Edexcel GCSE English Language Paper 2 Question 7b: comparing texts overview quiz quiz

AO1

AO2

AO4

AO3

14 marks

6 marks

15 marks

40 marks

The accuracy of the spelling, punctuation and grammar used throughout both of the texts

The writers' ideas and perspectives, and how these are conveyed (their methods)

Two short extracts taken from imaginative fiction texts

The overall length and word count of each of the two texts

Writing everything about Text 1 first and then everything about Text 2 afterwards

A plain summary of just one of the two texts

Each paragraph built around a shared idea with both texts inside it

A simple bullet-point list of the techniques used

Writing far too little and not filling the available space on the answer lines

Overusing comparative connectives such as whereas in nearly every single sentence that they write

Spending too long carefully pinning down each writer's perspective

The block structure: all about Text 1 then all about Text 2, with the comparison implicit

It cannot access Level 3 or above

It can still reach the very top band and full marks

It is moved across and marked under AO1 instead

It gains a few extra bonus marks

It is far too short and uses no quotations from either of the two texts

It states the shared topic, not how the writers feel about it

It uses entirely the wrong comparative connective for the point

It accidentally refers to the wrong texts altogether

Similarly

Likewise

Whereas

In the same way

Simply to fill up the space and make the whole answer look much longer than it really is

Because the AO1 mark scheme requires a connective in every paragraph

To replace the need for any quoted evidence

To keep the comparison explicit and live, forcing both texts into the comparison

Pin each writer's perspective and plan two or three shared ideas

Write everything you can about Text 1 first before even looking at Text 2

Try to memorise both of the texts word for word

Skip the planning stage entirely to save time

Only what each writer happens to think, ignoring how they actually write it

How each writer's language, tone and structure conveys their perspective

The total number of paragraphs each writer uses in their text

The exact publication dates of the two texts

They are really the same question asked twice in two slightly different ways on the paper

7a is the comparison of the writers' methods, while 7b only synthesises the similarities between the texts

7a is synthesis of similarities (6 marks); 7b is comparison of perspectives and methods (14 marks)

Both 7a and 7b are extended creative writing tasks