e.g. a banana and a watermelon are both fruit, contrasting highlights how the subjects or items differ from each other, e.g. a watermelon is around 10 times larger than a banana.

Any question that you are asked in education will have a variety of interesting comparisons and deductions that you can make.

Compare is the same as similarities.

Contrast is the same as differences.

This is because comparing identifies the likeness between two subjects, items, or categories, while contrasting recognizes disparities between them.

When you compare things, you represent them regarding their similarity, but when you contrast things, you define them in reference to their differences.

As a result, if you are asked to discuss the similarities and differences between two subjects, you can take an identical approach to if you are writing a compare and contrast essay.

In writing, the purpose of comparing and contrasting is to highlight subtle but important differences or similarities that might not be immediately obvious.

By illustrating the differences between elements in a similar category, you help heighten readers’ understanding of the subject or topic of discussion.

For instance, you might choose to compare and contrast red wine and white wine by pointing out the subtle differences. One of these differences is that red wine is best served at room temperature while white is best served chilled.

Also, comparing and contrasting helps to make abstract ideas more definite and minimizes the confusion that might exist between two related concepts.

Can Comparing and Contrasting Be Useful Outside of Academia?

Comparing enables you to see the pros and cons, allowing you to have a better understanding of the things under discussion. In an essay, this helps you demonstrate that you understand the nuances of your topic enough to draw meaningful conclusions from them.

Let's use a real-word example to see the benefits. Imagine you're contrasting two dresses you could buy. You might think:

• Dress A is purple, my favorite color, but it has a difficult zip and is practically impossible to match a jacket to.
• Dress B is more expensive but I already have a suitable pair of shoes and jacket and it is easier to move in.

You're linking the qualities of each dress to the context of the decision you're making. This is the same for your essay. Your comparison and contrast points will be in relation to the question you need to answer.

Comparing and contrasting is only a useful technique when applied to two related concepts.

To effectively compare two or more things, they must feature characteristics similar enough to warrant comparison.

In addition to this they must also feature a similarity that generates an interesting discussion. But what do I mean by “interesting” here?

Let’s look at two concepts, the Magna Carta and my third grade poetry competition entry.

They are both text, written on paper by a person so they fulfil the first requirement, they have a similarity. But this comparison clearly would not fulfil the second requirement, you would not be able to draw any interesting conclusions.

However, if we compare the Magna Carta to the Bill of Rights, you would be able to come to some very interesting conclusions concerning the history of world politics.

To write a good compare and contrast essay, it’s best to pick two or more topics that share a meaningful connection .

The aim of the essay would be to show the subtle differences or unforeseen similarities.

By highlighting the distinctions between elements in a similar category you can increase your readers’ understanding.

Alternatively, you could choose to focus on a comparison between two subjects that initially appear unrelated.

The more dissimilar they seem, the more interesting the comparison essay will turn out.

For instance, you could compare and contrast professional rugby players with marathon runners.

Can You Compare and Contrast in an Essay That Does Not Specifically Require It?

As a writer, you can employ comparing and contrasting techniques in your writing, particularly when looking for ideas you can later apply in your argument.

You can do this even when the comparison or contrast is not a requirement for the topic or argument you are presenting. Doing so could enable you to build your evaluation and develop a stronger argument.

Note that the similarities and differences you come up with might not even show up in the final draft.

While the use of compare and contrast can be neutral, you can also use it to highlight one option under discussion. When used this way, you can influence the perceived advantages of your preferred option.

As a writing style, comparing and contrasting can encompass an entire essay. However, it could also appear in some select paragraphs within the essay, where making some comparisons serves to better illustrate a point.

What Should You Do First?

Before you compare two things, always start by deciding on the reason for your comparison, then outline the criteria you will use to compare them.

Words and phrases commonly used for comparison include:

In writing, these words and phrases are called transitions . They help readers to understand or make the connection between sentences, paragraphs, and ideas.

Without transition words writing can feel clumsy and disjointed making it difficult to read. ProWritingAid’s transition report highlights all of a documents transitions and suggests that 25% of any sentences in a piece include a transition.

Sign up for a free ProWritingAid account to use the Transitions Report.

So, how do you form all of this into a coherent essay? It's a good idea to plan first, then decide what your paragraph layout will look like.

Venn diagrams are useful tool to start generating ideas. The, for your essay, you need to choose between going idea by idea and going point by point.

Using a Venn Diagram

A Venn diagram helps you to clearly see the similarities and differences between multiple objects, things, or subjects.

The writing tool comprises two, or more, simple, overlapping circles in which you list down the things that are alike (within the overlapping area) and those that differ (outside the overlapping area).

It’s great for brainstorming ideas and for creating your essay’s outline. You could even use it in an exam setting because it is quick and simple.

Going Subject by Subject

Going subject by subject is a structural choice for your essay.

Start by saying all you have to say on the first subject, then proceed to do the same about the second subject.

Depending on the length of your essay, you can fit the points about each subject into one paragraph or have several sections per each subject, ending with a conclusion.

This method is best for short essays on simple topics. Most university-level essays will go point by point instead.

Going Point by Point

Going point by point, or alternating, is the opposite essay structure from going subject by subject. This is ideal when you want to do more direct comparing and contrasting. It entails discussing one comparison point at a time. It allows you to use a paragraph to talk about how a certain comparing/contrasting point relates to the subjects or items you are discussing.

Alternatively, if you have lots of details about the subject, you might decide to use a paragraph for each point.

An academic compare and contrast essay looks at two or more subjects, ideas, people, or objects, compares their likeness, and contrasts their differences.

It’s an informative essay that provides insights on what is similar and different between the two items.

Depending on the essay’s instructions, you can focus solely on comparing or contrasting, or a combination of the two.

Examples of College Level Compare and Contrast Essay Questions

Here are eleven examples of compare and contrast essay questions that you might encounter at university:

• Archaeology: Compare and contrast the skulls of homo habilis, homo erectus, and homo sapiens.
• Art: Compare and contrast the working styles of any two Neoclassic artists.
• Astrophysics: Compare and contrast the chemical composition of Venus and Neptune.
• Biology: Compare and contrast the theories of Lamarck and Darwin.
• Business: Compare and contrast 2 or more business models within the agricultural industry.
• Creative writing: Compare and contrast free indirect discourse with epistolary styles.
• English Literature: Compare and contrast William Wordsworth with Robert Browning.
• Geography: Compare and contrast the benefit of solar panels with the benefit of wind turbines.
• History: Compare and contrast WWI to WWII with specific reference to the causes and outcomes.
• Medicine: Compare and contrast England’s health service with America’s health service.
• Psychology: Compare and contrast the behaviorist theory with the psychodynamic theory.

So, the key takeaways to keep in mind are:

Have a basis for comparison. The two things need to have enough in common to justify a discussion about their similarities and disparities.

Don’t go back and forth when using the block method. The best way to write your essay is to begin with a paragraph discussing all the facets of the first topic. Then, move on to another paragraph and talk through all the aspects of the second subject.

You can use both alternating and blocking techniques. Combining the two approaches is also an option. You can apply the alternating method in some paragraphs, then switch and use the block method. This method will help you offer a much deeper analysis of the subjects.

Have a reason for comparing the two things. Only select the points of comparison that resonate with your purpose.

Comparing and contrasting are essential analytical skills in academic writing. When your professor issues you with such an essay, their primary goal is to teach you how to:

• Engage in critical thinking
• See and make connections between words or ideas
• Move beyond mere descriptions or summaries to developing interesting analysis
• Get a deeper understanding of the subjects or items under comparison, their key features, and their interrelationships with each other.

Ultimately, your essay should enlighten readers by providing useful information.

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Walter Akolo is a freelance writer, internet marketer, trainer, and blogger for hire. He loves helping businesses increase their reach and conversion through excellent and engaging content. He has gotten millions of pageviews on his blog, FreelancerKenya, where he mentors writers. Check out his website walterakolo.com.

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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.

Online Compare-and-Contrast Essay Alternatives

Ellen Laird compares and contrasts traditional and distance education in I’m Your Teacher, Not Your Internet-Service Provider :

• http://celt.cui.edu/celt/webct_for_instructors/Laird_Article.htm

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?

• https://static1.squarespace.com/static/5523ffe4e4b012b2c4ebd8fc/t/5627dc4de4b00c9587e32fa0/1445452877014/Sex%2C+Lies+and+Conversation.PDF

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

• http://www.nytimes.com/2007/12/02/weekinreview/02wright.html

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• Essay Database >
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• Essay on Business

Example Of Essay On Comparison Between Two Countries

Type of paper: Essay

Topic: Business , Taxes , China , Japan , Stock Market , Investment , Politics , Finance

Published: 01/25/2020

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When an investor wants to make a foreign investment there are several factors which he must put into consideration before a deciding to invest in a particular country such factors will include, the cost of labor such that low cost of labor will attract an investor since it will mean better margins, availability of raw material is also another very important factor such that if the raw materials are available an investor will be motivated to invest in such location, other factors will include the business regulation framework which puts into consideration aspects such as taxation, the ease with which business licenses can be obtained and legal regulatory framework. Of particular interest in regards to this question is the comparison of Japan and China as an investment location based on the various variables which are important in foreign investment. Concerning government regulation in regards to establishment of new foreign business in china foreign investors are allowed to invested in local business but the ownership structure should be such that the locals do own part of the company through shares meaning that a foreign company cannot fully own the company the aim being to promote the local investors, there are several business incentives in china meant to encourage foreign investments, theseincludes; low profit enterprises are subjected to lower interest rates, the withholding taxes on foreign investment in regards to income earned had been reduced from 20% to 10% in order to attract foreign investment in addition an investment tax credit is allowed on capital expenditure such as plant and machinery(Zeng 36).China labor cost is extremely low and readily available leaving a big margins space for foreign investors to make profits, the population of China is 1.3billion hence a readily available target market for products and services in addition the purchasing power of the people has tremendously gone up meaning that target customers are readily available. Japan scenario is slightly different the real estate prices are extremely high, the labor cost is moderate in addition their legal framework allows the operations of foreign investments without delay meaning that a foreign company can easily start a business in Japan without Much formality and delays. The population of Japan is approximately 127 million which is far much less than that in china meaning a smaller market, technological standards are so high in Japan hence facilitating quick business transactions in the economy, they do also control 75% of the Asian market in addition they do have high saving rates meaning that the consumer purchasing power resulting in availability of the target market. Foreign incentives do also qualify for other tax incentives such as 30% depreciation rate, tax credit of 7% and 20% corporate tax (Zeng 19) The climatic conditions in Japan consist of rain and high humidity for China the climate is extremely diverse due to a wide coverage area, terrains and distance from the sea however most of china coverage is within the temperature belt meaning that its weather is hot tough there are some areas which are cold. Canada climatic conditions are generally cold and wet so for managers and chief executives who are relocating to either Japan or China then they have to adjust their dressing codes accordingly. The average monthly salary in china is approximately $700 dollars translating to $8,400 dollars per annum in Japan tough the average monthly wage is higher an average of $3000 dollars per month translating to $36,000 dollars per annum these means that the living conditions of employees in Japan is far way up compared to their counterparts in China this translates higher purchasing power by and improved standards of living for Japanese people compared to Chinese residents (Genzberger 11).There are a lot of political concerns in China, they still claim that island of Taiwan is part of their territory and they keep on trying to control them, the freedom of speech, freedom of religion and political rights have also been restricted in these country compared to Japan which has a stable political environment .Japan also has a very active relationship with United States Of America which facilitates trade. Social and cultural issues in China are varied and include unemployment which is steadily increasing, the increase in wealth gap, rising cost of education and increased medical cost this is what has caused unrest in some parts of China in Japan the issues are different and ranges from the complex immigration policies, complicated citizenship laws and too much tax burden.

