GCSE
How to Answer Compare Questions at GCSE
A compare answer must hold both things in every sentence. Use linked sentences: a statement about the first, a connective like whereas or similarly, a statement about the second, then evidence or data. If any sentence still makes sense with one side deleted, it is describing, not comparing, and it will not score.
Compare questions appear everywhere: two poems in English, two graphs in geography, two experimental methods in science. The mistake is identical everywhere too, and I made it for years: writing a paragraph about the first thing, a paragraph about the second, and hoping the examiner connects them. Mark schemes are blunt about this, separate descriptions score in the bottom level no matter how accurate they are. The fix is a sentence-level habit called the linked sentence, and once it is automatic you can lift it between subjects. This page shows the technique, how it flexes across English, science and geography, and a worked data example with a model answer.
The mistake that caps everyone at the bottom level
Most compare answers are two mini-essays wearing a trench coat. Everything about graph A, then everything about graph B, then maybe a final line saying so they are quite different. Examiners cannot award comparison marks for that, because the comparing never actually happens on the page; it happens, if at all, in the reader's head. Mark schemes for compare questions typically describe the bottom level as separate or descriptive points and the top level as clear, developed comparisons, which means the linking is the skill being assessed, not the knowledge. The test I run on my own answers: pick any sentence and cover the half about one of the two things. If the sentence still works, it was description. This also means you do not need more content to score higher. The same four facts, rearranged into linked sentences, can move an answer from the bottom level to the top.
The linked sentence, step by step
One linked sentence has four parts: a claim about the first thing, a comparing connective, the matching claim about the second thing, and evidence. Connectives for differences: whereas, while, however, by contrast. For similarities: similarly, likewise, both, just as. So: Country X's renewable share rose steeply, whereas Country Y's barely moved, rising 36 percentage points against 6. In English the evidence is a short quotation from each text; in geography and science it is data, and the strongest answers manipulate the numbers rather than repeating them: twice as high, four times faster, 19 degrees warmer. Two more habits finish the job. Compare like with like: pair the trend in one with the trend in the other, not a trend with a single value. And when the marks allow, go past the surface: after the linked sentence, add a because line suggesting why the difference exists. That developed comparison is what the top level of most schemes describes.
How the technique flexes across subjects
English: compare questions usually want attitudes or methods, so the linked sentence pairs a method and quotation from each text: the first writer presents the sea as an enemy clawing at the boat, whereas the second treats it almost as a companion. Stems like both writers, but only the second, and while the first are worth drilling until they come out automatically. Geography: compare means patterns and data, so quote figures from both sides and manipulate them, and keep description separate from explanation unless the question asks why. Science: you might compare two sets of results, two methods, or two processes such as mitosis and meiosis, and precision matters more than flow, one variable per sentence, both sides named. In every subject, the mark allocation tells you the workload: roughly one mark per clear linked point, two where it is developed with data or explanation. Four marks usually means two developed comparisons or three simple ones, not six.
Worked questions, step by step
Figure 1 shows the percentage of electricity generated from renewable sources in two countries. Country X: 12 percent in 2010, rising to 48 percent in 2024. Country Y: 10 percent in 2010, rising to 16 percent in 2024. Using Figure 1, compare the change in renewable electricity generation in Country X and Country Y. (4 marks)
- Find the similarity first, because most people jump straight to differences and miss an easy mark: both countries increased their renewable share over the period, from similar starting points.
- Find the headline difference: the size of the increase. Country X rose by 36 percentage points, Country Y by only 6.
- Manipulate the data instead of repeating it: X's share quadrupled while Y's grew by about half, and X ended three times higher than Y.
- Write it as linked sentences, both countries plus whereas, with the figures inside the sentences. Two developed comparisons is enough for four marks.
Answer: Model answer: Both countries increased their share of renewable electricity between 2010 and 2024, and they started from similar points of 12 percent and 10 percent. However, Country X's share rose far faster, quadrupling to 48 percent, whereas Country Y's rose by only 6 percentage points to 16 percent, meaning that by 2024 Country X generated three times as much of its electricity from renewables as Country Y.
Where marks slip: Examiners award compare marks only for sentences that mention both sides. Starting every sentence with Both, or Country X... whereas Country Y, forces the link, and quoting manipulated figures turns a simple comparison into a developed one.
Try one yourself: Two students measured the cooling of 100 cm3 of hot water over ten minutes. Insulated beaker: 80 C falling to 61 C. Uninsulated beaker: 80 C falling to 42 C. Compare the results of the two experiments. (4 marks)
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Solve my question →Quiz me on this topicQuestions students ask
Do compare questions want similarities, differences, or both?
Read the exact wording. A plain compare credits both, and differences usually carry more of the marks because there are more of them to find. If the question says compare the differences, similarities score nothing. Starting with one clear similarity, then moving to differences, covers you either way.
How many comparisons do I need for a 4 mark compare question?
Usually two developed comparisons or three to four simple ones. A developed comparison is a linked sentence plus data manipulation or a because line. Six rushed surface points is the wrong trade: the scheme runs out of things to credit and you have burned time you needed elsewhere.
Is it okay to use whereas in every sentence?
You will still score, because examiners mark the link, not the vocabulary. But rotating a small set, whereas, while, however, by contrast, similarly, both, makes the writing feel controlled and stops you noticing mid-exam that every sentence has the same hinge. I drill about six connectives and no more.
Can I answer a compare question as a table?
In science and geography a two-column table with paired points is usually credited, but it nudges you toward surface matching and makes developed comparisons with data manipulation harder to show. In English essays, never. Full linked sentences are the safer habit in every subject.