Welcome, thank you for joining me today.

I'm Mrs. Butterworth and I will be guiding you through the learning.

Now, today's lesson is all about comparing and evaluating texts, so we'll be considering how we do this, but also some strategies as to how we can write up our findings.

So we've got lots to get through today, so should we get started? So in this lesson we will focus on writing comparative topic sentences.

Let's just look at some keywords that are going to be popping up throughout the lesson and will also help with our understanding.

So these words are form, method, evaluate, first person, and third person.

Let's just look at those definitions to make sure we fully understand what these words are.

So we have this word form.

Now the form refers to the type of text a writer uses.

So we might consider an article a form, a letter or a speech.

These are all examples of form.

We will also be looking at methods today and another way to think about methods is to think about them as kind of like the tools a writer uses to create their work.

So structure, form, and language are perhaps the most significant examples.

So we'll be thinking about what methods the writers use and how they use them.

We've also got this word evaluate, which is also in our lesson title today.

And if you evaluate something, you consider it really carefully and you make a judgement.

So today we'll be able to think about using some strategies and some phrases that enable you to evaluate the text, which is a really good thing to be able to do.

And then we've also got first person and third person.

Now first person is written from the writer's perspective, and you can usually tell it's first person because they use pronouns like I, we, and me.

Now third person is not a person in the text, so it's a much more objective perspective, and this uses pronouns like she, he, or they.

So the outline of our lesson, it looks like this.

We're gonna begin by determining differences between texts, so considering differences in texts, and then we're going to look at how we can write some comparative topic sentences.

So let's start by looking and determining differences between texts.

So these are the two texts that we are going to be comparing today.

We've got text one, "Around the World in 72 Days" by Nellie Bly.

This was written in 1890 and it's a book and travelogue.

The second text is called "Megan Hine: The Woman Who Helps Keep Bear Grylls Safe," and this is by Emine Saner.

It's written in 2016 and it's an article from The Guardian.

So what I would like you to do, please, is I would like you to discuss what are the main differences between these two texts.

Pause the video so you've got time to discuss those differences.

Okay, off you go.

Brilliant, thank you so much for your contributions, some really perceptive and interesting differences being identified there.

So lots of you picked up on the different dates.

So obviously text one is 1890, text two is 2016, so it's a very important difference, isn't it, in terms of language use, in terms of perspective, in terms of the values and attitudes that may be presented and expressed in the text, so the date is a really good one.

Some of you picked up on the different forms. So obviously the first text is a travelogue or a book, it's autobiographical, where the second one is an article from The Guardian.

It's a profile, it's written about someone else.

So there's two key differences there.

Some of you picked up as well that text one is by Nellie Bly and it's her perspective, so it's first person, whereas text two is written by Emine Saner about someone else, so that is third person.

So already just from that quick discussion you're already starting to find some really interesting points of difference between these two texts, so well done, let's keep going.

So comparing one text to another can often help us understand a text more deeply and evaluate it more clearly.

So what can we compare? So we can compare what each writer chooses to write about.

We can compare how each writer chooses to write about it.

So we'll be thinking about their methods, so the language, structure, the form they use, and the effects and successes of these choices and methods.

So that's where our evaluation comes in when we're considering the effect and successes of the choices and methods.

So now let's look at some very specific things that you can compare when you are comparing text, so some things that you consider.

Now, this is a really long list, so there's lots of things that you can think about going forward when you compare text, so let's look at them.

So the first thing is is you might consider who wrote the text and why, so what are their motivations? Who are they? So that kind of links to the next one about this relevant autobiographical experience.

So have you been given any information or do you know anything about the writers that may have informed their writing? The narrative voice selected.

So is it first person, second person, third person? So if they've got different narrative voice, why is that? Is it because they're writing in a different form? Is it because they have different purposes? So narrative voice and comparing narrative voice is a really good one to consider.

The time period.

So we've already noted that the two texts that we are looking at are from two different time periods, so you might want to compare where the time period of when the text is set and/or written and how this impacts the language choices or methods, if you like.

The form of the text, the intended audience of the text, and the structure of the text.

So do they have different structures and why? And language choices.

And any other significant method.

