"Identifying similarities and differences enhances students' understanding of and ability to use knowledge by engaging them in mental processes that involve identifying ways items are alike and different." (McRel, 2018) Benefits of explicit instruction in and student use of identifying similarities and differences include a greater focus on essential information, along with an increased ability to make inferences. "Teaching students to identify similarities and differences produced an average effect size of 0.66, which is equivalent to a25 percentile point gain." (McRel, 2018)