How to compare texts – WJECOrganising your ideas for a plan
Comparing texts can focus on any aspect of the writing. When writing a comparison, it is important to move equally between the two texts, and write about them together, not separately.
Spider diagrams are useful for recording thoughts and ideas. When you are writing about one text, you may decide to use a spider diagram to jot down your ideas and then order them.
When writing about two texts you need to make links between the points you have identified about each of them. To do this, you could:
make separate spider diagrams for each text, and then look to link points between them
make one spider diagram showing each point you make about one text (for example ‘the author directly addresses the audience’), and checking to see if it’s true of the other text too
Using tables
If you like having a neatly written plan, you might try using a table.
Here’s an example:
Point
Example from text A
Example from text B
Use of humour
The pun in the title
Exaggeration about the mother character
Description for different purposes
Lots of detail in order to sell the product – we know how great it is
Lots of detail to build up a picture of the family, so we feel sorry for them at the end
Point
Use of humour
Example from text A
The pun in the title
Example from text B
Exaggeration about the mother character
Point
Description for different purposes
Example from text A
Lots of detail in order to sell the product – we know how great it is
Example from text B
Lots of detail to build up a picture of the family, so we feel sorry for them at the end
