The Mechanics of Comparison

English LanguageAQAGCSEUnit: Comparison
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The basics

📖 The Myth of the “Source A Then Source B” Paragraph

📖 The Myth of the “Source A Then Source B” Paragraph

Most students compare by accident. They write everything about Source A, then everything about Source B, and hope the examiner notices the connection. The mark scheme does not reward this. AQA Q4 is not two separate analyses stitched together — it is one comparison sustained from first sentence to last.

The students who score highest treat both sources as two voices in a single conversation. Every paragraph weaves them together, paragraph by paragraph, using connectives that signal relationship, not sequence.

Spotlight
🔍 Why Sequential Sourcing Caps at Level 2

AQA Q4 rewards comparison — a direct, sustained engagement with how the two writers differ or align. The mark scheme explicitly values answers where “comparison is clearly made throughout” (L3) or “comparison is perceptive and detailed” (L4).

Now try it yourself

Quiz · Question 1 of 11

Which of the following best describes 'sequential sourcing' in a Q4 comparison answer?

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