There are various ways to structure your Paper 2 Essay and paragraphs.
This is a common method, but not the only one.
Introduction – 5 to 8 sentences
1. A general sentence or two about the main topic embedded in the question.
2. Introduce the texts, their titles, what they are and their connection to the main topic.
3. A more specific sentence or two about the texts/contexts in relation to the main topic/question.
4. Thesis Statement sentence: outline your argument in relation to the question.
Paragraph One – 6 to 10 sentences
1. Topic Sentence - Comparative Point 1 in response to the question
2. Comparative Point 1 and Text A
3. Quotes, examples and explanation – keep relating back to the question
4. Transitional phrase -- Comparative Point 1 and Text B (could be similar/different to Text A)
5. Quotes, examples and explanation - keep relating back to the question
6. Concluding sentence
Paragraph Two – 6 to 10 sentences
1. Transitional phrase – Topic Sentence -- Comparative Point 2 in response to the question
2. Comparative Point 2 and Text A
3. Quotes, examples and explanation - keep relating back to the question
4. Transitional phrase - Comparative Point 2 and Text B (similar/different to Text A)
5. Quotes, examples and explanation - keep relating back to the question
6. Concluding sentence
Paragraph Three – 6 to 10 sentences
1. Transitional phrase – Topic sentence -- Comparative Point 3
2. Comparative Point 3 and Text A
3. Quotes, examples and explanation -- keep relating your explanation to the question
4. Transitional phrase -- Comparative Point 3 and Text B (could be similar/different to Text A)
5. Quotes, examples and explanation -- keep relating your explanation to the question
6. Concluding sentence
And so on, you may end up having 6 to 12 body paragraphs . . .
Concluding Paragraph – 2 to 5 sentences
Give an overview of your argument and main comparative points using the
language of the question. Then, make a BIG final statement about the
topic of the essay question and the two texts.
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NOTE: Another way that you can structure your essay would be to have
the first 3/4/5/6 paragraphs on Text A and then the next 3/4/5/6
paragraphs on Text B. Make comparisons and contrasts as you go
throughout.
At the end of the day, your comparison has to be balanced
between the two texts and contain an analysis of both the
similarities and differences in relation to the question.
Paper 2 Practice Questions
Answer one question. Compare and contrast two of the literature works you have studied.
1. How do two of the works you have studied portray the struggle to be understood?
2. Some literary texts, although set in a particular place or time, convey ideas that are universal. In what ways is this true in two of the works you have studied?
3. Discuss how two works you have studied present concepts of good and bad, not as absolute notions, but as a matter of individual perception.
4. Referring to two works you have studied, discuss how the author has created a convincing “world”.
5. Referring to two of the works you have studied, discuss both how and why the text invites the reader to identify with situations, characters and/or ideas.
6. Often the appeal for the reader of a literary work is the atmosphere a writer creates (for example, peaceful, menacing or ironic). Discuss some of the ways atmospheres are conveyed and to what effect in two of the works you have studied.
7. Writers often choose words, phrases and names of characters and places not only for their literal meaning, but for further meanings that they may suggest to the reader. With reference to two of the works you have studied, discuss how such words and their associations contribute to your understanding and appreciation of the works.
8. How is “home” depicted in two of the works you have studied and what is the significance?