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Year 9 - English

Comparing texts about World War One using comparative topic sentences

Literary perspectives from the First World War

Unit Summary

In this unit, pupils explore and compare texts written about the First World War. They first read Beck's 'Propping up the line', Mansfield's 'The Fly' and Wilfred Owen's 1917 letter home to his mum. They finally read Brittain's 'Testament of Youth', and then plan and write a comparative response.

Lesson Summary

You will learn to write comparative topic sentences about two texts which focus on the same event - World War One.

Key Notes

  • Comparing one text to another can often help you evaluate it more clearly.
  • You can compare what each writer chose to write about, and how they chose to write about it.
  • The opening line of comparative paragraphs could start with a topic sentence which states the paragraph's main idea.
  • The next sentences of a comparative paragraph could focus on the differences between the two texts you wish to compare.

Vocabulary To Learn

  • evaluate: to consider something carefully and make a judgement about it
  • form: in literature, the type of text a writer uses; short story, memoir, poem are all examples
  • first person: the narrator is a person in the story, using pronouns like 'I', 'we', 'me'
  • third person: the narrator is not a person in the story, using pronouns like 'she', 'he', 'they'
  • method: the tools a writer uses to create their work; structure, form and language are perhaps the most significant examples.

Common Mistakes To Avoid

  • You can't compare different text types to each other. For example, a short story to a memoir.

3 Quick Questions (With Answers)

1. Explain this English learning goal in two key points.

Comparing one text to another can often help you evaluate it more clearly. You can compare what each writer chose to write about, and how they chose to write about it.

2. Define this language term and use it in a sentence. 'evaluate'

to consider something carefully and make a judgement about it.

3. Correct this common English misunderstanding.

Mistake: You can't compare different text types to each other. For example, a short story to a memoir. Correction: By comparing different forms, we can often come to understand why a writer chose a particular text type more deeply - what this particular text type allowed them to do or convey to the reader.

More Lessons In This Unit

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