So as you can see, this is a really long list of things that you consider when comparing, so there's lots to think about when comparing texts, and looking at this you can see all of the wonderful things that we can start thinking about.

So Andeep uses a table to help him compare the texts "Around the World in 72 Days" and "The Woman Who Helps Keep Bear Grylls Safe." So tables a really good way to do that, so we can see those texts there.

He then begins to make some notes, so you can see here he's looking at form and narrative voice.

So he starts by considering text one, and he knows that the form is a travelogue, so it's personal and reflective, and he's popped that in the first column.

He's also decided to focus on narrative voice and we know that in Nellie Bly's piece of writing it is first person because it's all about Bly's feelings and personal experience.

So now I want you to consider how could you complete this grid to begin drawing some comparisons.

So for text two, the second part of that grid, it's blank, so you need to decide what you would put in there to start drawing some comparisons, okay? Pause the video so you've got time to discuss your ideas or maybe just think quietly to yourself, but we'll feedback in a moment.

Off you go.

Okay, great, some brilliant ideas coming through there, so let's just share those.

So we know that the form of the first text is a travelogue, whereas in text two the form is an article.

Some of you also picked up that it's a profile as well, so that is fantastic.

So we know that its focus is more informative, it's more descriptive compared to that personal reflective tone of text one.

We know the narrative voice in the first text is first person.

However, in text two, quite rightly here we've got third person.

So it's told from the writer's perspective and the writer is describing another person's experience.

So she's describing Megan Hine's experience, so she's using Megan Hine's name, she's using they and she instead of I, which is what Bly uses.

So you can see already we've drawn some excellent comparisons by using this grid.

Now, true or false time.

You can compare almost all methods a writer has used but not things about the writers themselves because they have no control over that.

Hmm, tricky question, but what do you think? Is it true or is it false? Well done to everyone that said false, that is not true.

But now you need to justify your answer by picking A or B.

Okay, and the answer is B, you can compare experiences between writers as autobiographical detail is part of a text context.

So we can think about the writer's experiences and how this may impact their writing.

Okay, so it's over to you now for the first practise task.

And what I would like you to do is I would like you to complete the table, just like we did with Andeep, complete the table making comparisons between the two texts.

So we've got our bullet points there of that lovely list to help you.

So all you need to do is to complete the table making comparisons between the two texts exactly like we just did, okay? Has everyone got everything they need to complete this task? Make sure you have, okay, great.

And then pause the video to get your table completed.

Off you go.

Thanks, everyone, I really appreciate your hard work.

Now let's just look at a section of a completed grid, so this is just part.

So the aspect to compare here in this grid is who wrote the text and why.

So in the grid for text one, this person has written Nellie Bly, so that's who wrote the text, and they wanted to convey her experiences, sorry, she wanted to convey her experiences of travelling around the world and the challenges she faced both before and during the trip.

The second text is written by Emine Saner, and she wrote this because she wanted to create a profile piece focused on the experiences of Megan Hine, a survival expert.

And then we've got our tentative language there perhaps to foreground those in supporting roles.

So I'd like you just to spend a few moments just discussing what you wrote for this aspect of your table, okay? So pause the video so you've got time to discuss or just quietly reflect on your own about what you wrote for this aspect of your table.

You may want to add to your table as well.

Okay, off you go.

Okay, so we have thought about the differences between those texts and we have drawn lots of comparisons, but now we need to move on to be thinking about how we write about those differences.

So we're going to move on to writing comparative topic sentences.

So, as we know, comparing one text to another can often help us them more clearly.

So one way to really help this is to use evaluative words like more or less so they can be helpful.

So let's look at an example.

So I've got my grid here, so I'm going to compare form so we know what we're comparing.

The fact that text one is a travelogue and text two is an article or a profile.

So let's see how we can use those evaluative words more or less to create some really good evaluative topic sentences.

So let's look.

So the first, Bly's travelogue expresses her personal feelings about sexism and exploration more explicitly than Saner.

So you can see how it's evaluating the intentions there and the purposes of the text just by using more or less.

Number two, Bly wants to accurately capture her own experiences and feelings of exploration, so her travelogue is less information driven than Saner's article, which is more insightful in highlighting specific details.

So again, you can see how using more or less can really help you to evaluate and compare those two texts.

