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- Comparing ideas and perspectives: Question 7(b)
Comparing ideas and perspectives: Question 7(b)
Question 7(b) asks you to compare how the two writers present ideas and perspectives about a topic. It is worth 14 marks, so it deserves real time.
What it asks
A typical form: 'Compare how the writers of Text 1 and Text 2 present ideas and perspectives about family events.'
It tests AO3: compare writers' ideas and perspectives, and how they are conveyed.
It is marked in five levels: 1 to 2, 3 to 5, 6 to 8, 9 to 11 and 12 to 14.
It tests AO3: compare writers' ideas and perspectives, and how they are conveyed.
It is marked in five levels: 1 to 2, 3 to 5, 6 to 8, 9 to 11 and 12 to 14.
Ideas, perspectives and methods
Ideas: what each writer thinks or shows.
Perspective: where they stand: personal or detached, nostalgic or critical, insider or outsider.
How conveyed: tone, voice, structure and language choices.
Cover similarities and differences.
Perspective: where they stand: personal or detached, nostalgic or critical, insider or outsider.
How conveyed: tone, voice, structure and language choices.
Cover similarities and differences.
Weave, do not separate
Examiner reports advise weaving the texts together, rather than writing all about Text 1 and then all about Text 2.
Use comparative connectives: whereas, similarly, in contrast, both, however, while.
Example: 'Whereas Text 1 looks back on Saltby with private nostalgia, Text 2 presents it as a public story of recovery.'
Use comparative connectives: whereas, similarly, in contrast, both, however, while.
Example: 'Whereas Text 1 looks back on Saltby with private nostalgia, Text 2 presents it as a public story of recovery.'
Compare the writers' perspectives on Saltby.
- Text 1: personal, nostalgic, first-person memory of childhood.
- Text 2: journalistic, looking at the town's present and future, quoting others.
- Similarity: both are ultimately positive about the seaside.
- Method: Text 1 uses a warm, humorous voice; Text 2 uses examples and a local quotation.
Answer: Both writers are positive about Saltby, but whereas Text 1 looks back fondly through personal memories, Text 2 takes a wider, journalistic view of the town's recovery, balancing it with locals' concerns.
Question 7(b): AO3, 14 marks. Compare ideas and perspectives and how they are conveyed. Cover similarities and differences, weave both texts together and use comparative connectives.
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