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Literary Study
Quick questions on The comparative critical essay: SQA Advanced Higher English Literary Study (Question Paper 1)
5short Q&A pairs drawn directly from our worked dot-point answer. For full context and worked exam questions, read the parent dot-point page.
What is choose a comparative thesis?Show answer
The task always invites comparison, so your thesis must be comparative, not a pair of single-text observations. Decide whether the texts are alike, different, or in some developing relationship, and state that relationship as your line of thought. A strong thesis names the comparative claim and the effect: not "both poems are about grief" but "both poets present grief as something that resists language, though one dramatises the struggle and the other accepts the silence."
What is plan for the time?Show answer
You have about 90 minutes for this essay alone, so you can afford a careful plan. Spend several minutes deciding your comparative thesis and listing four or five comparative points, each with evidence from both texts and a technique to analyse. A plan stops the essay collapsing into two separate halves and guarantees you reach a conclusion that resolves the comparison.
What is q1?Show answer
Why must your thesis be comparative rather than two single-text observations? [2 marks]
What is q2?Show answer
What does it mean to compare within a paragraph, and why is it better? [2 marks]
What is q3?Show answer
Which two texts may you not write about in the Literary Study paper? [1 mark]
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