Comparing two texts
English · Key Stage 2 · The School
More than which one you liked
Comparing two texts is not the same as saying which one you preferred. A real comparison looks at specific, named features. How is each structured? What viewpoint does it take? What evidence does it use? Look at these side by side, one feature at a time.
Comparing structure
Does one text use headings, while the other does not? Does one tell events in order, while the other jumps around in time? Structure is one specific thing you can compare. It beats a vague overall impression.
Comparing viewpoint
Two texts about the same event can take very different VIEWPOINTS. One might focus on the winners. The other might focus on the people who lost out. Naming the viewpoint each text takes is a real, specific comparison. It is not just an opinion about which is "better", but a claim someone else could check against the text.
Two short newspaper reports cover the same football match. Report one focuses on the winning team's tactics. It uses statistics. It is structured like a formal report. Report two focuses on one player's personal story. It uses more descriptive language. It is structured like a narrative. Compare them properly. Same event, but a different VIEWPOINT: team tactics versus one player's story. And a different STRUCTURE too: formal report versus narrative. Neither is simply "better" than the other. They are doing different jobs, for a different kind of reader. That is a real comparison, not just a preference, and it is the kind of comparison a good answer needs to show.