Component 01 Question 2 (6 marks, AO1) on both texts: explaining the similarities between the writers, their experiences or their feelings, on a focus the question names, with evidence drawn from each text.
One distinct similarity per paragraph, each opened with a clear topic sentence and backed by evidence from both texts; why the same idea in different words earns nothing extra, and why no analysis of language is needed.
Aiming for about three clear similarities, though an answer with fewer can still reach the top level if each one is well explained.
The worked example uses two linked texts about hard journeys to a long-sought goal, both printed in the lesson: Text 1, from Isabella Bird's letters 'A Lady's Life in the Rocky Mountains' (1879), on her climb of Long's Peak, and Text 2, from Captain Scott's journal for the days in January 1912 when his party reached the South Pole.
What separates the levels, in our own words, and a model answer with the level and mark an examiner would give, and why.
A weaker and a stronger answer to the same task side by side, with what lifts the weaker one to the next level.
Sentence starters for the question and a short checklist of the steps, for students aiming at Grade 4 and above.