And finally, Bly's travelogue is more reflective of her feelings of frustration when challenging her editor.

Saner's article focuses less on feelings and more on the role of Hines in supporting Bear Grylls.

So using those evaluative phrases like more or less in your comparisons can really elevate your comparative topic sentences.

So I'd like you now just to consider and look at your table from learning cycle one, so you've all completed that grid.

And I'd like you to discuss, please, what more or less evaluations does it help you to make, okay? So you're thinking about exactly what I've just demonstrated, how you can compare using more or less, those evaluative phrases, okay? So get ready to pause the video and discuss your ideas, off you go.

Thank you so much for your discussions.

So now let's look at how we can use all of this, our tables, our discussions, to begin to craft the opening of a comparative paragraph.

So Andeep has very kindly volunteered his work and Andeep uses his table and discussion to craft the opening of a comparative paragraph, so let's look at how he has done this.

So he begins by creating a topic sentence that states the paragraph's main idea.

So let's see.

So, "Both Bly and Saner use their texts to explore women's experiences of exploration and survival." Fantastic topic sentence.

He then develops this.

He develops his topic sentence by stating a clear idea about the first text.

So he focuses on text one.

"Bly explicitly presents personal experiences of travel as her text is a travelogue," okay? So he starts by comparing the text, then he focuses on text one, and then finally he compares text two to text one.

So he says, "By contrast, Saner creates a profile of an incredible woman, Megan Hines, and uses her story to foreground the unsung heroes of survival." Great, so you can see here, by using this process like Andeep has used, you're already drawing out some really interesting comparisons in your introductory paragraphs.

So now I'd like you to have a go.

So using those steps, okay, I would like you to try writing the opening of a comparative paragraph.

So you've got some sentence starters there, so both Bly and Saner.

Then develop it by focusing on text one, so writer.

And then that comparison happens in sentence three, so compare text two to text one.

So pause the video so you've got time to write that opening paragraph, and then we'll feedback some ideas in a moment, okay? So pause the video and off you go.

Great, fab work, everyone.

I love how some of you realise that, oh, if you just follow this system, it makes it really easy to write, doesn't it? So the more you practise using this structure, the easier comparisons become to write, I promise.

So let's just share another answer from Andeep.

So Andeep, again, "Both Bly and Saner foreground the experiences of women in the male-dominated world of exploration." Lovely comparison opening sentence.

Then, focusing on the first text, "Bly focuses on her own experiences and challenges faced." Then he goes in to comparing text two to one.

"By contrast, Saner presents a comprehensive view and profile of Megan Hine." So hopefully you got something similar or maybe you got something even better.

So bearing that in mind, thinking about your own work, I'd like you please to identify where you have met the checklist, okay? So have a little look and make sure you've met the checklist.

So our second practise task, all you need to do is exactly what you've been doing throughout the lesson.

So what I would like you to do is I would like you to write two more comparative openings about Bly and Saner's text.

So I'm gonna leave Andeep's model there to help you and the checklist with the sentence starters, and you should be able to easily adapt and use all of those things to write two more comparative openings, okay? Make sure you've got everything you need to complete this task, and I look forward to seeing what you create, okay? Pause the video, off you go.

Wow, thank you so much.

I could feel all of the hard work happening as you worked on those comparative openings, so well done.

And hopefully, again, you are beginning to see how using that structure just really helps you to make those clear comparisons and makes writing comparative openings, writing comparative topic sentences a lot easier.

So keep practising this because it can only help.

Okay, so what I would like you to do now is just to check your own work and identify where you have met the checklist in each of your comparative openings.

So make sure you've got that comparative topic sentence.

You develop your topic sentence by writing an idea about text one, and then you compare text two to one.

So there's those three things to check that you have done in each of your openings.

So pause the video to give yourself time to do this, off you go.

And this signals the end of the lesson.

Well done, everyone.

You should all give yourselves a pat on the back for all you have achieved.

And let's just remind ourselves of everything that we have learned.

We know that comparing one text to another can 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 of comparative paragraphs could start with a topic sentence which states the main paragraph's main idea, and then the next sentence of a comparative paragraph focuses on the differences between the two texts.

So I hope to see you all again very soon in another English lesson.

But until then, I'm gonna say goodbye, so goodbye.