A key skill you need to use in IELTS Speaking is how to compare and contrast things, people, places, activities and general ideas.
In IELTS Speaking Part 1, you may be asked directly the difference between A and B (e.g. between living in the city and living in the countryside).
In IELTS Speaking Part 3, you will need to compare and contrast more abstract ideas, opinions and examples.
In this lesson, I will give you the language you need to do that confidently.Â
Table of Contents
Comparing and contrasting
What do we mean by comparing and contrasting?
Comparing generally means finding the similarities.Â
Contrasting generally means finding the differences.
Comparing places, people, activities and things
The simplest way to find similarities is as follows:
A is similar to BÂ
A is similar to B because
A is similar to B in that….
If we are talking about places,Â
London is similar to Paris because they are both capital cities
London is similar to Paris in that they have similar populations
We can also show the level of similarity and make our answers richer by using adverbs, such asÂ
- really
- pretty
- rather
- quite
For example,Â
London is pretty similar to Paris in that they have similar populations
Another way to express similarity is to mention both of them first and then give a summarising phrase.
If we are comparing cars or brands, we can say the following:
 When it comes to cars, two of the most famous brands are Audi and BMW, they are so alike
We can also use:
They are pretty much alike
They have a lot in common
They are really similarÂ
In addition, we can show likeness with this structure toÂ
A is as _______ as B
For example,Â
An Audi is as reliable as a BMW
Paris is (almost) as big as LondonÂ
John is as tall as Michael
Finally, if two things or people are actually the same, we can say,
A is identical to B
A is the same as B
If we are talking about people, for example,Â
Jack is identical to his father, both of them love football
Jack is the same as his father, they both love football
Other common phrases are;
Jack is just like his father
Jack is the spitting image of his father
This last phrase refers to physical appearance only.Â
Contrasting places, people, activities and things
The simplest way to find differences is as follows:
A is different from B
A is different from B because
A is different from B in that it
For example,
Manchester is different from Paris
Manchester is different from Paris because it is much more industrial
Manchester is different from Paris in that the climate is colder (than Paris).
Remember, we can also express the size of the difference with adverbs, such as,
- It is is totally differentÂ
- I think it’s strikingly differentÂ
- It’s distinctly differentÂ
If the difference is slight;
- it’s slightly different
- it’s rather different
- it’s subtly differentÂ
Idiomatic expressions for contrasting
Here are some idiomatic expressions we can use to express contrasts, especially big differences.
They are world’s apartÂ
Manchester United and Real Madrid are world’s apart. Manchester United is a much better team 😉
They are poles apart
Manchester and London are poles apart, I mean they really have almost nothing in common.Â
A is a far cry from B
This museum is a far cry from what I imagined. I thought it would be rubbish, but it’s actually great.
A is in a different league from B
My maths teacher is great, he is in a different league compared to all the other teachers.
A is far/way ____ than B
Beijing is far bigger than ManchesterÂ
Hong Kong is way hotter than Manchester.
Connectors to compare and contract ideas
Here are some connectors you can use to compare and contrast ideas, as well as things.
SimilarlyÂ
Likewise
I love football, similarly, I am big fan of basketball too.
I love Chinese food, likewise, I’m really into Vietnamese food as well.
On the contraryÂ
ConverselyÂ
On the other hand Â
I am really busy during the week, but on the weekend, conversely, I have lots of free time
Notice in speaking, the word order is a little different from writing:Â
__ noun 1, noun 2 + adverb, ____Â
I’m really busy on Mondays, Fridays, on the contrary, are much easier.Â
I’m busy this week, next week, on the other hand, I have much less work to do.Â
That’s it.Â
Interesting and beautiful ways to compare and contrast places, things, people ideas… in fact anything you like.
If you liked this post, or you would like to suggest topics for future posts and videos, leave me a comment below.
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4 thoughts on “How to Compare and Contrast in IELTS”
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