The short version: Compare the big authorial choices: form (poem/play/novel), structure (order, time, framing), perspective (who tells it), and genre. These whole-work decisions often make the richest Paper 2 comparisons.
Line-level devices matter, but the biggest marks often come from comparing the biggest decisions.
🏗️ Before a writer chooses a metaphor, they choose a FORM (a sonnet? a novel?), a STRUCTURE (chronological? fractured?), a PERSPECTIVE (first person? omniscient?). Comparing these whole-work choices — why a poet chose a tight form while a novelist chose a sprawling one — shows you see each work as a designed whole.
Big choices to compare
Form
Poem, play, novel, short story — and why the writer chose it.
Structure
Chronological or fractured? A framing device? Where it begins and ends?
Perspective
First person, omniscient, unreliable, multiple voices — and its effect.
Genre & convention
Tragedy, satire, realism… and how each work uses or bends its conventions.
The key move: Compare whole-work choices — form, structure, perspective, genre — and their effects, not just line-level devices. These show you read each work as a designed whole.
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Why it matters in the exam: Criterion B1 rewards analysis of authorial choices at every level, and the strongest essays compare the big architectural decisions. Comparing why each writer built their work as they did is high-level analysis that many students miss.
Compare the STRUCTURAL choice in two works: Work A tells its story in strict chronological order; Work B begins at the end and works backwards.
Model answer plan
See the mark-by-mark plan — for / against / judgement, with marking guidance — in study mode.
Watch out: Don't limit yourself to line-level devices (metaphor, alliteration). The big choices — form, structure, perspective, genre — often carry the richest comparison. But always tie them to effect, never just name them.