Quick Essay Guide for Comparative Questions
This quick guide will work for any essay which requires the comparison of two or more texts. The approach to introductions and conclusions is great for exam responses, but I would recommend development of these for NEAs (see other resources).
This guide assumes all Assessment Objectives are being examined so do check your own specification to see which ones you are being assessed on.
| Compare how the writers present adversity in their texts. | ||
| Introduction | Quick structure:
Writer 1 portrays [steer] in Title 1 through… Linking connective Writer 2 portrays… Both [thesis] |
Shelley portrays adversity in Frankenstein through the scientific creation of a monster who is rejected from society, whereas Atwood creates an anti-utopian society where the narrator, a Handmaid, faces adversity from those who control society. Both writers show their response to adversity by giving those who face it a voice, allowing the reader to sympathise whilst asking moral questions about why these characters should face adversity. |
| Comparative Paragraphs
Aim to write at least 3 of these. |
Sandwich paragraph structure:
Top bread: topic sentence relating to both texts (AO1 and 4) Filling 1: your points about Text 1 covering AO2,3 and 5. Linking connective Filling 2: your points about Text 2 covering AO2,3,4 and 5. Bottom bread: (AO1,3,4 and 5) |
Both writers focus on how their characters react to adversity through the restrictions they face. In Frankenstein, Shelley portrays the development in the creature’s reaction to the loneliness he is subjected to… (continue with evidence, analysis of writer’s craft, appropriate links to context and consideration of the views of others) However, in The Handmaid’s Tale, Atwood presents Offred’s reactions to be far more passive and restrained…(continue as above but add comparative phrases like ‘similarly to Shelley…’, ‘like the creature…’ ‘in contrast to Frankenstein…’) Both writers subject their characters to extreme restrictions to their liberty and happiness, but the way they face this adversity differs significantly: Offred remains outwardly passive but participates in quiet acts of rebellion which is entirely in keeping with dystopian tropes as well as the expectations of female behaviour, whereas the Creature quickly abandons attempts at reason and rhetoric, instead giving in to rage and violence which is typical of the expectation of horror and revenge in gothic stories. |
| Conclusion | Link to title
Evaluation of how text A deals with it
Evaluation of how text B deals with it
Thought provoking end |
The ways adversity is presented in both novels are very different: where Frankenstein’s creation deals with adversity through violence and revenge linking to the gothic conventions of the novel, Offred deals with it in a far more passive manner which reflects the limitations of the rights of women in her dystopian society. Despite these differences, both writers manage to convey their warnings that unless society takes notice of the problems that trigger adversity, these works of fiction could become realities. |
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