How to compare non-fiction texts - CCEA

The material on this page is designed to help you with revision and preparation for your CCEA GCSE English Language exams. It applies to Unit 4, Section B, Tasks 3-4: Reading non-fiction texts.

• Unit 4 is assessed by a written exam, worth 30% of your final mark
• There are three tasks (numbered 2, 3 and 4) in Section B of the Unit 4 exam, worth 62 of the 150 marks available
• In tasks three and four, you will be given two extracts from a non-fiction text (eg a newspaper article)
• In both these tasks, you will be expected to explain how the writer has achieved something in particular (eg gained and held the interest of the reader, or presented their views on a particular issue)

You can practice for your English Language GCSE exams with a range of CCEA past papers and mark schemes.

One way to link texts is through the purpose they are aiming to achieve and the form they are using.

Form is the type of text, for example:

• an article
• a blog
• a letter
• a diary
• a newspaper

It’s also useful to think about whether the form is for a public or private audience. For example, a letter is usually for a private audience while a news article is usually for a public audience. This will affect the purpose of the text and the language choices made by the writer.

Purpose is what the writer is trying to achieve, for example:

• to entertain
• to inform
• to advise
• to persuade
• to argue

It’s very important to remember that often a writer will have more than one purpose. For example, a fashion blog may want to entertain, as well as inform and advise.

When comparing texts, consider what they have in common AND what is different about them.

If they have the same main purpose:

• Do they use similar methods? For example, a letter and a news article could use persuasive methods to present completely different viewpoints of the same topic.

• Are they aimed at the same kind of audience or different ones? Within two advertisements, the writers will aim to sell their product but might have a different target audience in mind.

If they have a different purpose, but the same subject:

• How do they treat the subject differently? For example, if you are comparing two texts about a natural disaster, how does the choice of methods show how the writer has aimed their writing at a particular audience? For example, one text could be aimed at university students studying the natural disaster and the other could be aimed at the general public.

• How have the writers shown a different opinion about the same subject?

Example

Look at these headlines, from The Mirror and The Telegraph, from articles reporting the same story. They have the same main purpose – to inform people about the landing of a space probe on a comet.

Rock star
The Mirror

European Space Agency's Rosetta spacecraft lands probe on comet
The Telegraph

Analysis

• The Mirror have used a pun, which grabs the attention, playing on the idea that a comet is a rock, and this is a terrific achievement – so it’s like a ‘star’. But a ‘rock star’ plays on ideas of celebrity. It’s a much shorter headline, which might be more able to grab the attention of the reader, but does not necessarily inform them of the topic of the article.

• The Telegraph headline provides a detailed level of information to the reader to indicate the topic of the headline. The headline provides the reader with the name of the spacecraft which adds to the educational toneof the headline. The newspaper uses a longer sentence rather than making use of a particular technique, instead relying on the reader's interest in the topic to attract them to read.

• The difference in the approaches could be because of their different audiences – The Telegraph might be assuming that their audience is already interested in science, whereas The Mirror might feel they have to attract a reader and entertain, as well as inform.

Writers use different methods to achieve their purpose. The form of a non-fiction text will also influence the writer’s choice of method. A comparison of two texts should focus on HOW the writer’s methods are similar and/or different. For example, you could focus on a writer’s use of:

• tone – eg humorous, serious, satirical
• language – eg word choice, literary techniques,rhetorical devices
• structure – eg order of ideas, repetition, sentence structure

The method used will have an effect on the reader’s response: it’s important to think about the impact on the reader when comparing texts. This is also where you can share your opinion about a text. You are the reader, so think about how the text is making you feel and respond.

Example

Read these two extracts that both focus on describing a dramatic event. One is from a 21st Century magazine article about aparamotoring accident and the other is a 19th Century newspaper account of a ballooning accident.

Extract 1

Experience: I fell out of the sky

I pulled the brake lines to increase the angle of the wing for extra life. But I forgot that I had tightened them before take-off and made them far more sensitive. I pulled too hard. That, combined with the eddies swirling from the trees and building ahead, caused a break in the airflow under the canopy. Instantly, it began to deflate.

I had just enough time to look up and see the thin material of my wing falling towards me like an enormous bunch of useless laundry. I was dropping like a stone.

Tumbling through the air with no way to stop is a sensation of utter helplessness: a truly stomach churning moment where you know you’re not going forwards or upwards; you’re just falling. There is no time to think. One second became two, two became three. I closed my eyes. Wallop.

