One of the hardest aspects of writing a compare and contrast essay during high school is coming up with interesting and manageable topics. Most teachers will provide students with long lists of ideas but these are mostly outdated and fail in generating much interest from their students. We thought we can spice things up with current prompts dealing with today’s trending issues. Here are essay topics ideas our writing experts came up with:

General Compare and Contrast Essay Topics

1. What are some of the good and bad teaching habits of teachers?
2. What qualities are similar and different between Abraham Lincoln and Barack Obama?
3. What are the positive and negative effects of reading fiction or non-fiction books regularly?
4. What are the comparisons and contrasts between musicians and actors?
5. Compare and contrast the qualities of private schools and public schools.
6. Compare and contrast the similarities/differences between the Catholic and Orthodox religions.
7. What are some of the good and bad effects one experiences from working at home?
8. What are the positive and negative effects on mental health in exercising regularly?
9. Compare and contrast the politics of President G.H. Bush versus President G.W. Bush.
10. What are the positive and negative effects of studying liberal arts subjects (e.g., Literature, History, Art History, etc.)?
11. Compare and contrast college-level online degree programs versus traditional on-campus learning.
12. What are the best and worst qualities of family trips taken in the summer versus those taken in the winter?
13. Compare and contrast male friendships versus female friendships in college-aged students.
14. What are the major similarities and differences between the Quran and the Bible?
15. What are the positive and negative effects of working after high school versus going to college?

Compare and Contrast Topics on Pop-Culture

1. Compare and contrast the David Letterman and Jay Leno during their Late Night Wars.
2. What are the similarities and differences between YouTube videos and Reality Television shows?
3. Compare and contrast Rap and Hip Hop from the 1980s versus those from the 2010s.
4. What qualities and characteristics do social media stars share with reality television stars?
5. Compare and contrast the impact the Simpsons and Family Guy have had on American pop-culture.
6. Choose two popular dating applications and compare/contrast their characteristics.
7. Compare and contrast dystopian novels from the late 20th century versus those of the early 21st century.
8. What are the similarities and differences between Eastern Medicine and Western Medicine?
9. Choose two American-born horror novelists and compare/contrast their writing styles.
10. Select a film that has been remade/rebooted and discuss the similarities and differences between the original and the remake.
11. Compare and contrast the original Harry Potter films versus the current Fantastic Beasts films.
12. What similarities or differences do Star Wars fans have compared to Star Trek fans?
13. Compare and contrast the similarities and differences between Batman and Superman.
14. What are the least and most entertaining aspects in the films from the Marvel Cinematic Universe?
15. Compare and contrast the approaches to political satire in the Simpsons and the Family Guy.

Our academic writing experts can provide you with compare and contrast essay examples if you are still learning how to write a compare and contrast essay and you feel that studying well-crafted ones can help you improve.