How can I write an essay comparing and contrasting reading and writing?

I'd start by making a list of all the things reading and writing have in common:
... they're both good ways to further your education
... they're both good ways to express yourself
... they're both good ways to better understand a topic
... they both allow you to alter reality, or at least escape it for a while
Then I'd make another list of the ways they 'contrast':
... they exercise different parts of your brain
... when you're reading, it's someone else's words; but when you are writing, those words are your own...

Then you look over your two lists and expand on those ideas...
Good luck..

I think that's an excellent answer above I would just like to add, that if you would like to post drafts of your essay here, we would be able to help you by critiquing it so that you might make improvements to it.

Thanks!

YEs clough it was a BRILLIANT answer!!
I couldn't have said it better myself (",)