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Year 13 English · Comparative essay writing

Name: ______________________

Date: ____________

1. Which is the strongest comparative thesis?
- ☐ (a) Text A is good and Text B is also good.
- ☐ (b) Both texts explore justice, but the play presents it as achievable through law, whereas the novel suggests law often fails the vulnerable.
- ☐ (c) Text A is about justice. Text B is about justice.
- ☐ (d) Text B was written after Text A.
2. What is the main risk of a block structure?
- ☐ (a) It cannot include quotations.
- ☐ (b) It is always too short.
- ☐ (c) It may become two separate essays with little real comparison.
- ☐ (d) It requires three texts.
3. Which connective signals contrast?
- ☐ (a) Whereas
- ☐ (b) Similarly
- ☐ (c) Likewise
- ☐ (d) Both
4. In an integrated structure, each body paragraph…
- ☐ (a) discusses only one text
- ☐ (b) summarises the plot
- ☐ (c) introduces a third text
- ☐ (d) discusses both texts around a shared point of comparison
5. What should a comparative conclusion do?
- ☐ (a) Introduce a new text
- ☐ (b) Explain what the comparison reveals that reading either text alone would not
- ☐ (c) List all quotations used
- ☐ (d) Retell both plots
6. An essay that discusses both texts in every paragraph uses an ______ structure. (one word)
7. An essay that discusses one text fully, then the other, uses a ______ structure. (one word)
8. Name a one-word connective that signals similarity (e.g. starts with 's' or 'l').

Answer sheet

1. Both texts explore justice, but the play presents it as achievable through law, whereas the novel suggests law often fails the vulnerable. — It makes one argument that addresses similarity and difference.
2. It may become two separate essays with little real comparison. — Discussing texts separately can weaken comparative analysis.
3. Whereas — 'Whereas' introduces a contrasting idea.
4. discusses both texts around a shared point of comparison — Integration means both texts appear in each paragraph.
5. Explain what the comparison reveals that reading either text alone would not — The conclusion synthesises the insight gained from comparison.
6. Integrated — Integrated structures weave both texts together.
7. Block — Block structure treats each text in turn.
8. Similarly — 'Similarly' and 'likewise' signal that the texts share a feature.