Zeng, Huaqun. Chinese Foreign Investment Laws: Recent Developments Towards a Market Economy. Singapore [u.a.: World Scientific [u.a., 1999. Print. Genzberger, Christine. Japan Business: The Portable Encyclopedia for Doing Business with Japan. San Rafael, Calif., USA: World Trade Press, 1994. Print.

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Tips and tricks to help you write a compare and contrast essay on two countries.

Writing a compare and contrast essay involves you clearly stating the similarity and differences between to objects. Before you go on to write such an essay you need to understand the basic concepts that one needs to adhere to in order to produce an A+ essay paper. There is enough information on the internet concerning the compare and contrast essays, do thorough research and understand what it entails. This piece provides tips and tricks that will help you write an excellent compare and contrast essay on two countries.

Choosing a topic

When considering the ideal topic, consider two countries that have more than several things in common as well as differences. Choose the two countries that will excite you as you proceed with the research. Mistakes that most student do, is to choose a topic that is somehow boring and that depletes the ambition of writing an interesting essay.

Find good points that you will incorporate in the essay

A good compare and contrast essay will give details that not many people know about. Research is part and parcel of a good essay. Find enough yet relevant information about the particular countries. You need to list down separately and in point format the particular information that you find out about each country.

Categorize your points as you compare from the countries

From the points you have managed to list down; one by one compare from the different countries as you categorize them as similar or different. This will help you to clearly present your points in a way that will be precise and clear to the reader. You might have gathered more than enough points and you might need to cut down by choosing only the interesting points that will interest the reader of your essay. Take note not to overdo the essay as it will lose the thrill and eventually end up boring your essay reader.

As you write your essay, ensure that you write a point from a particular country then write appoint from the other country that is similar if you are showing similarity and two opposite points when showing the differences. Only give unique and interesting points ensuring that your essay ranges within the required limits, this will be confirmed by your supervisor.

There are many tricks and tips that students can use; to find out more relevant information on compare and contrast essays, you can always use this resource.

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How to Write a Title for a Compare and Contrast Essay

Last Updated: August 10, 2021 Fact Checked

This article was co-authored by Emily Listmann, MA . Emily Listmann is a private tutor in San Carlos, California. She has worked as a Social Studies Teacher, Curriculum Coordinator, and an SAT Prep Teacher. She received her MA in Education from the Stanford Graduate School of Education in 2014. This article has been fact-checked, ensuring the accuracy of any cited facts and confirming the authority of its sources. This article has been viewed 112,317 times.

The title is an important part of any essay. After all, it’s the first thing people read. When you write a title for your compare and contrast essay, it needs to let your reader know what subjects you want to compare and how you plan to compare them. Some essays need more formal, informative titles while others benefit from creative titles. No matter what, just remember to keep your title short, readable, and relevant to your writing.

Creating an Informative Title

• Informative titles like “The Benefit of Owning a Cat vs. a Dog”, for example, would be better for a classroom setting, while a creative title like “My Dog is Better than a Cat” would be better for a blog. [2] X Research source

• You only need to include the broad topics or themes you want to compare, such as dogs and cats. Don’t worry about putting individual points in your title. Those points will be addressed in the body of your essay.
• You may be comparing something to itself over time or space, like rock music in the 20th and 21st centuries, or Renaissance art in Italy and the Netherlands. If that’s the case, list the subject you want to compare, and places or timeframes that you are using for your comparison.

• Persuasive essay titles might use words like “benefit,” “better,” “advantages,” “should,” “will,” and other words that convey a sense that one subject has an advantage over the other.
• Informative titles might use words like “versus,” “compared,” or “difference”. These words don’t suggest that one subject is better or worse, they simply point out they are not the same.

• The end result should be a title that lets readers know what you want to compare and contrast, and how you plan on doing so in just a few words. If for example, you're comparing rock music across time, your title might be The Difference in Chord Progressions of 20th and 21st-century Rock Music .

[4] X Research source

Generating a Creative Title

• If, for example, you just want to compare white and milk chocolate, you are providing facts. Your goal will not be to make your audience think one particular chocolate is better. Your title, then, may be something like "Loco for Cocoa: The Differences Between Types of Chocolate."
• If, however, you want to tell your audience why milk chocolate is better, you are reinforcing a popular idea. If you want to explain why white chocolate is better, you are going against a popular idea. In that case, a better title might be "Milking it - Why White Chocolate is Totally the Best Chocolate."

• ”Do Hash Browns Stack up Against Fries as a Burger Side” creates a sense of tension between your subjects and challenges a popular opinion. It is a more engaging title for your readers than “Comparing Hash Browns and Fries as Burger Sides.”

• For example, if you want to write an essay comparing two works of art by Van Gogh, you may use a title like, “Look at Him Gogh: Comparing Floral Composition in Almond Blossoms and Poppy Flowers.”

Keeping Your Title Relevant and Readable

• Your essay is where you will make your arguments. Your title just needs to convey your subjects and establish that you plan to compare and contrast them in some way.

Expert Q&A

• If you're struggling to figure out a title, try writing your thesis at the top of a blank page, then brainstorming all the titles you can think of below. Go through slowly to see which ones fit your paper the best and which you like the most. Thanks Helpful 0 Not Helpful 1

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• ↑ https://www.kibin.com/essay-writing-blog/how-to-write-good-essay-titles/
• ↑ http://www.schooleydesigns.com/compare-and-contrast-essay-title/
• ↑ http://www.editage.com/insights/3-basic-tips-on-writing-a-good-research-paper-title
• ↑ http://canuwrite.com/article_titles.php
• ↑ http://writing.umn.edu/sws/assets/pdf/quicktips/titles.pdf
• ↑ http://www.aacstudents.org/tips-for-essay-writing-asking-friends-to-help-you-out.php

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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?

This content is provided to you freely by EdTech Books.

Access it online or download it at https://edtechbooks.org/academic_a_writing/comparison_essay_exaw .

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Canada vs USA: Compare And Contrast Essay Sample

10 Jul 2019

People both outside and living within North America have the tendency to view the United States and Canada as one uniform region with homogenous cultural and political structures. The ecology of Canada and the US alone, demonstrate a great contrast, with the US having more diverse climates and ecosystems. Ice is a larger part of the Canadian landscape with the permafrost in the northern portion and more temperate climates toward the US-Canada border. The Canadian tundra and the Mojave Desert of the Southwest US receive fairly equitable rainfall but have vastly different temperatures. Mediterranean climates also make up a larger portion of the United States than in Canada. With the ecological differences in mind, it is also essential to point out the societal divergence between the US and Canada.

Canada is considerably larger than the United States, but contains only 1/10th of the population, with Canada housing more than 36 million inhabitants, and the US having a population of more than 325 million. While both countries reflect many of the values of western culture, the differences between the embodiment of these characteristics can be seen as soon as one crosses the border. Overall, the distinctions between

Canada and the United States can be categorized into three spheres: the political sphere, the economic sphere, and the socio-cultural sphere. Political Sphere With the recent political climate in the United States and the controversy surrounding America’s federal government, the political differences between the United States and Canada have become even more apparent, not only in structure but ideology as well. While both countries have a federal system, The United States has 50 states and 14 other territories, while Canada contains 10 provinces and 3 other territories. As Canada continues to be a nation under the Commonwealth the head of state is currently Queen Elizabeth or the monarchy. The prime minister of Canada, currently Justin Trudeau the 23rd Prime Minister, is the elected head of the federal government and acts as both the chief executive and a leader in the legislative branch. (Hardwick, Shelley & Holtgrieve, 2013).

One may say the separation of powers is of greater importance to US political ideology with the President of the United States being the head of the Executive Branch soley. While the president does have veto power as a check on Congress, he is often criticized when he steps out of his predetermined role in the executive branch and further into the legislative sphere. The process through which the head of government is elected is also somewhat different from each country demonstrating forms of democracy but different party systems.

There are a plethora of pros and cons to the US two-party system. While it makes for more concise politics, the divisive Republican and Democratic parties experience a large amount of gridlock because of the vast political chasm. Canada, on the other hand between four and five parties in the legislative body and even more than lobby for certain initiatives. In this system, voters are even more strongly tied to their party than specific politicians. However, because party leaders gain power through plurality and not an absolute majority like the United States, coalition building is a major part of the legislative process, making compromises more representative of the public’s opinion.

Canada and the United States political ideologies contrast with greater emphasis on different portions of governmental influence. While the precepts of democracy are still evident in both systems, and political freedom is a great source of pride for citizens in each nation, that sense of freedom seems to be founded in diverging practices. A laissez-faire attitude toward economic and political control is more prevalent in the US, with many citizens seeing that their personal freedom begins at the ends or limits of federal government. This can foster greater distrust and resentment toward national government, particularly when the opposing party has a greater disbursement of power. On the other hand, Canadians, on average, demonstrate greater trust in government, relying more on government services, namely healthcare. This leads into the distribution of federal funds. In the US, a larger amount of federal taxes go toward the department of defense and there is an overall greater emphasis on military power while in Canada a greater amount of federal funds are allocated toward socialized healthcare.

According to the Central Intelligence Agency’s World Factbook, in 2016 3.29% of the United States’ gross domestic product was allocated to military expenditures while 0.99% of Canada’s GDP went toward spending on defense programs. ("The World Factbook — Central Intelligence Agency", 2018) These differences in spending speak to the greater power wielded by the United States in world affairs, with the US having a permanent membership in the United Nations and NATO. Institutionalized violence is another topic of controversy between the United States and Canada. Canada has, in general, established stricter gun laws than the US. With the prevalence of mass shootings in both countries, gun laws have come to the forefront of the news and public policy. “Handguns accounted for 21 per cent of the total homicides [in 2016], and 58 percent of the shooting homicides. In the United States, by comparison, the report notes there were 7,105 homicides committed with a handgun in 2016, accounting for 47 percent of all homicides south of the border that year.” (Fletcher, 2018) Americans stress the protection of the 2nd Amendment of the Constitution, and often describe the United States’ more lenient gun laws as a source of liberty. Another example of the way institutionalized violence differs is with capital punishment.

Canada has abolished the death penalty for all crimes, including capital offenses, while in 30 of the 50 state there exist valid death penalty statutes. Finally one of the greatest contrast between the two countries is their differing ideologies surrounding immigration. Canada is recognized for its very open immigration policies. Canada’s largest immigrant populations come from Asian countries, while in the US, Asians make up a large portion of those immigrating, but the largest percentage is those from Latin America. It is interesting that going forward with immigration policy the US is known as the ‘melting pot’ while Canada calls itself a ‘mosaic’ Economic Sphere The differences between the US and Canada are most apparent when comparing their economies and capital. According to the World Bank’s 2017 report, the United States has a higher gross domestic product per capita at $59,531.7, while Canada’s is $45,032, and the exchange rate between currencies in s about $1.30 of Canadian dollars for every US dollar. ("GDP per capita (current US$) | Data", 2018; "Convert US Dollars to Canadian Dollars - Exchange Rates", 2018).

