SAMPLE - Vital Leaving Cert Guidebook English Comparative Question

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Key Moments – Driving Force of the Comparative Question

The comparative question differs from the Single Text in that each text is studied in terms of key moments and not as a whole.

The clue is in the term ‘comparative.’

The need to compare and contrast between 3 texts is what drives the question.

In the Single text – which could be King Lear by William Shakespeare, it is imperative to know every act, every scene, every theme, and every character.

This is not the case in the comparative question.

A comparison of how a playwright, a director and a novelist deal with an issue is examined, compared, and contrasted.

It is a very engaging question and allows for a lot of independent thought. But while your teacher may have prepared some key moments for you to study – it is advisable to create your own.

This independent study will give you a deeper understanding of the text and a greater ability to compare and contrast.

You might find other areas of a text more interesting to use as a key moment than the ones your teacher has outlined and chosen Find moments that speak to you individually. It makes it easier to analyse a question.

Be individual. Choose moments that speak loudest to you. Respond to these key moments and understand why they can develop a theme, or identify a social more, or, indeed, highlight a degree of pessimism or optimism.

The following is an example of key moments in the film Ladybird This is an example of how you should breakdown your texts – all three of them. This only has to be done once. It will be time well spent. When the key moments of each of your texts have been outlined – you are ready to answer any comparative question.

Note how they are listed and titled.

KEY MOMENTS IN LADYBIRD

A film by Greta Gerwig

1. FILM OPENS WITH A QUOTE FROM JOAN DIDION – ABOUT SACRAMENTO – LITERARY GENRE = AN EPIGRAPH = SYMBOLISM/IMAGERY

2. MARION AND LADYBIRD ASLEEP – MIRRORING A WOMB VIEW? LITERARY GENRE = IMAGERY

USE THE FOLLOWING WORKBOOK TO INDIVIDUALISE YOUR CHOSEN TEXTS.

THE ANCHOR TEXT REFERS TO THE FIRST TEXT YOU WILL START EVERY PARAGRAPH WITH – IT DOES NOT MEAN A MORE IMPORTANT TEXT TO THE OTHER TWO. ALL 3 TEXTS ARE OF EQUAL IMPORTANCE.

The Comparative Workbook – the Basics

ANCHOR TEXT

AUTHOR/PLAYWRIGHT/DIRECTOR

Genre

Time and place

TEXT 2

AUTHOR PLAYWRIGHT/DIRECTOR -----------------------------------------------------------------

GENRE

TIME AND PLACE

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TEXT 3

AUTHOR/PLAYWRIGHT/DIRECTOR

GENRE………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….

TIME AND PLACE

1. CULTURAL CONTEXT : WRITE OUT DEFINITION OF CC

2. GENERAL VISION AND VIEWPOINT: WRITE OUT DEFINITION OF GV&V----------------------------

3. LITERARY GENRE: WRITE OUT DEFINITION OF LG ---------------------------------------------------------

4. THEME/ISSUE: WRITE OUT DEFINITION THEME/ISSUE---------------------------------------------------

WRITING THE COMPARATIVE ESSAY

1. AIM FOR 3 OR 4 BROAD SELECTIONS OF DEVELOPED COMPARISON OF KEY MOMENTS

2. DON’T TELL THE STORY AND AVOID PITFALLS OF LONG SUMMARIES

3. FOCUS ON HOW EACH KEY MOMENT IN YOUR TEXT ILLUSTRATES THE SLANT OF THE QUESTION

4. AFTER YOU SWITCH FROM YOUR ANCHOR TEXT TO THE NEXT TEXT, POINT OUT THE LINKS BETWEEN THE MATERIAL

5. QUALIFY THE COMPARISON ( DON’T JUST STATE IT, EXPLAIN IT BY APPLY THE QUESTION)

AN OVERVIEW OF A COMPARATIVE ANSWER

LINK WORDS/ PHRASES

To say they are similar:

• Similarly

• In the same way

• In much the same way

• In we also see

• These characters react in the say way, both because

• These characters react similarly but for completely different reasons

• Both texts reveal that

• This is also obvious in when just like decides

• We also see this in

• Likewise, in

• This is mirrored in

• The two texts share a similarity in that

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