Before beginning to write, look at your prompt and rubric to ensure you understand what you are being asked to do. 
 
Consider: 
Do you have to focus on two specific subjects, or do you need to research and pick your own? 
What is the rubric asking you to do? Focus on similarities, differences, or both? 
How should you organize your paper? 
 
 
Let your rubric guide your research and note-taking process. Review the rubric criteria and verify you are writing about comparison points and subjects that make sense for your assignment. Choose relevant comparison points that align with the grading criteria required, not just what is easiest to find in your research. For example, if you are comparing two novels, the font choice and publisher may not be relevant. However, the illustration, story, and lesson may be appropriate. 
 
Confirm you can answer: “I am choosing to compare these two comparison points because of __________ rubric criteria.”

After you understand your assignment objectives, begin researching and taking notes.  
First, research both subjects thoroughly using credible and relevant sources. Take notes as you research potential answers for similarities, differences, and the shared connection each point has to the rubric. Check that you can provide evidence for the points of comparison that you select. 

Organize your notes with a prewriting tool. Either a Venn diagram or a table will help you organize the material you’ve found and develop your points 
 
Venn Diagram: Overlap similar traits in the middle and put traits unique to each subject on the outside. You may want to write a small note reminding you where you found evidence of each point. 

Example:
 

Table: Write down similar points in one section and contrasting points in the next. You can brainstorm using either of these tools, but you still need to revisit the rubric before deciding which points to use for your analysis.

Example:

Choose points from your organizing tool that are relevant, supported with scholarly evidence, and analyzable.
 

For example, you created a venn diagram for The Very Hungry Caterpillar and The Giving Tree. Now you need to choose two points to compare and contrast. The next step would be to think about the following:

 
Before choosing your points, ask yourself:

• Is this comparison point meaningful to my overall argument?

• Does this point address what my assignment asks me to compare or contrast?

• Do I have the correct number of points that the rubric is asking me to use? 
   

Develop your thesis that makes a claim about your chosen subjects' relationship. 

Example: The Very Hungry Caterpillar and The Giving Tree 
Comparison Points: Story, Illustration, Lesson 

 

Example Thesis:

Both books explore give-and-take through methodical story line and bold illustration. However, Silverstein’s The Giving Tree takes greater risks, teaching a deeper lesson.  
 

Organize your notes following the structure your rubric requires, or choose point by point, or subject by subject. Cover similarities and differences, making sure to explain the connection. Use transitions between ideas to show the relationship. Use evidence such as paraphrased or quoted material, examples, or data to illustrate your points. Also provide an analysis to explain the connection; don’t rely on data alone. 

Example paragraph (using subject-by-subject formatting):
 

Both Eric Carle’s The Very Hungry Caterpillar and Shel Silverstein’s The Giving Tree rely on illustration to drive their emotional tones, yet the illustrations create different moods. Carle uses vibrant tissue-paper collages to convey life and growth, building a triumphant narrative. The caterpillar’s physical growth is built into the book’s design through die-cut pages that mimic how he “ate through” a pile of food each day (Carle). This additive visual style builds toward a massive final illustration during the text’s climax: “he nibbled a hole in the cocoon, pushed his way out and…he was a beautiful butterfly!” (Carle). By matching bright colors with page expansion, Carle frames transformation as an empowering process. In sharp contrast, Silverstein’s minimalist, black-and-white ink drawings establish a mood of quiet melancholy, in which transformation occurs through heartbreaking reduction. Silverstein strips the tree of her leaves, branches, and trunk to satisfy the boy’s demands. This decay exposes the book’s emotional tone, slicing deep alongside the narrative shift, “And the tree was happy…but not really” (Silverstein). By the end, the canopy is gone, replaced by a low stump where the tree whispers, “I am sorry, Boy…I am an old stump. I am sorry…” (Silverstein). Ultimately, while Carle’s bright colors celebrate transformation as a victory of independence, Silverstein’s stark lines present it as the erosion of identity through self-sacrifice.