At first glance, one may say that the US economy and standard of living is higher but in taking a closer look there are pros and cons to each country's economic status. Canada supports a much less diverse economy from oil and lumber, while US is a manufacturing powerhouse, and in spite of growing similar grain-based crops, 44% of the land in the US is viable for agriculture whereas in Canada it's only about 7%. The US exports $1.4 trillion goods. Canada’s imports and exports are fairly equitable while US imports way more than it exports. Canada has a higher unemployment rate, but the US has higher rate of people living under the poverty line. As is evident in many of these statistics, both countries’ economies exemplify strengths and weaknesses.

Now looking at the markets and labor forces in Canada and the US, we observe that there are distinguishing factors of each country. This is particularly true in e-commerce and internet laws in Canada. Because of heavy licensing restrictions, Canada does not allow Spotify or Pandora, and has a very limited selection of programs on Netflix. E-commerce, in general, is less developed, with few stores even offering websites for online shopping, and Canadian Amazon holding a more limited selection of items. The US, on the other hand, has an ever-growing online economy. “During an April 2017 survey, 40 percent of internet users in the United States stated that they purchased items online at several times per month, and 20 percent said they bought items or services online on a weekly basis.” (Facts, 2018) As far as the labor force is concerned, Americans are known for working longer and later than Canadians. In the US, the average workweek is 47 hours and in Canada the workweek is 36-40 hours and at the minimum 2 weeks of paid vacation.

Canadian women in the workforce receive at least 15 weeks of paid maternity leave mandated by the government. In the United States many states mandate vacation time and maternity leave but don’t require that this time be paid and, in some cases, don’t require this time at all. As mentioned previously, socialized healthcare is a major distinguishing factor that sets Canada apart from the United States. The Healthcare Act of 1984 aimed to ensure that all residents of Canada have access to necessary hospital and physician services based on five principles: universality, portability, public administration, accessibility, and comprehensiveness. ("The Canada Health Act", 2018). Canadians do still have to pay for things like prescription drugs, home care, and prescription eyeglasses.

Canadians also live an average of 2 years longer than Americans, with average life expectancy for Canadian women at 82.3 years and 79.3 years for men. American women, on average live to be 80.8 years and 75.6 years for men. While there are many compounding factors that could contribute to this, like lower levels of obesity, or increased physical activity, socialized healthcare has been reported to be a contributing factor in the longer life span. Sociocultural Sphere Lastly, the sociocultural sphere can be used to contrast the United States and Canada, with differing traditions, dialects and colloquialisms, and subtle cultural nuances.

A nation’s overall culture can be broken up into many subcategories, but the following will discuss how language, and cultural celebrations and traditions distinguish Canada from the United state. First, Language is one of the most infamous ways Canadians and Americans claim they can tell each other apart. While the majority of each population speak English, the second most popular languages in each country are distinct and point to different colonial and immigration histories. The US technically does not have an official language, however in every state majority of government sponsored programs use English. Depending on the area of the US one is in effects the other languages that are present. For example, in Clark County, Nevada, (where Las Vegas is located) voter ballots are available in English, Spanish and Tagalog because Las Vegas contains large populations of Hispanic and Filipino residents. For the most part, Spanish appears to be a common second language with the high volume of immigrants from Latin America. In Canada on the other hand, English and French are both official languages, representative of the colonial background of Canada, as well as the federal government's relationship with the province of Quebec. Along with the languages spoken, come the differences in dialects, accents and slang relative to the English spoken in each country. Canada use different spelling for words that contain an ‘or’ sound: colour, favourite, labour.

The second cultural facet that distinguishes Canada and the US are the celebrations and traditions. Thanksgiving in Canada occurs on the second Monday of October however, most people celebrate it on Sunday and take the Monday off school and work. The holiday celebrates the harvests and blessings of the past year and is celebrate earlier because of Canada’s shorter growing season and earlier harvest. American Thanksgiving it is the fourth Thursday in November and celebrates the harvest and the legend of “peace between pilgrims and Native peoples”. Another interesting facet of national celebration is that Canada Day and US Independence Day are only three days apart (July 1st to July 4th) and are both celebrated with traditions like barbeques, parades, and fireworks. (Youtube, 2018).

Food is an essential tenet of not only celebrations but life in general. While the food in both countries is fairly similar accounting for a few distinct delicacies like all-dressed chips, and poutine in Canada, there is one major difference between the US and Canada-- the legal drinking age. In Canada, the drinking age is determined by the local government, with legal age being 19 in the majority of the country, but in Alberta, Manitoba, and Quebec young adults can start drinking at 18. In America, the National Minimum Drinking Age Act of 1984 and is a federal policy that establishes 21 as the legal age. (Canadian Centre on Substance Use and Addiction, 2018). In short, Canada and the United States, while they have a long history of peace, are distinct in government, economy, and culture.

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How To Create A Compare And Contrast Essay About Two Countries

When writing a compare and contrast essay on two countries you need to choose areas you want to learn more about. You should have an idea of what makes them different and similar. You should also have insight on repeatable sources that will help you properly compare your countries of choice with equal amounts of information. When writing your compare and contrast essay, help a plan in place including the use of an outline. Here are some tips for further essay writing insight.

Establish a Subject or Topic of Interest and Choose Two Countries to Write about

Developing a compare and contrast essay for two countries doesn’t have to be complicated, yet there are aspects that could make it a little time consuming. You should establish a point of interest to help connect your two countries of choice. The point of interest is your topic that will provide details on both ends in regards to contrasting and comparing findings.

Research Elements of Both Countries Related to Your Topic for Elements to Compare

As you finalize your essay topic collect data for your countries. As you learn about each company in relation to your topic take note of similarities and differences. These details are important as you are looking to set the countries apart but connect them to something significant at the same time. Researching both countries could take some time depending on how many elements are necessary for comparing and contrasting purposes.

Develop an Outline to Help You Compare and Contrast Findings

The outline will make the writing process so much easier. Your essay outline will feature parts of your paper just broken down into smaller sections. Your findings will be organized and placed accordingly based on where you want them to appear. You can have your outline on hand while collect data during research. Have main points to discuss with evidence to support their connection to your main idea or thesis.

Use Outline to Write Rough Draft of Essay and Revise Content

After selecting your countries and developing a point of interest which is your main idea or reasoning for compare and contrast, you are ready to write your rough draft. This will not be perfect but it is close to what your paper will look like upon completion. After completing your draft you can revise, rewrite and finalize.

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Unrestricted versus regulated open data governance: a bibliometric comparison of sars-cov-2 nucleotide sequence databases.

• Nathanael Sheehan
• Federico Botta
• Sabina Leonelli

Two distinct modes of data governance have emerged in accessing and reusing viral data pertaining to COVID-19: an unrestricted model, espoused by data repositories part of the International Nucleotide Sequence Database Collaboration and a regulated model promoted by the Global Initiative on Sharing All Influenza data. In this paper, we focus on publications mentioning either infrastructure in the period between January 2020 and January 2023, thus capturing a period of acute response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Through a variety of bibliometric and network science methods, we compare the extent to which either data infrastructure facilitated collaboration from different countries around the globe to understand how data reuse can enhance forms of diversity between institutions, countries, and funding groups. Our findings reveal disparities in representation and usage between the two data infrastructures. We conclude that both approaches offer useful lessons, with the unrestricted model providing insights into complex data linkage and the regulated model demonstrating the importance of global representation.

• Genomic Data Sharing
• Data Infrastructures
• Data Governance
• Open Science
• Metascience

1 Introduction

To date, no other scientific data has been shared as widely as the genetic information on the SARS-CoV-2 virus responsible for the 2019 pandemic. This phenomenon has led some scholars, such as Leach ( 2021 ), to argue that, alongside the COVID-19 pandemic, we are witnessing another kind of outbreak, where the act of sharing data has evolved into active participation in Open Science, giving rise to an ‘open data pandemic’. While the notions of Open Data (OD) and Open Science (OS) have been topics of discourse among scientists, philosophers, and policymakers for well over two decades, they have gained unprecedented prominence during the COVID-19 crisis both within and outside of science. This surge in interest and application reflects a broader call for increased transparency, inclusivity and accountability in data-centric research ( Burgelman et al. 2019 ). This push towards openness has led to numerous national and international policies implementing infrastructures, principles and resources in a top-down fashion, which is not always aligned with what specific groups of actors understand responsible OD or OS to be ( Leonelli 2023 ).

This study focuses on the contrasting repertoires ( Ankeny and Leonelli 2016 ) of data governance that have arisen in accessing and reusing viral data concerning SARS-CoV-2. So far, at least two distinct models have emerged: the unrestricted model endorsed by data repositories within the International Nucleotide Sequence Database Collaboration (INSDC RRID:SCR_011967) and the regulated model promoted by the Global Initiative on Sharing All Influenza data (GISAID RRID:SCR_018251). 1 The former encourages free access to data with no constraints, emphasising interpretable and rapid dissemination, while the latter maintains free data access but implements certain constraints and rules around data usage to address issues of credit attribution and exploitation. A notable global health concern amidst these models is the challenge of equity and inclusion within the research landscape. The barriers and limitations that researchers from low-resourced environments and less-visible research locations face, including problems with receiving due credit for their contributions and participating in subsequent research and development ( Bezuidenhout and Chakauya 2018 ), have prompted the development of governance strategies along the lines implemented by GISAID ( Khare et al. 2021 ). Yet, in the midst of these endeavours to ensure inclusivity and fairness, GISAID’s regulated data model became a point of contention, drawing repeated criticisms from the INDSC during the height of the pandemic for not being open enough and thereby not supporting response efforts as well as the emergency required ( EBI 2021 ; Enserink and Cohen 2023 ).

The study is presented as follows: First, we provide an account of the two data infrastructures and their principles of sound data management. We then go on to compare the characteristics of bibliometric indicators, access patterns, publishers, key terms, viral variants, research collaborations and funding dynamics for GISAID and each of the repositories that make up the INSDC—The European Nucleotide Archive (ENA), National Center for Biotechnology Information (NCBI) and the DNA Data Bank of Japan (DDBJ). Our analysis is grounded on data from Digital Science’s Dimensions.ai literature database which mentions either repository in the period between January 2020 and January 2023. We conclude with a reflection on what these two modes of data governance have achieved in terms of their representativeness and interpretations of openness.

2 Background: Two models of Governance for Covid-19 Data

2.1 gisaid: a regulated access model of open data governance.

The GISAID Epi-Flu database was launched in 2008, on the anniversary of the Spanish influenza, to foster the sharing of influenza genomic data securely and responsibly. Data sharing was immediately conceptualised not as straightforward ‘opening up’ of the data by placing them online without restrictions to access and re-use, but rather as an alternative to the public sharing model, whereby users agree to authenticate their academic identity and not to republish or link GISAID genomes without permission from the data producer. GISAID acts as a mediator and enforcer of such rules, granting access solely to users who credibly profess to adopt them, and thereby acting as a guarantor for the effectiveness of the sharing agreement entered by data contributors. This arrangement stems from the recognition that some researchers—commonly located in low-resourced environments—are reluctant to share data due to fears of better-equipped researchers building on such work without due acknowledgment ( Bezuidenhout and Chakauya 2018 ; Elbe and Buckland-Merrett 2017 ). This model proved successful in facilitating better credit attribution to contributing scientists in relation to influenza research and, since its launch, GISAID has played an essential role supporting data sharing among the WHO Collaborating Centers and National influenza Centers in response to the bi-annual influenza vaccine virus recommendations by the WHO Global influenza Surveillance and Response System (GISRS). It is no surprise, therefore, that GISAID was swiftly redeployed, in early 2020, to include SARS-CoV-2 data through the EpiCov database, which stores, analyses and builds evolutionary trees of SARS CoV-2 genome sequences and hosts several daily updates of visualisations ( Khare et al. 2021 ). GISAID is now the leading open access database for SARS-CoV-2, with over 15 million genomes sequenced by February 2023.The Epi-CoV database provides 11 tools to explore SARS-CoV-2 sequence data; these include Audacity—global phylogeny of hCoV-19 as a downloadable newick tree file; CoVizue—near real-time visualisation of SARS-CoV-2 genetic variation; and a collection of thirty-two analysis figures updated daily.