Magazine article, The Guardian Weekend, 2014

Extract 2

The injured aeronauts at Buxton

It was now the critical moment - two or three severe bumps were inevitable, the wind blowing in angry gusts, and the car dashed through one wall of about eighteen inches in thickness, making a clear breach, and hurling the stones forward as if they had been pounded by the largest Armstrong missile at present in use. Mr. Coxwell was full strain on the upper valve, which is thirty inches in diameter, but still the mass bore onwards, and a second clean breach was repeated in the next wall.

Away again with renewed vigour, and down for the third time, and once again through another wall, and now the cry was raised by astounded lookers-on, that two fields further lay the Deep Dale or gorge which would surely prove fatal.

Buxton Newspaper article, 1861

Analysis

Here are some similarities and differences between the two texts. In an exam you wouldn’t have to cover all of these points.

Similarities

• Purpose - both are informing and entertaining the reader.
• They are both about a similar topic, an airborne accident.
• Both use a technical semantic field - The Guardian article refers to “brake lines… take-off… canopy…” The Buxton report refers to “aeronauts", "upper valve”.
• Both use dramatic, emotive language to excite the reader. The Buxton report uses the dramatic verbs “dashed” and “hurling”, whilst The Guardian article uses phrases like “utter helplessness” and “stomach churning.”
• Both structure the last paragraph in the extract with a dramatic phrase. In the news report “…surely prove fatal” and in the article "Wallop".
• Both texts use similes to make the accidents more vivid for the reader. The Buxton report uses “…as if they had been pounded by the largest Armstrong missile…” and the paramotoring article uses “…I was dropping like a stone…”

Differences

• Different form - extract 1 is a magazine article and extract 2 is a news report.
• Headline in the Buxton report is informative rather than emotive – the reader knows the men survived. The headline of the modern article is intriguing for the reader – this underlines the astonishing nature of the story.
• The Buxton report is written from the perspective of someone observing the accident, so the reader is presented with the emotions of the onlookers.
• The paramotoring article is written from the perspective of the man involved in the accident, so the reader is presented with his emotions.
• Lots of multi-clause sentences in the Buxton report to build a sense of anticipation.
• In the paramotoring article, lots of single clause, short sentences build the tension.
• In the Buxton report, the use of some present tense makes it seem as if the incident is happening now. This makes it more dramatic for the reader.
• The use of past tense in the modern article informs the reader that the writer is recounting a memory – headline and main text imply that he survived the accident.
• The informality of the word “Wallop” in the paramotoring article is shocking and also perhaps creates an amusing tone for the reader.
• The humour is also suggested by the simile, “like an enormous bunch of useless laundry…” The contrast of this humour with the serious subject matter makes the text very effective.
• The tone in the Buxton report is more grave. The writer personifies the wind, “…in angry gusts…”, to suggest the danger of the situation.

Using spider diagrams

Spider diagrams are useful for a quick recording of thoughts and ideas. When you are writing about one text, you may decide to use a spider diagram to jot down your ideas and then order them.

When writing about two texts you need to make links between the points you have identified about each of them. To do this, you could:

• make separate spider diagrams for each text, and then look to link points between them
• make one spider diagram showing each point you make about one text (for example ‘the author directly addresses the audience’), and checking to see if it’s true of the other text too

Using tables

When you are practising how to compare texts, you might try using a table or Venn diagram to structure your ideas – in exam conditions this format would not be as practical.

Here’s an example using the two extracts from the previous section:

Key fact

When you have connections between the points, you need to pick the most important ones, and quickly decide on a rough order.

A longer comparison response could follow this basic structure:

• A very brief introduction linking the two texts (for example focusing on their purpose or form).
• Main points contrasting and/or comparing the two texts, supported by details. These could include points on: tone, language choices/literary devices, structure and reader’s response.
• A very brief conclusion - this must use a key word from the question, and mention both texts.

When you compare texts, it’s important to talk about both texts all the way through. Don’t write all about one text, then all about the other.

In each paragraph, make sure you mention both, even if a point is mostly about one of them.

Sentence starters

Some key phrases can help you to compare texts.

When comparing texts, you are making a point about two different texts, backing up ideas with evidence and explaining the idea. Then using a linking statement, you can connect the two ideas together.

Example

Take a look at the structure of the following example, where the writer compares how their mother and father react to poor behaviour:

Both my Mum and Dad lose their temper sometimes when we misbehave, but in completely different ways.

My Mum usually reacts to everything by losing her temper really quickly and screaming in response to make sure everyone knows just how furious she is. The thing that causes her to react strictly is usually me leaving lights on. The quotation, ‘If I have to tell you again to turn those lights off, I will take the bulb out of your bedroom!’, is what she shouts when she sees this and shows that sometimes she can exaggerate in her reactions.

