How do you answer the final comparison question that asks how two passages relate on ideas and attitudes?
Answering the comparison question: identifying the key ideas and attitudes shared or contrasted between the two passages and showing agreement or disagreement with reference to both.
How to answer the final comparison question in SQA Higher English Question Paper 1: identifying the shared and contrasting ideas and attitudes across both passages, referring to each passage, and laying the answer out clearly to earn the marks for comparison rather than summary.
Reviewed by: AI editorial process; not yet individually human-reviewed
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What this dot point is asking
The final question in SQA Higher English Question Paper 1 (RUAE) asks you to compare the two passages on their ideas and attitudes to the shared theme. It is the highest-tariff RUAE question (typically 5 marks) and is marked specifically for comparison, so an answer that explains only one passage cannot score well. You identify the key ideas in each passage and show where the writers agree, disagree or take different angles on the same topic.
This question rewards a different skill from the rest of the paper. It is not about language at all; it is about content and viewpoint, paired across both texts.
The answer
The comparison question asks how the two passages relate in their ideas and attitudes. The reliable method is to identify three or four points of comparison, then support each from both passages in turn. State a shared or contrasting idea, give a brief reference or short quotation from Passage 1, then the matching reference from Passage 2, and say whether the writers agree or differ. SQA allows two marking routes: 5 marks for three or more identified-and-supported points (the grid model), or marks for fewer but more developed comparisons. Either way, a point that touches only one passage earns nothing, because the marks are for the link.
Compare ideas and attitudes, not techniques
Read the question to see whether it targets ideas, attitudes, or both, and whether it points you to agreement or disagreement. Pull out each writer's stance on the theme and judge how close or far apart the two are. Save word choice, imagery and sentence structure for the analysis questions; here they earn nothing.
Refer to both passages in every point
Make the point of comparison first, then prove it from each passage. State the shared or contrasting idea ("both writers value public space"), give a brief reference from Passage 1, then a brief reference from Passage 2. This keeps the comparison explicit and stops the answer drifting into two separate summaries.
Lay it out so the comparison is visible
A grid or a paired structure makes the comparison obvious to the marker. Plan three or four key areas of agreement or difference, then address each with both passages side by side. A quick planning grid (theme down the left, Passage 1 and Passage 2 as two columns) in your jotter turns directly into paragraphs and guarantees every point links both texts.
Examples in context
Imagine Passage 1 argues that remote working frees people from the commute and lets them live where they choose, while Passage 2 argues that remote working isolates workers and blurs the line between home and job. A 5 mark comparison on areas of disagreement could pair the ideas like this.
Point one, freedom versus isolation: Passage 1 celebrates "the liberation of working from anywhere", while Passage 2 warns of "the loneliness of the kitchen-table office". Point two, work-life balance: Passage 1 claims remote work "hands back hours once lost to travel", whereas Passage 2 counters that "work now bleeds into every evening". Point three, the future of cities: Passage 1 welcomes quieter centres, while Passage 2 mourns "the hollowing out of the high street". Three paired points, each referring to both passages, would reach full marks.
Try this
Q1. Is the comparison question about the writers' language or their ideas and attitudes? [1 mark]
- What the marker wants. Their ideas and attitudes to the shared theme; language analysis belongs to the analysis questions.
Q2. Why must every developed point refer to both passages? [1 mark]
- What the marker wants. Because the marks are awarded for comparison; a point about only one passage cannot earn a comparison mark.
Q3. Two passages discuss tourism. Write one paired point of comparison showing the writers differ, referring briefly to both. [3 marks]
- What the marker wants. A named shared theme (for example the local economy), then both views paired: one writer sees tourism as vital income, the other as a strain on residents, each supported by a brief reference.
A note on sources
This guide is AI-written and not individually human-reviewed. Question wording and marking conventions follow the published SQA Higher English RUAE format; verify current detail against the SQA Higher English course specification at sqa.org.uk.
Exam-style practice questions
Practice questions written in the style of SQA exam questions on this dot point, with worked answer explainers. The year tag is the paper they imitate, not the source.
SQA Higher 20205 marksLook at both passages. The writers disagree about whether city centres should be closed to cars. Identify three key areas on which they disagree. You should support the points by referring to important ideas in both passages. (5 marks)Show worked answer →
The final comparison question, worth 5 marks. SQA gives a choice of marking: either 5 marks for identifying three or more key areas of agreement or disagreement, each supported from both passages (a grid approach), or marks for fewer but more fully developed points. Either way, a point that refers to only one passage cannot earn a comparison mark.
Identify each shared theme (for example pollution, convenience, the local economy), then state Passage 1's view and Passage 2's view on it, ideally with a brief reference or short quotation from each. The unit the marker credits is the point of comparison, not the summary of either passage.
Aim for three or four clearly paired points laid out so the comparison is visible. The safest structure pairs an idea in Passage 1 directly with the matching idea in Passage 2.
SQA Higher 20235 marksLook at both passages. Identify three key areas on which the writers agree about the value of public libraries, supporting each point by referring to important ideas in both passages. (5 marks)Show worked answer →
A 5 mark comparison on areas of agreement. The method mirrors the disagreement version: find shared themes (free access, community space, support for literacy), then show that each writer makes the matching point, referring briefly to both passages for each area.
SQA can award 5 marks for three identified and supported points (the grid model) or for two fuller developed comparisons; the marking instructions list acceptable links. The decisive rule is that every point links a specific idea in Passage 1 to the corresponding idea in Passage 2.
Avoid summarising one passage then the other. The marks are for the comparison, so name the shared idea first, then prove it appears in both passages.
Related dot points
- Answering understanding questions in your own words: identifying the marks available, selecting the right points from the passage, and re-expressing them in your own words rather than lifting from the text.
How to answer understanding questions in SQA Higher English Question Paper 1: reading the mark allocation, selecting the right number of points, and re-expressing the writer's meaning in your own words instead of lifting phrases from the passage.
- Answering analysis questions on language: identifying word choice, imagery, sentence structure and tone in a passage, then explaining the effect each technique has on meaning rather than just naming it.
How to answer analysis questions in SQA Higher English Question Paper 1: identifying word choice, imagery, sentence structure and tone, quoting accurately, and explaining the effect each technique has on the writer's meaning instead of merely naming the device.
- Answering evaluation questions: judging how effectively a writer achieves a purpose (such as a strong opening or a memorable conclusion) and justifying that judgement with specific evidence and analysis.
How to answer evaluation questions in SQA Higher English Question Paper 1: recognising the evaluative task, making a clear judgement about how effectively a writer achieves a purpose, and justifying it with precise evidence and analysis rather than unsupported opinion.
- Working through the set text analysis questions: recognising how the lower-tariff analysis questions and the final commonality question are marked, and managing references, quotation and timing across the 20 mark section.
How the SQA Higher English Scottish set text questions are structured and marked: how the lower-tariff analysis questions reward reference plus comment, how the final commonality question is marked across the whole text, and how to manage quotation and timing across the 20 mark section.
- Using evidence and technique: selecting and embedding short quotations, naming the relevant technique accurately, and analysing its effect so that every point links evidence to the question.
How to use evidence and technique in an SQA Higher English critical essay: choosing short relevant quotations, embedding them smoothly, naming techniques accurately, and analysing their effect so each point connects evidence to the question rather than dropping in quotations without comment.
Sources & how we know this
- SQA Higher English Course Specification — SQA (2018)