Questions 1 to 6, part (a) (answer the one on your text)
Comparing your extract with an unseen extract
20 marksAO1 · 8AO2 · 4AO3 · 8About 45 min
What it asks
Compare how two printed extracts present the idea the question names: one from your studied text and one from a modern text of the same kind (prose with prose, drama with drama) that you have not seen before. The bullet points direct you to the situations the characters face, how they react, and the writers' techniques. Stay with the two extracts: the paper tells you to keep to them here, not to the rest of your text.
What earns marks
- Comparison all the way through: what is alike and different in what the extracts show, and in how each one shows it.
- Your own view of each extract, backed by short quotations from both.
- Context worked into the comparison (8 of the 20 marks): the social and family situations, ages, classes or cultures the details of each extract suggest. The short introduction above each extract gives you some of this.
- Some comment on language, form and structure, with subject terms where they help (4 of the 20 marks).
What each level looks like
Top level first.
| Level | Marks | What an answer at this level does |
|---|---|---|
| Level 6 | 18-20 | An insightful, tightly argued answer that compares the extracts in every paragraph, with exact quotations built into the argument, close analysis of the writing and a subtle grasp of how context shapes each extract. |
| Level 5 | 15-17 | A well-built, persuasive argument that compares the extracts throughout, with well-suited quotations built into the sentences, careful analysis, and context that informs the interpretation. |
| Level 4 | 11-14 | A detailed answer with a developing argument: key points of comparison are developed, quotations are relevant, there is some real analysis of the writing, and context clearly shapes the reading. |
| Level 3 | 7-10 | A fuller answer that shows understanding, makes some direct comparisons, uses some relevant quotations, explains some of the writers' choices and comments on context in places. |
| Level 2 | 4-6 | A simple answer with some support from the extracts, simple comments on the writing, a few basic links between the extracts and some awareness of context. |
| Level 1 | 1-3 | A few relevant remarks about the extracts, with little reference to them, very little on how they are written, hardly any links between the two and context only hinted at. |
What to avoid
- Writing about each extract separately with no links between them.
- Bringing in other parts of your studied text: part (a) is about the two extracts only.
- Context as a block of facts that does not connect to the extracts or the question.
- Retelling what happens instead of commenting on it.
Tip: Read the introduction above each extract first: it tells you the situation, which gives you context to compare from the start.
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