GISAID has played a key role in supporting the identification and study of variant evolution, lineages and spread in real-time during the first three years of the pandemic; and, at the time of writing, it still features as a key data provider for a wide variety of consortia, initiatives and projects devoted to the analysis of COVID-19 variants of interest (some of which listed on this page: https://gisaid.org/collaborations/enabled-by-hcov-19-data-from-gisaid/ ). Accordingly, GISAID is funded by a wide consortium of public and private bodies, including the Federal Republic of Germany, who first backed the project at its main site in Geneva, as well as public-health and academic institutions in Argentina, Brazil, China, Republic of the Congo, Ethiopia, Indonesia, Malaysia, Russia, Senegal, Singapore, South Africa and many other countries, as well as several donors and partners garnered under the label of ‘Friends of GISAID’.

The GISAID model has fostered information exchange among groups that differ considerably in their geo-political locations, funding levels, material resources and social characteristics, thereby expanding the range of data sources shared online ( Shu and McCauley 2017 ). At the same time, GISAID has been frequently scrutinised as limiting the extent to which data can be accessed and linked, thereby negatively affecting the insight, pace and breadth of future research—leading to backlash from hundreds of leading researchers concerned about the urgency of an effective pandemic response ( EBI 2021 ). During the height of the pandemic, questions were also raised regarding the quality and integrity of metadata coming from the GISAID platform ( Gozashti and Corbett-Detig 2021 ), as well as epistemic importance being placed on the lag in submissions times at the global scale ( Kalia et al. 2021 ). Some scientists called for a complete opening of genomic data sharing for SARS-CoV-2 ( Van Noorden 2021 ), stating that GISAID’s policy may be ‘open data’, but it does not make the data easily shareable or useable ( Yehudi et al. 2022 ). These critiques have run alongside controversy around who retains ownership of the data stored in GISAID, and how reliably its governance is actually managed. During past viral outbreaks, GISAID has been involved in legal disputes between the Swiss Institute of Bioinformatics (SIB) over monetary funds of the infrastructure ( Greenemeier 2009 ), events which led to a spokeswoman at GISAID asserting that the SIB had misappropriated the database on grounds of data ownership ( Butler 2009 ). Recent allegations also emerged around GISAID refusing to share data with researchers who, despite complying with its policies, had been critical of them ( Enserink and Cohen 2023 ). Though worth mentioning here given their heated and prominent nature, this paper does not concern itself with these debates, focusing instead on the ways in which GISAID data have been accessed and used.

2.2 INSDC: An unrestricted access model of open data governance

The fully open model promoted by the International Nucleotide Sequence Database Collaboration (INSDC) has its origins in the first nucleotide sequence database, dating back to the development of the Data Library at the European Molecular Biology Laboratory (EMBL RRID:SCR_004473) in 1982 Heidelberg, Germany. Soon after its development, the database collaborated with GenBank (RRID:SCR_002760) at the Los Alamos Science Laboratory, USA ( Arita 2021 ) and finally with the DNA data bank of Japan (DDBJ RRID:SCR_002359) in 1987 ( Fukuda et al. 2021 ), resulting in what Bernasconi et al. ( 2021 ) call a ‘political integration of sequences’.

By 2002, the governing board of the INSDC had published a data sharing policy which permitted free and unrestricted access to all data in the triad of repositories. The policy makes all data records immediately available to all users, commercial sectors included, without any licensing stipulations, access restrictions, or monetary charges ( Karsch-Mizrachi et al. 2018 ). Internally, all data shared with either node of the INSDC would be mirrored into the other repositories. The INSDC’s policies of unrestrictive data sharing follow in the steps of the Bermuda Principles of 1996, which established the norm of full and immediate data sharing for genomic information within biology ( Maxson Jones et al. 2018 ); at the same time, they precede the institutionalisation of the Open Access Movement in academic publishing and institutes such as Open Data Institute (ODI RRID:SCR_021681), effectively making it an avant-garde institution in the broader context of Open Science ( Arita 2021 ).

After four decades of operation, INSDC has displayed a remarkable constancy, with superficial changes largely limited to institutional rebranding. For example, the EMBL Data Library has metamorphosed into the European Nucleotide Archive (ENA RRID:SCR_006515), now under the aegis of the European Bioinformatics Institute in Cambridge Hinxton, while GenBank falls under the purview of the National Center for Biotechnology Information (NCBI RRID:SCR_006472) in Bethesda, USA. Amidst the urgency of the COVID-19 pandemic, the INSDC’s well-established data infrastructures offered critical support for data submission, harmonisation, and the ability to publicly access sequence data with a range of new and old tools and portals. For the NCBI, these included: Genebank for annotated sequences of RNA and DNA data; RefSeq for tasks ranging from genome annotations to mutation and polymorphism evaluations, as well as the development of the NCBI virus data dashboard and the NCBI Covid Hub ( Berasconi et al. 2021 ). Additionally, in April 2020, the European Commission, through the auspices of the European Molecular Biology Laboratory-European Bioinformatics Institute (EMBL-EBI) and Elixir (a 23-country node network in Europe dedicated to openly sharing life science data), launched another platform for sharing scientific information of relevance to the biological study of COVID-19: the COVID-19 Data Portal (CV19-DP RRID:SCR_018337) ( Harrison et al. 2021 ). This data infrastructure hosts a diverse array of genetic, epidemiological, socio-economic and literature data, encouraging data linkage and cross-analysis ( Saravanan et al. 2022 ). Notably, CV19-DP features a modular design that allows for the rapid development of nation-specific customised interfaces; examples include versions for Spain, Sweden and Poland. However, the primary portal remains the principal access point. One of the overarching aims of CV19-DP is to expedite scientific research by enhancing data interoperability across various bioinformatics platforms, such as ENA, UniProt (RRID:SCR_002380), PDBe (RRID:SCR_004312), EMDB (RRID:SCR_003207), Expression Atlas (RRID:SCR_007989), and Europe PMC (RRID:SCR_005901). To achieve this, the portal deploys a high-level Application Programming Interface (API) and supports direct bulk downloads, ensuring minimal user tracking for transparent and efficient data dissemination.

CV19-DP provides two primary data visualisation tools. The first is an open-source phylogenetic tree that displays COVID-19 sequences, constituting 98% of the reference SARS-CoV-2 genome, including PANGO lineages stratified by World Health Organization (WHO) regions. The second is CoVeo, a proprietary browser that performs systematic analysis of raw sequence data, providing visual and summary analyses for various regions, particularly focused on Variants of Concern (VOCs) and Variants of Interest (VOIs) ( Rahman et al. 2023 ). The interface of CV19-DP was later adapted for the Pathogens Hub by the European Nucleotide Archive (ENA), launched in July 2023. This hub is a curated repository founded on the UK’s Health and Safety Executive’s list of approved biological agents, as well as the WHO’s global priority pathogens list. Although other interfaces exist within the INDSC, such as NCBI Virus (RRID:SCR_018253) and the EBI SARS-CoV-2 data hub, the CV19-DP has assumed a significant role. It notably hosted an open letter advocating for the unreserved sharing of SARS-CoV-2 resources and urging submissions to one of the INSDC databases. While the letter did not explicitly name GISAID, it was widely interpreted as a critique of GISAID’s data governance and vision.

2.3 Principles of sound data management

For CV19-DP, and the rest of the cadre in the INSDC, sound data management is predicated on the FAIR data principles, which espouse the findability, accessibility, interoperability, and reusability of research data ( Wilkinson et al. 2016 ). This was justified by the ENA with regards to the publication of CV19-DP where they state

…unrestricted access to data plays a critical role in the rapid coronavirus research necessary to respond to this global health crisis…. Ensuring open science and unrestricted international collaborations is of key importance, and it is recognised that these datasets must be shared openly and meet FAIR standards ( Harrison et al. 2021 ).

The FAIR principles are also found on the NCBI Covid-19 Data Submissions page, where they state a benefit of submitting data to them is to ‘follow FAIR data-sharing principles’ . The principles of FAIR have been embraced by a number of different research areas; this is demonstrated by the growing body of literature on FAIR data sharing ( Bezuidenhout 2020 ; European Commission 2022 ; Goble et al. 2021 ; Leonelli 2022 ; Stall et al. 2019 ; Wise et al. 2019 ) and the cross fertilisation to principles in other scientific practices, such as software ( Barker et al. 2022 ; Hasselbring et al. 2020 ; Hong et al. 2022 ; Katz et al. 2021 ; Lamprecht et al. 2020 ). While this framework is designed to promote transparency and data sharing, it remains subject to interpretation and implementation by individual data repositories, with potential variations in compliance and enforcement across different contexts ( Boeckhout et al. 2018 ; Tacconelli et al. 2022 ) and a prioritisation of machine readability over human inclusivity ( Sterner and Elliot 2022 ).

GISAID’s approach to sound data management is also arguably compatible with FAIR principles but places a higher premium on regulating data flows and interactions between users and the infrastructure, as exemplified by its database access agreement. The EpiFlu™ Database Access Agreement is a mechanism designed to facilitate the sharing of influenza gene sequence data among researchers and public health professionals worldwide. This agreement outlines the terms under which users may provide data to the database, as well as the rights and obligations of authorised users with respect to that data. In particular, the agreement grants GISAID and authorised users a non-exclusive, worldwide, royalty-free and irrevocable license to use, modify, display, and distribute the data submitted by users for research and intervention development purposes, provided they acknowledge the originating and submitting laboratories as the source of the data. Moreover, the agreement establishes certain restrictions on data access and distribution to ensure that users are acting in the best interests of public health. For example, users are not permitted to access or use the database in connection with any other database related to influenza gene sequences, nor are they allowed to distribute data to any third party other than authorised users. Users are also required to make best efforts to collaborate with representatives of the originating laboratory responsible for obtaining the specimen(s) and involve them in such analyses and further research using such data. Although this agreement is established to promote collaboration between scientists, a recent publication in Science exposed GISAID as having different tiers of access which aren’t defined in the agreement ( Enserink and Cohen 2023 ). 2

The differences in the interpretation and implementation of sound data management by GISAID and INDSC illustrate the pluralistic nature of data governance and highlight the need for critical reflection on the normative foundations and ethical implications of data sharing practice. Even though both data infrastructures share common epistemic goals, cognitive-cultural resources, and knowledge forms on complex biological systems, they create distinct digital artifacts as a result of different policies and values (Elliot 2022). A review of metadata by Bernasconi et al. ( 2021 ) concludes that, while GISAID’s partially closed model is likely to attract international collaboration from under-resourced countries, it fails to provide features of data provenance such as persistent URLs to samples or publications. The urgency to better understand the epistemic role of these infrastructures—and those to come after it—is underscored by the work of Chen et al. ( 2022 ) and Brito et al. ( 2022 ), who identified that countries in lower income groups often lack efficient genomic surveillance capabilities, not due to being able to access the data infrastructure but due to socioeconomic factors, such as inadequate infrastructure, low national GDP and meagre medical funding per capita.

