The correct answer is C. Chart the elements of your topic
Step-by-step explanation:
A comparison-and-contrast essay is a type of academical paper and essay in which the main purpose is to identify and analyze the similarities and differences of two elements, ideas or subjects that usually belong to the same category. Because of this, one of the first steps before writing this type of essay is to identify the similarities and differences between the topics that are going to be compared and contrasted, for doing this there are different strategies that including analyzing each topic separately and then find common and different points between both elements; brainstorming both common and contrasting ideas or creating a graph or chart in which each of the elements that compose each topic are included and which provide the information required for understanding the differences and similarities between the topic. Considering this, it can be concluded one way to determine which details to include in a comparison-and-contras essay is to "chart the elements of your topic" because this will allows you to understand each topic by separately and provide enough information to determine the differences and similarities between both which is required for writing this type of essay.