Structuring Your Response
Introduction
1. Idea-by-Idea Introduction
Idea 1, Text A
Write about Text A, then write about Text B. It’s simple, Idea 1, Text B Idea 1, Text A
but be aware–if not done carefully, you can neglect the (compared with A)
3. Combined Approach
comparison needed to be successful on Paper 2. Idea 1, Text B
Idea 2, Text A A combined approach can offer the best of both (compared with A)
● The first paragraphs establish a point of
worlds. Include paragraph sets from both structures
comparison and analyse Text A. Idea 2, Text B Idea 2, Text A
based on the potential of each idea.
(compared with A)
● The second paragraphs analyse Text B in Idea 2, Text B
comparison to Text A. Some might call this Idea 3, Text A
exploring Text B through the lens of Text A (i.e. Text Idea 2, further comparison
B extends/contrasts Text A in some way). Idea 3, Text B
(compared with A) Conclusion
Conclusion
2. Idea-by-Idea + Further Comparison
This structure is an adaptation of the Introduction
idea-by-idea approach and allows for greater Whichever approach you choose, the most important questions to ask about
individual analysis with space for explicit Idea 1, Text A your structure are:
comparison. This can be a difficult structure to Idea 1, Text B
pull off but has potential for significant depth. - Is it well-balanced between the two texts?
Idea 1, further comparison - Does it stay focused on answering the question?
● The first paragraphs establish a point of
comparison and analyse Text A. - Do your claims and structure allow you to make regular and explicit
Idea 2, Text A comparisons in terms of both thematic concerns and authorial choices?
● The second paragraphs apply that point of - Does it develop a clear, logical, and convincing argument in response to
Idea 2, Text B
comparison to Text B. the question?
Idea 2, further comparison - Is there a sense of progress and development within and between each
● The third paragraphs extend these ideas paragraph, ending with the conclusion?
and offer new comparisons in a nuanced, Conclusion
detailed way.
Comparative Claims
Your claims are not only the framework for your argument, but also an opportunity to compare and
contrast the texts you have chosen (relevant to Criteria A, B, and C).
● Claims should generally be 1-2 sentences long.
● Your first claim should establish an idea and apply it to Text A.
● Your second claim should transition (with comparison/contrast) to Text B.
● Try to show nuanced comparison or contrast of the authors’ use of stylistic features and/or the
authors’ treatment of a thematic idea.
These claims note similarities in how both authors use These claims note how both authors use paradoxes in their
character to explore prejudice, with a key difference – works, but contrast the actual nature of those paradoxes.
prejudices based on physical vs intellectual attributes.
Establish Both authors are critical of how an Establish Keats uses the paradoxical nature of joy
idea individual’s role can be determined by idea and melancholy to speak directly to the
↓ societal prejudices. In Frankenstein, ↓ reader, as if to instruct them with the
Text A Shelley depicts the Creature’s journey Text A means to cope with suffering.
as a tragic failure to find a place in
society due to his physical appearance.
Transition While Shelley focuses on prejudice that Transition Harrison also begins his exploration of
↓ arises from physical appearance, Philip ↓ paradoxes by presenting a conflict, but in
Text B K. Dick uses the character of John Text B contrast to Keats this conflict is external
Isidore to represent the effects of rather than internal – taking the form of
societal prejudice based on intelligence. his disjointed, clashing relationship with
his father.
These claims identify similarities in the relationship between setting, genre, and message, while also noting differences in
their depictions and conveyed messages. This contrast is explored further in the third paragraph, which offers additional
comparison and contrast about the nuanced relationships between setting and character.
Establish Setting is an essential component in Gothic and dystopian literature, with both authors using it to
idea emphasise their messages of caution. In Frankenstein, Mary Shelley uses wild and sublime
↓ landscapes – emblematic of the Gothic genre – to illustrate the power and danger inherent in the
Text A natural world, and thus the risks in attempting to control, harness, or even understand that power.
Transition In similar fashion to Frankenstein, the setting in Do Androids Dream of Sheep? is typical of its genre
↓ and provides a vast backdrop that underscores the author’s warnings. Philip K. Dick’s dystopian,
Text B post-apocalyptic Earth immediately establishes the dangers of both technological development and
human nature.
Compare / Both authors create expansive physical settings that dominate the individual, but while Shelley
contrast depicts nature as having ultimate power over humankind, Dick’s settings portray humankind as
further having the power to annihilate both the natural and manmade world.
These claims note divergent perspectives on religious laws, with the third claim expanding on the similarities and differences
in each author’s stylistic choices (both use imagery, but one is more vivid and hyperbolic).
Establish Firstly, in Antigone, Sophocles portrays burial as a justified religious obligation which grants freedom
idea to the spirits of the dead and allows equality amongst humans, thus pushing the narrative that
↓ religious laws show the path to goodness and virtue.
Text A
Transition Contrastingly, in The White Tiger, Adiga establishes the idea that religious laws can be as
↓ oppressive as man-made laws through the depiction of a traumatic funeral experience for the
Text B protagonist, Balram.
Compare / Like Sophocles, Adiga uses vivid imagery, specifically of Balram’s mother being consumed by the
contrast elements – however, the imagery is far more vivid, extensive, and arguably hyperbolic, which once
further again reflects the satirical tone.