An example of how to write a "Compare and Contrast" essay

Essay by svetliUniversity, Bachelor's May 2006

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The Beatles vs. The Rolling Stones

There are several great bands which have entered the musical history of our age. The Beatles and The Rolling Stones definitely are amongst them. They have managed to spread their music and lyrics all over the world, and there is hardly anyone who hasn't heard of them. It is, however, hard to decide which one of these two bands has made a greater impact on all of our lives. There are some aspects in which they are alike and others in which they differ.

First of all, one very important fact about these two bands is that the front-men of both groups were authors and composers of most, if not all, of their songs. They all had an amazing ear for music and thus managed to create a great number of unforgettable tunes and lyrics. The light-motives of their music were basically the same, only looked at from different angles.

While McCartney and Lennon sang "Love is all you need", Jagger and Richards shouted "I can get no satisfaction".

As for the kind of music they played, both The Beatles and The Rolling Stones chose rock music. This, along with the fact that both bands appeared in the 1960's, contributed a lot to their becoming rivals. Despite this rivalry, their songs didn't sound similar at all. On the one hand, The Beatles played soft tones combined with traditional motives taken from English but also from Hindu culture. On the other hand, The Rolling Stones remained true to classic rock and thus their songs sounded harder. Due to this the members of both bands were often compared and contrasted in order to find the prototype of a rock star.

However, a prototype could never be found since the bands differed not only in their music...