Building on prior work on data sharing strategies and understandings of openness between these two systems of data governance ( Leonelli 2022 ; Leonelli 2023 ), our aim in this paper is to provide an empirical examination of a crucial process of relevant data journeys ( Leonelli and Tempini 2020 ), specifically the transfer of SARS-CoV-2 genetic data from the collection stage to the analytical stage. These data movements often cross institutional and international borders, thereby posing challenges to conventional scientific divisions of labour, disciplinary boundaries and epistemic hierarchies. Despite the inherent challenges in identifying and reconstructing these journeys, they present valuable units of analysis for mapping and comparing the diverse practices and circumstances involved in the mobilisation and utilisation of data ( Leonelli 2016a ; Leonelli and Williamson 2023 ). At the heart of our inquiry lies the research question of how data infrastructures function as entities that mediate the interplay between data and research practices, thereby affecting the processes and outcomes of data exchange. To answer this, our methodology entails a synthesis of quantitative methods, such as data collection, frequentist statistics, and network analysis, and is informed by critical data studies debates on the governance and inclusivity of data infrastructures ( Beaulieu et al. 2013 ; Borgman 2017 ; Borgman and Bourne 2022 ; Curry 2022 ; Fecher 2018 ; Kitchin 2014 ; Kitchin & McArdle 2016 ; Leonelli 2016b ; Wilson et al. 2022 ).

3 Data and Methods

To explore collaborative research patterns across each data repository, our study draws on an analysis of collaboration in published articles and other bibliometric indicators. Bibliometrics as a meta-science methodology has been widely used to study the impact of COVID-19 on the research landscapes ( Acciai et al. 2022 ; Benach et al. 2022 ; Chahrour et al. 2020 ; Mohabab et al. 2020; Sofi-Mahmudi et al. 2023 ; Wang and Tian 2021 ; Yinka Akintunde et al. 2021 ; Zhang et al. 2022 ; Zhong and Lin 2022 ). Although bibliometrics was established in the 1950’s, bibliometrics is increasing in usage across academic disciplines, and has become a central methodology to explore trends in international and national collaboration, thematic clustering of keywords and topics, and structural patterns of networks dynamics ( Donthu et al. 2021 ; Subramanyam 1983 ). By focusing on collaboration between institutions, countries and researchers, bibliometrics are able to better explore the involvement of actors involved in COVID-19 research. One caveat of this methodology is that it only captures a partial picture of research collaboration, with little information being placed on practices or informal collaborations; therefore, it should not be understood as the entire landscape ( Leonelli 2022 ). In recent years, a number of online databases, such as Web Of Science (RRID:SCR_022706) and Dimensions.ai (RRID:SCR_021977), have become easily accessible in providing a systematic collection of multi-disciplinary publications, and a number of software packages, such as VosViewer (RRID:SCR_023516), Bibliometrix (RRID:SCR_023744) and Gephi (RRID:SCR_004293), have made the analysis of such data more achievable ( Moral-Muñoz et al. 2020 ).

Each corpus was analysed using common bibliometric indicators, collaboration and equity measurements and network analysis. To begin, we considered indicators which are grounded in the existing bibliometric literature, such as total number of publications, average citations per publication, total citations, average Altmetric score, accessibility options (Open or Closed Access), publishers’ landscape and co-occurrence of key terms within publications. The results of these were plotted as line graphs or tree maps for each dataset. After this, we extended our statistical framework to include a bar chart of the distribution of variants between each dataset—aligning our approach with many bibliometric studies that focus on phenomena-specific metrics. We then deployed two measurements to understand the author and income collaborations between countries. The first is based on inter and intra-regional collaborations and the second identifies collaboration in relation to income groups classified by the World Bank.

Lastly, we explored the relational dynamics among publications by engaging in bibliographic coupling and social network analysis (SNA). We employed the standard formulation of bibliographic coupling as introduced by Kessler in 1963 :

Here, B is the bibliographic coupling matrix and A is the bipartite network adjacency matrix. Each row and column in A corresponds to a node, which may represent entities such as publication data, countries, academic institutions and funders. The elements aij in the adjacency matrix A represent the number of bibliographic couplings between article i and article j . We used two common SNA metrics to plot the structural impacts of the network: degree and betweenness , where degree is the number of associations a particular node has, and betweenness represents the number of occurrences a node acts as a bridge between one node to another ( Newman 2005 ). All analysis was conducted using an R Project for Statistical Computing (RRID:SCR_001905). The project, along with the code and data to reproduce the analysis, have been made openly available on Zenodo ( 10.5281/zenodo.8399189 ).

3.1 Data collection and filtering

In bibliometric analyses, delineating precise search strategies and choosing a source of truth database is of paramount importance to capture a comprehensive dataset. Within the genomic data repositories landscape, GISAID and the INSDC groups exhibit divergent data citation protocols. Crucially, GISAID enforces a stringent requirement whereby members must cite and formally solicit permission from data depositors prior to any publication endeavours. This procedural characteristic facilitates a streamlined search strategy for GISAID data. Specifically, by employing the terms ‘Global initiative on sharing all influenza data’, ‘GISAID’ or ‘EpiCov’ in conjunction with a curated set of COVID-19-centric keywords. Conversely, the INSDC groups, devoid of such stipulations, present a slightly more intricate search matrix. Though there is an absence of a formal citation requirement, it is a common observation that published outputs frequently reference the PRJ accession code associated with a sequence or directly name the data repository. Consequently, the search query for the INSDC groups necessitates the integration of terms such as ‘ENA’, ‘The Covid-19 Data Portal’, ‘NCBI Virus’, and ‘NiH’ with additional accession codes, such as ‘PRJ’. A full table of search queries can be found in Table 1 . In order to ensure the data queried was relevant to the study of SARS-CoV-2 and not any other influenza or pathogen disease, the following inclusion criteria are applied: A Covid-19 related term had to be in the full text; the study had to be an academic article; the article was published between January 2020 and January 2023; and all types of methods and disciplines are allowed.

Workflow for Dimensions.ai searches on publications referencing major SARS-CoV-2 data repositories.

Using these search queries and filters, we chose to use the Dimensions Analytics API ( Herzog et al. 2020 ; Hook et al. 2018 ) as our source of truth to build collections for each repository. Established in 2018 by Digital Science, the Dimensions Analytics API provides one of the largest sources of publication data ( Adams et al. 2018 ; Bode et al. 2018 ; Visser et al. 2021 ). Our initial search returned the following number of publications for each repository: GISAD ( n = 14,092), NCBI (n = 12,751) , ENA (n = 13,491) , DDBJ (n = 508) . However, as Guerrero-Bote et al. ( 2021 ) point out, the validity of Dimensions data can often be less reliable than Scopus—as it depends on machine learning curated data and fields such as research affiliations often contain missing entries and may contain duplicates based on preprints. For these reasons, we further filter our data to remove any duplicates of publication.ids or titles, and, for our network analysis, we remove any entries where country or institution affiliation is not documented. After this filtering, the size of our final dataset for each repository is: GISAD (n = 11,945), NCBI (n = 10,685) , ENA (n = 9728) , DDBJ (n = 325) . Similarity between each corpus’s publication id, shown in Figure 1 , identifies that each repository has a mostly unique corpus of data. The biggest overlap between corpuses was between GISAID and NCBI, narrowly followed by the ENA and NCBI. There was a significantly low similarity of articles mentioning all three INSDC members.

Corpus similarity across major SARS-CoV-2 repositories: Similarity of publication corpuses across major SARS-CoV-2 repositories (January 2020–January 2023). Each oval represents a repository’s corpus with GISAID (red), ENA (green), NCBI (blue) and DDJB (purple). The total number of unique publications are labelled for each overlapping circle as well as the percentage of the entire corpus.

4.1 Bibliometric indicators

Notwithstanding the comparatively reduced aggregate of publications in the GISAID repository relative to the comprehensive corpus of the INSDC, GISAID manifests a superior metric in several key bibliometric indicators such as average citations per month, total monthly citations, and average Altmetric scores as seen in Figure 2 . This discrepancy is largely attributable to GISAID’s recurrent citation in seminal works delineating the initial virological properties of SARS-CoV-2 ( Wölfel et al. 2020 ; Walls et al. 2020 ; Wang et al. 2020 ; Zhu et al. 2020 ) and discussions of its phylogenetic origins ( Andersen et al. 2020 ; Holshue et al. 2020 ; Zhou et al. 2020 ), as well as foundational studies on therapeutic and vaccine protocols ( Hoffmann et al. 2020 ; Polack et al. 2020 ; Wölfel et al. 2020 ).

Temporal trends in scholarly metrics across major SARS-CoV-2 repositories. This line graph illustrates longitudinal variations in key bibliometric indicators: (1) Total Number of Publications (top left), (2) Average Citations per Publication (top right), (3) Average Altmetric Score (bottom left) and (4) Cumulative Citation Count (bottom right). Data points span from January 2020 to January 2023. The DNA Data Bank of Japan (DDBJ), National Center for Biotechnology Information (NCBI), European Nucleotide Archive (ENA), and Global Initiative on Sharing All Influenza Data (GISAID) are represented by red, purple, green and aqua blue lines, respectively.

In the context of the INSDC consortium, the total number of publications across all databases stands at n = 20,059 , which is 59% more than GISAID with n = 11,945 . Among the INSDC constituents, DDBJ records the most modest performance across all bibliometric impact measures. However, the DDBJ makes a perk in the Altmetric graph, this spike reflects both the low number of publications mentioning the DDBJ but also the high alt metric score of Amendola et al.’s ( 2021 ) early work on evidence of SARS-CoV-2 RNA from a swab in Italy December 2019. Conversely, despite possessing a fewer number of articles than NCBI, the ENA surpasses all other INSDC members impact factors, facilitated in part by pivotal contributions to the PRIDE database resource ( Perez-Riverol et al. 2022 ) and the Ensembl 2021 project.

In Figure 3 , for all GISAID, NCBI, ENA and DDBJ repositories, Gold Open Access (OA) emerges as the predominant access modality, registering a prevalence of 43%, 47%, 39% and 71%, respectively. In GISAID, subsequent access modalities adhere to a conventional OA hierarchy, featuring Green (32%), Bronze (12%), Hybrid (8%) and Closed (5%) categories. ENA diverges the most, with Closed (25%) being the second leading access type, followed by Green (18%), Hybrid (11%) and lastly Bronze (8%). For the NCBI access types, Green (20%), Closed (16%), Bronze (8%) and Hybrid (8%) trail Gold. The case of DDBJ is a similar pattern, with Green (20%), Closed (15%), Bronze (5%) and Hybrid (8%).

Publication access types across major SARS-CoV-2 repositories. This treemap quantifies the distribution of open access (OA)—Gold, Green, Bronze and Hybrid—and closed access publications across The DNA Data Bank of Japan (DDBJ), National Center for Biotechnology Information (NCBI), European Nucleotide Archive (ENA) and Global Initiative on Sharing All Influenza Data (GISAID). Each rectangle’s area is proportional to the frequency of publications within that category. Databases are delineated by white borders and labelled at their centres in italicised black text. Within each database, access types are labelled in white text.

