Writing the essay

A comparative topic sentence naming both works and the shared point.

Weave — move between the works, ideally within sentences.

All of Work A, then all of Work B, with a ‘similarly’ bolted on.

By linking the comparison back to the thesis.

B2 — comparison and contrast.

A technique and its effect (Criterion B1).

‘whereas’, ‘similarly’, ‘by contrast’, ‘like’.

Comparative topic sentence → woven works → link to thesis.

Ideally within the same sentences — not in two blocks.

Both works and the shared point (‘Both present X, but…’).

True of almost every book — compare the effect, not the label.

Same device / different effects; or different devices / same effect.

What the difference reveals about each work's meaning.

B1 (authorial choices) and B2 (comparison).

Light imagery for hope in one work, for threat in the other.

One builds dread with short sentences, the other with a slow metaphor.

Naming a shared device without comparing its effect.

The shared technique — the starting point, not the whole point.

Technique → effect → meaning, in BOTH works, compared.

No — different devices reaching one effect is a rich comparison.

Theme = the topic; argument = what the work says about it.

A shared topic with no argument — almost every work qualifies.

Each work's argument/claim about the theme.

In specific textual moments and choices.

Two works reaching different or opposed verdicts on the same theme.

A (interpretation) and B2 (comparison).

Topic (love, power, memory) — the starting point, not the whole point.

Claim the work makes about the theme.

Naming a shared theme without comparing the arguments.

‘A argues X about the theme; B argues Y’ — rooted in the text.

Whole-work decisions: form, structure, perspective, genre.

They show you read each work as a designed whole — high-level analysis.

The effect — never just name the choice.

Chronological order vs beginning at the end and working backwards.

First-person vs omniscient vs unreliable vs multiple voices.

A tight sonnet vs a sprawling novel.

B1 — analysis of authorial choices (and B2 to compare them).

Compare whole-work design, not only line-level devices.

How each work uses or bends its genre's conventions (tragedy, satire…).

Only comparing small devices, never the big structural choices.

Both works (titles/authors), the question's idea, and a comparative thesis.

It draws the comparison together and adds a ‘so what?’ — not a repeat.

Summarise the plots.

The comparative thesis.

What the comparison reveals about the works or the theme.

C — a focused comparative argument.

No — draw existing points together instead.

By title and author, in the introduction.

Repeating the intro or summarising the plots.

Intro: both works + thesis. Conclusion: reworded thesis + draw together + so what.