(2) The COMPARATIVE question [Analysis of 2000-2010 GCE 'A' Level questions]

[Update: 6/11/2011]

“Pros vs Cons” (question type 2c) has been updated below.

-

There are four types of comparative questions that Cambridge has asked in the past: (a) Comparing two ideas, (b) ranking, (c) Pros vs Cons, (d) Past vs Present.

The recommended approach for question types (a), (b) and (c) is to use a yardstick. These question types ((a), (b) and (c)) are NOT recommended for students who frequently fail their essays. Question type (d) is typically less challenging.

2a.

Comparative:

Comparing two ideas

2010

• ‘The key to good health is lifestyle rather than medicine.’ How far do you agree? (2010)

2007

• ‘The pen is mightier than the sword.’ Can written language really be so powerful? (2007)

2006

• To what extent do the newspapers and magazines that you read deal with what is trivial, rather than with what is important? (2006)

2003

• To what extent are small businesses preferable to large ones? (2003)

2000

• ‘Pets need us more than we need them.’ What do you think? (2000)

2b.

Comparative:

Ranking

[See http://thegeneralpaper.wordpress.com/category/essay/key-term-main/ for tips on how to approach comparative (ranking) questions]

2009

• Are certain types of writing superior to others? (2009)

2002

• ‘Conformity should be the main aim of all schools.’ How far is this true? (2002)
  [Note: Also an absolute question. Also note that the combination of the absolute term and comparative term makes this question more demanding.]

2c.

Comparative:

Pros vs Cons

[Update: 6/11/2011]

Check out this related post that explains why, for these questions, you should argue that the pros outweigh the cons.

2009

• ‘Fashion is as much a good thing as a bad thing.’ To what extent do you agree? (2009)

2005

• ‘Hosting major sporting events creates more problems than benefits’. Do you agree? (2005)

2002

• ‘Air travel creates more problems than benefits: Is this a fair comment? (2002)

2d.

Comparative:

Past vs Present

2003

• Was life for young people inSingaporebetter in the past than it is today? (2003)

2002

• Do you agree that city life is becoming increasingly unattractive? (2002)

Get a yardstick! (An illustration using the key term, “main”)

When it comes to analysing an essay question, identifying the key terms and the value terms are rarely a problem. The difficulty we often run is in truly engaging with the value term. To deal with those tricky value terms, we could consider using a yardstick.

For example,

Social media is the main agent of change in today’s world. How far do you agree?

Value term: main

Yardstick (measurement of “main-ness”):  Social media is more important than other agents of change

Note that if you use a value term in your yardstick, that too must have it’s own yardstick. In this case, you’ll need a yardstick for “more important”, and “more important” can be measured in different ways (different yardsticks) in each paragraph.  For instance, one paragraph may consider that social media is more important than other agents of change because it has become so ubiquitous that it is best able to reach large numbers of people.

Key point: I must have a clear, objective sense of how you’re measuring “main”.

Some students tend to measure “main” in numbers. In other words, their yardstick might be that social media is the main agent of change because it is the most commonly used tool to bring about change. This is possible in theory, but do note that it can be difficult to execute in practice because it often degrades into a “but-the-numbers-say-so” point, without any real, substantial, meaty argument:

“Social media is the main agent of change because 80% of the global population has used social media to bring about change.”

Even if this statistic were correct (it’s not), it’s difficult to develop this further. Of course, you could go on to develop it by arguing that because social media is so commonly used, it is the best way of reaching large numbers of people – but that brings us right back to the first yardstick – that “main” is being measured by its importance.

Aside from proving importance, another useful (and, if done well, particularly effective) yardstick is this: Social media is the main agent of change because it is the root cause of change / the underlying factor that triggered off change.

Again, you can use this yardstick throughout your essay, or you can use multiple yardsticks in your essay.

 

-

FAQ – on essay structure

Where do you put the yardstick?

If you have just one yardstick running through the whole essay, it makes sense to put it in the introduction. If you have multiple yardsticks that apply to different paragraphs, you should make it clear in the appropriate paragraph.