On the other hand, Dad will hardly ever lose his temper, or raise his voice. Instead, he will just stare at you silently, so you know instantly that you are in trouble. The quotation, ‘Well’, is the single word he says once he has stared at you for a minute, and this shows that, whilst he doesn’t scream and shout like Mum, he gives you a warning of the lecture that he is about to give you.

Analysis

Notice how the writer makes a point about how each parent loses their temper, backs it up with evidence and then explains their idea. The linking sentence starting with “on the other hand” shows how the two ideas are different.

For this section of the Unit 4 exam you will be given two parts of a newspaper article to read (one for Task 3 and another for Task 4).

Task 3 will usually ask you to analyse how the writer has held the interest of the reader or engages the reader. You have 12 minutes to read, analyse and answer so your response will not be very long. It is worth 15 marks.

Task 4 will usually ask you to consider how the writer has created a particular view (eg a negative view). For this you simply analyse the language. Again, you have 12 minutes to read, analyse and answer, so your response will not be very long. It is worth 15 marks.

Similarities to Task 2

This is a response to a non-fiction text, but will be similar to how you approach and answer Task 2 - you will be expected to:

• Analyse and comment on the effect of the linguistic techniques
• Consider the form of the piece (although in this case it will be something like a piece of travel writing or a newspaper article)

Differences from Task 2

• In this section you only comment on ONE extract at a time
• Your extracts will probably be from the same article source
• Look at things like headlines and layout if relevant

Again, remember to:

• Give quotations in your answers
• Refer to the key terms of the question
• Analyse and explain the effects of the techniques used by the writer

For these tasks, it might be beneficial to use the DEAL answer framework.

Device – Evidence – Analysis – Link (back to question)

• Device: Identify the language technique the writer uses, such as metaphor, simile or vivid imagery; you should be specific, not vague
• Evidence: Provide a quotation from the text to support your point; keep it short and precise
• Analyse: This is the most important part; explain the technique's connotations, its effect on the reader and why the writer chose to use it
• Link: Connect your idea back to the question, the overall effect and the writer's purpose

You may be familiar with other frameworks for analysing texts such as SQuID (Statement, Quote, Infer, Develop), which can also be useful.

You can find more detail on the SQuID method in our page on language and structure (part of Unit 1: Reading to access non-fiction and media texts).

Here, we will use a CCEA past paper for an example question to demonstrate how you would use the DEAL method for your response in Tasks 3 and 4 of the Unit 4 exam.

CCEA Past Paper: English Language Unit 4, summer 2019

If you click on the link above and scroll down to page 12 and 14, you will find two extracts from a newspaper article with the headline: SELFIE GENERATION LEAVES A BAD TASTE IN MY MOUTH

First, read the article extracts while keeping DEAL in mind, thinking about the devices used by the writer to create an impression and how you would back this up with evidence from the text. Analyse what the words imply by considering why the writer chose those words and link your analysis to the question being asked in the exam.

Next, read these sentences that are strong examples of how you might answer the questions in your exam. Please note: key devices are highlighted in purple and the key terms of the question are in bold italics.

Task 3: Explain how the writer has gained and held the interest of the reader

The writer uses hyperbole throughout the extract. The writer states this “threatens the future of the human race” and references “3,425” selfies taken every day. The use of hyperbole exaggerates the situation but holds the interest of the reader as it reveals the addictive nature of phones and how much time people spend on them.

The writer uses a subordinate clause in the long opening sentence: "– if it goes much further –". The use of the subordinate clauseholds the interest of the reader as it gives additional information and creates a conversational tone.

The writer’s use of first personholds the interest of the reader: "I’ve just realised". The use of first person and anecdote – “I was out for dinner” – narrates an authentic first-hand experience and the details given by the writer holds the interest of the reader.

The writer’s use of humour in the article also holds the interest of the reader. The writer’s comment on the uploaded image of “macaroni cheese” creates a light and humorous tone as the reader can laugh at the ridiculous nature of a current obsession.

Task 4: Explain how the writer has created a negative view of the ‘selfie’

The writer’s use of repetition, or more specifically, anaphora, in the phrase “real-life”, stresses that the guy is missing out on the real world around him. He instead chooses to immerse himself in the digital world, which is viewed negatively by the writer.

The writer’s use of the imperative verbs “leave” and “stop” shows the extremely negative feelings the writer has about selfies. In their distress they implore people to put away the phones and stop being so “self-obsessed”.

The writer’s choice of specific vocabulary, such as “hypnotised”, “missing” and “self-obsessed”, create a negative view of the selfie. These word choices show the writer feels humans have become slaves to phones and are missing out on the real world.