For NCBI, in Figure 4 , publishers in terms of prominence are Elsevier (19%), Springer Nature (16%), MDPI (12%), Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory (11%) and Frontiers (8%). In the same figure, ENA exhibits a similar trend with Springer Nature (27%), Elsevier (20%), MDPI (8%), Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory (8%) and Frontiers (5%). In the case of DDBJ, the leading publisher instead is Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (41%), followed by Springer Nature (14%), Elsevier (9%), Oxford University Press (6%) and MDPI (6%). GISAID demonstrates a preference for Elsevier (20%), trailed by Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory (20%), Springer Nature (12%), MDPI (9%) and Research Square Platform LLC (5%). All other publishers were less than five percent.

Publisher landscape across major SARS-CoV-2 repositories. This treemap quantifies the distribution of publishers across The DNA Data Bank of Japan (DDBJ), National Center for Biotechnology Information (NCBI), European Nucleotide Archive (ENA) and Global Initiative on Sharing All Influenza Data (GISAID). Each rectangle’s area is proportional to the frequency of publications within that category. Databases are delineated by white borders and labelled at their centres in italicised black text. Within each database, publishers are labelled in white text.

4.2 Variant and keyword distribution

For all repositories, the World Health Organization (WHO) nomenclature exhibited a more pervasive mention as opposed to the Pango lineage classifications as shown in Figure 5 . In the ENA corpus, variant denominations predominantly adhere to the WHO taxonomy, with the following distribution: Alpha (145), Beta (145), Delta (142), Gamma (54) and Kappa (20). Conversely, the Pango lineage descriptors manifest with a diminished frequency: P.2 (75), B.1.1.7 (49), B.1.617.2 (32), B.1.351 (23) and B.1.1.529 (21). GISAID encapsulates the largest share of variant mentions. Predominantly, WHO nomenclature appears more regularly, with leading variants being Omicron (2093), Delta (1879), Alpha (1098), Beta (795) and Gamma (606). For GISAID, Pango lineages appear with B.1.1.7 (832), B.1.351 (506), B.1.617.2 (514), P.1 (400) and B.1.1.529 (367). The NCBI encompasses the most substantial proportion of variant mentions among the INSDC repositories. The paramount WHO classifications are Alpha, Beta, Delta, Omicron and Gamma with frequencies of 274, 263, 252, 239 and 136, respectively; for Pango lineages, they are B.1.1.7 (86), P.1 (77), B.1.351 (65), B.1.617.2 (60) and B.1.1.529 (34).

Frequency distribution of viral variants mentioned in abstracts across major SARS-CoV-2 repositories. This bar chart represents the frequency of mentions for specific viral variants and lineages in the dataset’s abstracts. WHO labels (e.g., alpha, beta) and Pango lineages (e.g., b.1.1.7, b.1.351) are accounted for. Each bar corresponds to a distinct variant or lineage, ordered in descending frequency of mentions. The x-axis quantifies the number of abstracts mentioning each variant and the y-axis identifies the respective variants and lineages.

Figure 6 shows that the keyword distribution of Medical Subject Headings (MeSH) terms convergence on analogous themes across the repositories, encompassing gender dichotomies (female and male), species delineations (animals, human, mice), age categorizations (adult), data types (RNA, genomics, genome), and facets of pandemics and viral evolution (pandemics, viral, spike glycoprotein, phylogeny). An idiosyncratic characteristic of GISAID is its heightened frequency of therapeutic-centric terminologies (vaccines, mutations, neutralising antibodies). In juxtaposition, other INSDC repositories underscore methodological lexemes such as databases and computational biology. Subsidiaries of INSDC spotlight repository-specific keywords: for instance, the ENA emphasises Climate Change, while the DNA Data Bank of Japan (DDBJ) accentuates infections, pneumonia and, not surprisingly, Japan. Within the confines of GISAID and NCBI, the uppermost 15 keywords converge on a centrality of 14. In contrast, DDBJ and ENA oscillate between a centrality range of 5–12.5. Within the network framework of GISAID, the highest betweenness centrality is attributed to ‘adult’ and ‘neutralizing’. Conversely, for NCBI, ‘computational biology’ and ‘mice’ emerge preeminent, for ENA it’s ‘databases’ and ‘male’, and for DDBJ, ‘humans’ and ‘animals’ occupy this distinction.

Co-occurrence network of top MeSH terms across major SARS-CoV-2 repositories. This graph depicts a co-occurrence network of the top 15 Medical Subject Headings (MeSH) terms within the given dataset, represented as nodes. Edges between nodes are weighted by the frequency of co-occurring terms across publications, and edge thickness scales with weight; edges with weight below a threshold of 5 are excluded for clarity. Node size is dictated by the node’s degree and colour is mapped to betweenness centrality.

4.3 Author collaboration

As Table 2 shows, within the GISAID repository, the year 2020 manifested a marked inclination towards collaborative endeavours, evidenced by a significant number of papers with either 2–5, 5–10, and 10–20 authors juxtaposed against a modest 64 single-authored papers. By 2021, a proliferation in contributions was observed, most prominently in the 10–20 author category, amassing a noteworthy 1207 papers. However, by 2022, while the papers in the 10–20 author bracket peaked at 1254, those exceeding 50 authors witnessed a slight decrement to 60. In terms of hyper authorship, GISAID featured a decent share of 50–100 authors and was the leading year-on-year growth of 100–250 authors. Although GISAID didn’t have any papers with between 250–500 authors, they beat every member of the INSDC in the extreme authorship categories with leading representation every year for 500–1000 and 1000–5000.

Number of papers per number of authors across major SARS-CoV-2 repositories. This table displays the cumulative number of papers per number of authors for each repository between 2020 and 2022.

The ENA database, in 2020, registered most of its papers within the 2–5 author cohort, with 420 contributions. This was contrasted by 72 papers in the single author category and 29 in the 50+. An intriguing surge was witnessed in 2021, particularly with a staggering 1219 in the 2–5 authored contributions and related increases in all other categories. In 2022, the surge continued but at a slower rate, with the most significant increase being the jump in single author papers to 407. The ENA trumped GISAID in the 50–100 author per paper and had the best year-on-year representation for the hyper authorship categories between the INSDC members. For the NCBI repository, the data from 2020 underscores a dominant trend towards collaborative work, with 613 papers in the 2–5 author bracket and 546 in the 5–10 author segment. This collaborative proclivity augmented in 2021, especially within the 2–5 author category, which culminated in 1032 papers. In 2022, all categories up to 50 authors continued to rise. NCBI displayed marginally less than the ENA in the 50–100 authorship category and marginally less than GISAID in the 100–250 authorship category but failed to represent continuous improvement in hyper authorship categories on a yearly basis. Lastly, the DDBJ repository, in 2020, was most prolific in the 2–5 author segment, recording 49 papers. The subsequent year, 2021, saw relatively modest numbers, with the 2–5 author category, still leading but with less papers. However, 2022 registered a marginal upswing, particularly in the 2–5 and 10–20 author categories. By 2023, the repository only had one paper with a hype authorship of 50+ across all years.

4.4 Geographical and income collaboration

Figure 7 shows the ENA was the only repository to have a higher share of multi-region collaborations than single region, with 13,819 beating 15,269. Countries with the leading number of documents were United States, United Kingdom, Germany, China, Australia, Spain, Italy, India, France, Canada, Netherlands, Japan, Switzerland, Brazil, Sweden, South Africa, Belgium, Austria, Denmark and Norway. Countries with a higher ratio of multi-region collaborations were South Africa, Canada, Australia, Sweden, Brazil, United Kingdom, Belgium, Denmark, Japan, United States, Norway, Spain, Austria and the Netherlands. Countries in the ENA with a large proportion of single region collaborations were China, Italy, France and India. Germany had a relatively equal ratio between the two collaborations.

Distribution of single- and multi-region collaborations in scholarly publications by top 20 countries across major SARS-CoV-2 repositories. This stacked bar chart portrays the extent of single-region and multi-region collaborations in scholarly documents for the top 20 countries based on publication volume. The x-axis indicates the number of documents associated with each country, and the y-axis lists the countries in descending order of total documents. The colours in each bar segment represent the type of collaboration: single-region or multi-region.

For GISAID, single region collaborations were the most frequent, with a total of 21,432 over 13,476 multi-region collaborations with the total number of documented coming from United States, China, United Kingdom, India, France, Italy, Germany, Brazil, Japan, Canada, Spain Australia, South Africa, Switzerland, Netherlands, Belgium, Singapore, Bangladesh, Israel and Saudi Arabia. The countries with the most amount of multi-regional collaboration were South Africa, United Kingdom, Brazil and Bangladesh, all of which had more multi-regional collaborations than single-region. Following this, Switzerland, Singapore and Australia had roughly equal share between the two collaborations categories. Countries with the highest single region collaboration were France, China, Spain, India, Italy and Germany, all of which had over double the amount of single regional collaborations over multi-regional collaborations. Netherlands, Saudi Arabia, Canada, Japan, Israel and United States had between 40–10% more single regional collaborations.

For NCBI, the split between single region and multi-region collaboration was less than GISAID, with 15,440 and 10,742, respectively. The leading countries with the greatest number of documents were United States, China, United Kingdom, India, France, Italy, Germany, Brazil, Japan, Canada, Spain, Australia, South Africa, Switzerland, Netherlands, Belgium, Singapore, Bangladesh, Israel and Saudi Arabia. Countries with the highest multi-regional collaboration were Brazil, South Africa, Saudi Arabia, Australia, Bangladesh and United Kingdom. Countries with the highest single-regional collaborations were China, India, Italy, Germany, Canada, Japan and France. The rest of the countries had a relatively equal ratio of single and multi-region collaborations.

DDBJ had the lowest number of total articles and had greater share of single region (451) collaborations over multi region (214). The leading countries collaborating on documents were Japan, United States, China, India, United Kingdom, Australia, Germany, Italy, Brazil, France, South Africa, Spain, Thailand, Malaysia, Canada, Indonesia, Switzerland, Tanzania, Denmark, Austria, Lebanon, Netherlands, Nigeria and Norway. Lebanon had the entirety of its collaborations based as multi-region, with the Netherlands, South Africa and the United Kingdom following them with higher proportions of multi-region collaboration. China, Brazil, Thailand, Malaysia, Germany, Spain, Japan, Australia, Switzerland, France, India, United States, Denmark and Canada all had over 40% more single regional collaborations, with the rest of the countries having a tied split.

From the data presented in Table 3 , it is evident that collaborations between High-Income-to-High-Income groups (HI-HI) dominate the submissions in GISAID, NCBI and ENA, with notable figures of 8504, 6599, and 11,199, respectively. DDBJ shows a significantly lower count of 151 in this category. In contrast, collaborations between Low-Middle-Income and Low-Income (LMI-LI) groups are sparse across all repositories. Interestingly, collaborations involving Upper-Middle-Income groups (UMI) with other income groups, such as Low-Income (LI) and Low-Middle-Income (LMI), show varied results across databases. For instance, UMI-LMI collaborations are relatively higher in NCBI (349) compared to GISAID (269) and ENA (228), while DDBJ shows little representation in this category. Furthermore, an intriguing pattern observed in the other HI category, where each repository—apart from the DDBJ—leads the collaboration type in one way. Most interestingly, the ENA database exhibits a substantially higher number of collaborations in the HI-MIX category (3830) compared to both GISAID (2099) and NCBI (1754); GISAID led in the HI-UMI category (6494), followed by the ENA (5376) and the NCBI (4521). Both NCBI (2214) and GISAID had the same number of HI-LMI of 2161, followed by the ENA 1724. The DDBJ does feature as the greatest percentage (21.7%) but with significantly less collaborations.

Income collaboration across major SARS-CoV-2 repositories. This table presents the share of income group (based on World Bank classifications) collaborations for each repository.

4.5 Networks

Table 4 provides a comprehensive network analysis of the various databases, detailing their network characteristics across different types: Authors, Country, Funder, and Institution. A salient observation from the table is the pronounced homogeneity in the funding network across the databases. Specifically, the nodes in this network span from 13 (DDBJ) to 17 (both ENA and NCBI), with GISAID closely trailing at 16. GISAID’s funding ecosystem, with a mean weighted degree of 2289, indicates a potential proclivity of funders towards research utilizing GISAID data. Nonetheless, the elevated clustering coefficient and density metrics for all databases underscore a robust collaboration among funders.

Comparative network statistics across major SARS-CoV-2 repositories. This table delineates the network attributes of various databases across distinct classifications: Authors, Country, Funder and Institution. Metrics included are node count, edge count, clustering coefficients and density scores.

The country network also exhibited considerable homogeneity, albeit with more distinctive characteristics relative to the funding network. GISAID’s network emerged as the most expansive, boasting 159 nodes and 3220 edges. Most databases trended towards a singular community size, with DDBJ being an outlier with three communities. The apex clustering coefficients and density metrics were identified in the ENA network, registering at 0.71 and 0.29, respectively. The mean degree was highest for ENA at 43.54, while GISAID closely followed with 40.50, and NCBI and DDBJ were relatively lower at 27.31 and 4.56, respectively.

The institutional network landscape revealed intriguing variances. Notably, the ENA dominated in terms of nodes (6898) and edges (763,790). The subsequent rankings were NCBI and GISAID with 6485 nodes (81,002 edges) and 6030 nodes (82,466 edges), respectively, while DDBJ lagged considerably at 418 nodes and 1095 edges. All databases manifested exceedingly low-density metrics, with ENA leading at 0.3. The clustering coefficients mirrored this trend, with ENA outpacing GISAID and NCBI by a factor of three and DDBJ by two. An interesting revelation was NCBI’s network comprising the largest number of communities at 131, superseding GISAID, ENA and DDBJ, which had 125, 101 and 87 communities, respectively.

The ‘Authors’ category emerged as the predominant network across databases. GISAID’s network was the most extensive, with 85,387 nodes and 6,771,757 edges. NCBI and ENA followed with 74,155 nodes (2,140,401 edges) and 69,717 nodes (8,583,776 edges), respectively, while DDBJ was significantly smaller with 21,152 nodes and 17,359 edges. Owing to their extremely large size, density metrics were exceedingly low across all databases, with DDBJ being a notable exception. The clustering coefficient was predominantly high, with ENA leading at 0.99, trailed by NCBI and DDBJ at 0.97 and 0.96, respectively. In terms of community counts, NCBI was predominant, with 70,002, followed by ENA, GISAID and DDBJ with 6,179, 4,679 and 246, respectively. The community sizes (mean, median and minimum) across databases exhibited remarkable consistency.

For the ENA database, in terms of connectivity degree of the network, the leading countries were as follows: the United States (126), the United Kingdom (124), Germany (112), Canada (105), South Africa (103), France (102), India (102), Australia (100), Brazil (97), the Netherlands (96) and China (95). In relation to betweenness centrality, the United States stood out with a score of 758.18. This was followed by the United Kingdom (652.73), France (510.59), Canada (455.33) and South Africa (322.51).

In the GISAID database, the countries with the highest degrees of connection were the United States (125), the United Kingdom (126), France (109), Germany (108), Brazil (104), Switzerland (103), South Africa (101), Canada (96), Saudi Arabia (95), Japan (94) and Egypt (93). When evaluating betweenness centrality, the leading countries were Senegal (653.05), Sweden (601.17), Italy (561.47), Australia (541.90), Brazil (474.20), Canada (411.64) and Nigeria (377.70).

For the NCBI database, the foremost countries in terms of degree were the United States (118), the United Kingdom (108), Germany (97), France (86), Italy (83), India (82), Australia (81), China (79), Switzerland (77), Canada (73) and Spain (72). Regarding betweenness centrality, France held the highest score with 708.41, followed by Italy (711.71), South Africa (563.36), the United Kingdom (495.84) and Portugal (469.37). For the DDBJ, the leading countries in terms of degree were Japan (20), United Kingdom (19), United States (19), Italy (11), Sweden (10), Germany (10), Switzerland (10), Israel (9), Australia (9) and Croatia (8). Japan had the leading betweenness centrality score followed by United Kingdom, United States, China, Israel and Australia.

As shown in Figure 8 , the predominant collaboration in the DDBJ network was between Japan and the United States, registering 94 instances, representing a significant majority. Subsequent collaborations included the United Kingdom and the United States (34), Australia and the United States (30), Japan and Norway (14), and Lebanon and the United Kingdom (14).

Country collaborations across major SARS-CoV-2 repositories. The figure provides a visual representation of global collaborations among countries. It plots a geographical map overlaid with collaboration lines between countries, where the colour of the lines represents the intensity or weight of the collaborations. Countries are color-coded based on their total number of publications.

Within the ENA database, the largest global reach of country collaboration was recorded, with collaborations involving the United States dominating the top seven positions, collaborating with China (33,298), Germany (22,125), the United Kingdom (20,314), Spain (16,911), Italy (16,750), France (14,899) and Japan (14,371). In the GISAID database, the United States also led country collaborations. But the top collaborative instances were far less: United Kingdom (3,393), Germany (2,745), China (2,021), Canada (1,680), Spain (1,599), Australia (1,373), Japan (862) and India (835). A similar trend was identified in the NCBI database, where the United States featured prominently in the top eight collaborative positions. Collaborative instances included the United Kingdom (3,393), Germany (2,745), China (2,021), Canada (1,680), Spain (1,599), Australia (1,373), Japan (862) and India (835).

In the analysis of funding networks in Figure 9 , the principal funders for GISAID included ICRP, NIH, cOAlitionS, NSF, UKRI, DoD and US Federal funders, exhibiting 15 degrees of connection. Of these, UKRI demonstrated the most significant betweenness centrality. However, when considering the entire network, USDA held the highest betweenness centrality, valued at 57.5, with 12 degrees. The most substantial collaborations were observed between ICRP and US Federal Funders (2166 instances), followed by ICRP-NIH (2094) and NIH-US Federal Funders (2094). Subsequent significant collaborations were identified between cOAlitionS and ICRP (1433), EC & ERC (940), and UKRI (695). Within the NCBI network, the top funders in terms of connection degrees, totalling 16, were IRCP, NIH, cOAlitionS, UKRI and US Federal Funders. In this group, UKRI retained the highest betweenness centrality, registering 32.5. Overall, NOAA exhibited the leading betweenness centrality at 68.67 with 10 degrees. The primary collaborations were between ICRP and US Federal Funders (1755), NIH and US Federal Funders (1723), and ICRP and NIH (1720). Further collaborations included cOAlitionS with ICRP (711), EC & ERC (535) and US Federal Funders (390). For the ENA funding network, the dominant funders in terms of connection degrees, all at 16, were ICRP, NIG, cOAlitionS, AMRC, EC & ERC, NSF, UKRI, HRA, CDC and US Federal Funders. Among these, CDC displayed the highest betweenness centrality at 48.67, but in a broader context, NOAA, with 12 degrees, possessed a greater betweenness centrality of 67. The chief collaborations were with ICRP and US Federal Funders (1374), NIH and US Federal Funders (1317), and ICRP and NIH (1314). This was followed by collaborations involving cOAlitionS and ICRP (1113), EC & ERC (940) and UKRI (740). In the DDBJ network, the US Federal Funders emerged as the primary funding group, reflecting 14 degrees of connection. The maximum betweenness centrality was attributed to NSF, although it only had 10 degrees. Predominant collaborations were discerned between ICRP and US Federal Funders (44), ICRP and NIH (43), and NIH and US Federal Funders (43), followed by CDC and US Federal Funders (24). Additional collaborations involved cOAlitionS and ICRP (23), EC & ERC (19), US Federal Funders (14) and UKRI (12).

Funder group collaborations across major SARS-CoV-2 repositories. This graph depicts a collaboration network of funder groups within the given dataset, represented as nodes. Edges between nodes are weighted by the frequency of co-occurring funders across publications. Node size is dictated by the node’s weighted degree.

In the institutional network presented in Figure 10 , the University of Oxford (826), followed by Imperial College London (668), University of Edinburgh (651), Harvard University (638), the Ministry of Health (596), University of Washington (570), University of Cambridge (537), University College London (504), London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine (501) and the Institut Pasteur (462), were the leading nodes for GISAID. In the same network, the University of Oxford again leads in the largest betweenness centrality with 604,373.83, followed by Harvard University, University of Hong Kong, University of Edinburgh and the Ministry of Health with 564,449.4, 478,585.8, 435,489.2 and 405,605.17, respectively. The top five leading collaborations were between the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Centre and the University of Washington (141), KU Leuven and Rega Institute for Medical Research (116), Imperial College London and the University of Oxford (113), Howard Hughes Medical Institute and University of Washington (73), and the Institute of Microbiology and the University of Chinese Academy Science (73).

Institution group network across major SARS-CoV-2 repositories. This graph depicts a collaboration network of the institutions within the given dataset, represented as nodes. Edges between nodes are weighted by the frequency of collaborating institutions across publications. Node size is dictated by the node’s weighted degree, and colour is mapped to betweenness centrality, following a viridis scale.

In contrast, the ENA platform showcases a broader scope of institutional collaborations. The Sun-Yat Institute (also referred to as Zhongshan University) emerges as the most connected with 2593 degree, followed by the University of Paris (2361), University of Oxford (2031), University College London (1987), Imperial College London (1894), Harvard University (1876), University of Cambridge (1811), University of Edinburgh (1738), Kings College London (1732) and Stanford University (1695). Institutions pivotal in the genesis of ENA, EMBL-EBI, namely the European Bioinformatics Institute and the European Molecular Biology Laboratory, also feature prominently, with the European Bioinformatics Institute receiving 1637 degree and the European Molecular Biology Laboratory with 1542. The leading institutes in terms of betweenness centrality are University College London, University of Oxford, University of Cambridge, Harvard University and Sun Yat with 366,428.6, 363,747.68, 258,835.77, 244,949.02 and 242,804.76, respectively. The leading collaboration between institutes was the British Medical Association and the Canadian Medical Association (80), followed by the University of Cambridge and the Wellcome Sanger Institute (75), Broad Institute and Harvard University (69), Imperial College London and University of Oxford (61) and the European Molecular Biology Laboratory and Heidelberg University (59). The European Molecular Biology Laboratory also had high collaborations with the German Cancer Research Center (51), while the European Bioinformatic Institute had substantial collaborations with the University of Cambridge (45), the Wellcome Sanger Institute (44) and University College London (37).

For the NCBI, the leading institutions in terms of degree were Harvard University (820), University of Cambridge (693), Wellcome Sanger Institute (498), University of Washington (496), Cornell University (487), Stanford University (477), University College London (476), National Center for Biotechnology Information (475) and the University of Melbourne (453). In terms of betweenness centrality, Harvard University overshadowed the rest with a score of 724,458.49, followed by University of Oxford, University of Melbourne, Imperial College London and the University of California with 519,537.68, 346,122.59, 316,106.06 and 213,986.81, respectively. The leading institutions in terms of collaboration were the BGI Group (China) and the University of Chinese Academy of Science (80), Broad Institute and Harvard University (58), Harvard University and Massachusetts General Hospital (39), Brigham and Women’s Hospital and Harvard University (37), and Broad Institute and Massachusetts Institute of Technology. In the top twenty of collaborations, the NCBI themselves did not appear.

For the DDBJ, the leading institutes in terms of degree were Harvard University (49), National Institute of Infectious Diseases (48), University of Tokyo (32), Kyoto University (30), Broad Institute (26), Waseda University (24), Hokkaido University (23), Keio University (22), European Bioinformatics Institute (22) and Cornell University (22). In terms of betweenness centrality, the highest were Harvard, National Institute of Infectious Diseases, European Bioinformatics Institute, Kyoto University and Research Organization of Information and Systems with 6304.96, 4225.42, 3541.08, 2943.33 and 2851.85, respectively.

5 Discussion

A significant distinction between the two data governance models is observed in the variance of MeSH (Medical Subject Headings) keywords and the distribution of variants. GISAID possesses the most significant proportion of variant names within its corpus, lending credence to the notion that its primary objective is to monitor novel variants, assess genetic mutations, and evaluate vaccine immunity in relation to these variations. This is corroborated by the relative distribution of keywords in which GISAID shows a marked inclination towards public health applications and therapeutic-centric terminologies, while INSDC captures a wider spectrum of biological and epidemiological research domains, including substantive efforts in upstream research. Such distinctions manifest in the kind of data each model disseminates: GISAID predominantly shares RNA or protein data, which it provides in a ready-to-use format for immediate employment by public health officials, whereas the INSDC provides a broader spectrum of epidemiological data, encompassing a considerable quantity of raw reads and annotation data and providing more opportunities for linking the data to other existing resources.

This difference in audiences, and usage goes some way towards accounting for the difference in emphasis in the governance models preferred by the two infrastructures. While GISAID depends on the comprehensiveness of its respondents and participants to be able to provide as wide-ranging a picture of global mutation patters as possible, INSDC is more focused on facilitating linkage between datasets, thereby supporting discovery on a variety of novel aspects of SARS-CoV-2 behaviour and interactions with host organisms and environments. Openness in the sense of immediate, wide-ranging usability of data is therefore arguably more crucial to INDSC, while attention to which sources are captured and the extent to which they can represent the world-wide situation is of primary concern for GISAID.

The disproportionate size of the DDBJ corpus compared to NCBI or ENA can be understood in the context of a government mandate by the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare in Japan, which required all SARS-CoV-2 genomes to be registered with GISAID, not elsewhere ( MHLW 2021 ). In turn, this meant sequences submitted to GISAID from Japan were not allowed to go into an INSDC repository due to licencing terms.

Even when taking this difference in emphasis into account, the results from the analysis above present a mixture of benefits and drawbacks to GISAID and the members of the INSDC in their capacity to support diverse research collaboration for the study of SARS-CoV-2, and thus deserves some critical reflection and contextualization.

For a start, during the 2020–2022 pandemic years, the GISAID corpus has witnessed an increased frequency of publication, citation, and discussion compared to other INSDC members. This underscores GISAID’s instrumental role in forging early collaborative efforts between global researchers and institutions ( Khare et al. 2021 ). However, when combining the output of all INSDC members, the cumulative publications significantly eclipse that of GISAID and demonstrate comparable citations and Altmetric scores. While there are indications of GISAID’s publication volume diminishing in 2023, both the ENA and NCBI are observing an upward trajectory in their publication count. The slow start exhibited by INSDC members may be attributable, in part, to the delayed release of COVID-19-specific data portals and services, like CV19DP and the NCBI SARS-CoV-2 Data Dashboard, until 2021. Since their inception, these platforms have undergone iterative enhancements, encompassing new functionalities for data submission, retrieval and linkage ( Rahman et al. 2023 ). Nevertheless, this growth should be approached circumspectly. The rising prevalence of both gold and green access classifications, coupled with the emergence of hyper authorship papers comprising 50+ authors within both GISAID and INSDC, illuminates a trajectory towards augmented collaboration and transparency in virological inquiries. At the same time, this highlights the conundrum where fully open repositories like ENA may simultaneously amplify the frequency of restricted access and solo authorship articles at the same time. This raises the question of whether the unrestricted data sharing paradigm, endorsed by INSDC members, inadvertently leans towards an object-oriented perspective on Open Science, where the sheer volume of outputs being shared may overshadow diversity and inclusivity ( Leonelli 2023 ).

Beyond these emerging concerns around the meaning and implications of openness for research, our findings also point to the potential dangers of implementing openness in ways that inadvertently constructs new obstacles in the way of scientific collaboration. Both GISAID and INSDC exhibit high representation of data from high-income countries. Adding to this, the country collaboration networks show there is a distinct prominence of certain nations in the global bioinformatics landscape. The United States and the United Kingdom recurrently emerge as frontrunners in terms of connectivity degree across these platforms, situating them as key actors in the genomic surveillance landscape. Recurrent actors weren’t only limited to countries. The heterogeneity observed between the funding network for GISAID and INSDC, for instance, raises important questions about the extent to which funding sources influence the distribution and accessibility of research resources. The results similarly show institutional hierarchies and clustered collaborations across GISAID, ENA, NCBI and DDBJ platforms. Unsurprisingly, esteemed institutions like the University of Oxford, Harvard University and University College London consistently appear pivotal, either by connection degrees or betweenness centrality. Moreso, the general dominance of inter-regional partnerships—or, in the case of ENA, intra-regional connections mainly with high income countries—in research collaborations raises questions about the extent to which research data accumulated in centralised data infrastructures can truly be considered a global endeavour, or whether it is still largely driven by a select few countries, institutions, income groups and funders. These results raise concerns about the representation of data from low-income countries within both data governance models, which raises important questions about access to and sharing of scientific resources, as well as the potential for biases in data sampling based on incomplete data—which align with emerging scholarship questioning the accessibility and equitable distribution of supposedly open scientific resources ( Leonelli 2023 ; Ross-Hellauer et al. 2022 ; UNESCO Recommendations 2021 ). Efforts to improve data sharing and promote equity in scientific research are critical for ensuring that all populations, regardless of geography or economic status, have access to the best available information and resources for preventing and treating disease ( Cousins et al. 2021 ; Pratt and Bull 2021 ; Staunton et al. 2021 ).

Characteristics of the lesser prominent collaborations between each repository offer revealing insights. For instance, in the GISAID country network Kenya, Nigeria, Senegal and South Africa make up a decent share of degree and betweenness centrality. This united front may in part be due to the federated effort by African nations to share data between themselves using GISAID to keep their data secure ( Tegally et al., 2022 ). This might suggest the GISAID model has been more effective in building trustworthiness among users from different resource environments to collaborate and engage in data generation ( ODI 2019 ; Pickering et al. 2021 ). It also seems to reinforce claims by Bernasconi ( 2021 ) that a partially closed access model is preferred at a global scale for viral data sharing. In contrast to Bernasconi, however, our results also suggest that GISAID’s network topology appears less densely interconnected than that of the ENA or NCBI. ENA’s pronounced interconnectivity might suggest either the emergence of specialised research clusters or a propensity towards insular data exploration, as evidenced by their large growth in single author papers. Interestingly, data trends support the latter option, with ENA fostering broader multi-regional collaborations, potentially benefiting from its commitment to data interoperability. Placing emphasis on interoperability and usability by members of the INSDC may permit users of the infrastructure to explore their own research questions and methods more easily by linking together the wider variety of research data types. However, GISAID’s low density and high average path may positively reflect the controlled access to the repository’s data and the repository’s tendency to have much larger authorship per paper. These results warrant further exploration into the communities and segregated communities’ part of each repository. For a full list of pros and cons for each repository see Table 5 .

List of pros and cons for the strategies adopted by each repository based on results.

6 Conclusion

Our bibliometric analysis highlights the strengths and limitations of the regulated and unrestricted approaches to open data governance embodied by GISAID and INSDC, respectively. These databases furnish valuable resources for scientific research, yet they diverge in their bibliometric indicators, country and income collaboration, and corpus networks. While data sharing initiatives advocating for complete openness, like members of the INSDC, highlight the advantages of immediate data access, they tend to overlook the sociocultural, institutional and infrastructural factors that affect data reuse. These factors include disparities in geo-political locations, power dynamics among research sites, expectations regarding intellectual property, funding availability and digital connectivity resources. GISAID’s partially open model offers an alternative approach that has drawn more diverse geo-political locations into its fold. However, despite this increased geographical representation, it does not necessarily translate into greater epistemic diversity within research topics. This can limit the breadth of scientific perspectives and inadvertently funnel research into narrow or pre-established trajectories. While the different user base of GISAID and INSDC can explain some of the discrepancies between these two systems, their respective approaches to openness arguably account for at least some of the attitudes and preferences of their users, including the greater emphasis on wide-ranging and exploratory biological research facilitated by INSDC.

Looking ahead, while our current analysis has placed significant emphasis on betweenness centrality measurements, future research could explore community segregation between institutions, thereby uncovering deeper insights into the inherent collaborative or insular behaviours of academic institutions in the context of data sharing. The landscape of data governance is rife with contention, especially concerning what constitutes responsible and ethical practices. Yet, both GISAID and INDSC, in INSDC respective ways, demonstrate and support effective modes of collaboration. Through critical reviews of such data repositories, we can ascertain the nuances and implications of their governing structures. Through empirical exploration and better understanding of these intricacies, the academic community stands a better chance to design robust and inclusive systems for data governance that truly foster global scientific collaboration.

Note that our discussion is not meant to be comprehensive of all possible forms of data governance in this domain. Rather, we take these two cases as exemplifying significant and widespread models of data sharing, which are worth comparing to further enhance existing understandings of best data management practice.  

Given these controversies, this paper does not aim to take a strong position on whether GISAID, in fact, complies with the FAIR principles, which would require a different kind of analysis and empirical evidence (including checks on the extent to which GISAID data have been accessible in practice). Rather, we focus on the GISAID governance mode as articulated by the infrastructure itself, according to which data are accessible upon request and in compliance with the GISAID license agreement; findable on the GISAID database; interoperable as long as users declare prospective purposes and delimit the degree to which GISAID data are integrated with other data sources; and reusable as long as the provenance of data is clearly acknowledged and the prospective use serves public health goals.  

Acknowledgements

We thank colleagues at the European Bioinformatics Institute, the ‘Philosophy of Open Science for Diverse Research Environments’ (PHIL_OS) project and the Exeter Centre for the Study of the Life Sciences (Egenis) for their feedback and support in this research, as well as Carole Goble for illuminating discussions and the attentive audience of the PhilInBioMed conference in Pittsburgh (November 2022) where this work was first presented.

Funding Information

This project has received funding from the European Research Council (ERC) under the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme (grant agreement No. 101001145). This paper reflects only the authors’ views and the Commission/Agency is not responsible for any use that may be made of the information it contains. N.S. was funded via a doctoral training grant awarded as part of the UKRI AI Centre for Doctoral Training in Environmental Intelligence (UKRI grant number EP/S022074/1).

Author Contributions

N.S. and S.L. conceived the presented idea. N.S., S.L. and F.B. contributed to the design and implementation of the research. N.S. and F.B. performed the data analysis, and N.S. and S.L. wrote the manuscript.

Competing Interests

The authors have no competing interests to declare.

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