English & EAL

The Ultimate Guide to VCE Comparative

Lisa Tran

May 8, 2019

Want insider tips? Sign up here!



*Originally posted in 2017, this post has been updated for the latest English study design


  1. What is Comparative?
  2. What are you expected to cover? (Comparative criteria)
  3. School Assessed Coursework (SAC), exams and allocated marks
  4. How To Prepare For Your Comparative SAC and exam
  5. How to write a Comparative essay

1. What is a Comparative?

Comparative is also known as 'Reading and Comparing', 'Comparative essay' and less frequently, 'Compare and Contrast'. For our purposes, we'll just stick to 'Comparative'.






Note: Some schools may express the following points differently, however they should all boil down to the same points - what is necessary in a Comparative essay.

1. Knowledge and understanding of both texts, and the ideas and issues they present

Society, history and culture all shape and influence us in our beliefs and opinions. Authors use much of what they’ve obtained from the world around them and employ this knowledge to their writing. Understanding their values embodied in texts can help us as readers, identity and appreciate theme and character representations.



More about this later in How To Prepare For Your Comparative SAC and exam, point 2: Understand both your texts - as a pair.

3. Use of textual evidence to support the comparative analysis;

While you should absolutely know how to embed quotes in your essay like a boss, you want to have other types of evidence in your Comparative essay. You must discuss how the author uses the form that he/she is writing in to develop her discussion. This encompasses a huge breadth of things from metaphors to structure to language.

For example, "The personification of Achilles as ‘wolf, a violator of every law of men and gods', illustrates his descent from human to animal…." or "Malouf’s constant use of the present voice and the chapter divisions allow the metaphor of time to demonstrate the futility and omnipresence of war…’.

To learn more about metalanguage, read our 'What is metalanguage' post.

4. Control and effectiveness of language use, as appropriate to the task.



Comparative is the 1st Area of study (AOS 1) in Unit 2 (Year 11) and Unit 4 (Year 12) - meaning that majority of students will tackle the Comparative SAC in Term 3. The number of allocated marks are:

- Unit 2 – dependant on school

- Unit 4 – 60 marks (whopper!)

The time allocated to your SAC is school-based. Often schools use one or more periods combined, depending on how long each of your periods last. Teachers can ask you to write anywhere from 900 to 1200 words for your essay (keep in mind that it’s about quality, not quantity!)


4. How To Prepare For Your Comparative SAC and exam

Preparation is a vital component in how you perform in your SACs and exam so it’s always a good idea to find out what is your best way to approach assessments. This is just to get you thinking on the different study methods you can try before a SAC. Here are my top strategies (ones I actually used in VCE) for Comparative preparation:

Step 1: Understand each text - individually

This doesn’t mean reading/watching your texts a specific amount of times (though twice is a usually a recommended minimum), but rather, coming to an understanding of your texts. Besides knowing important sections, quotes, themes and characters (which are still important and which you should definitely know), here are some other matters which are also necessary to consider:

- Why has it been chosen by VCAA (out of literally millions of other books)


- Why did the author write it?


These kinds of questions are important because quite often in this area of study, you’ll be defending and interpreting your own ideas alongside the author’s. When you find a solid interpretation of the text as a whole, then no essay topic will really throw you off - because you’ll know already what you think about it. Moreover, because you’re comparing two texts in this section, understanding a text and being specific (e.g. both texts argue that equality is important vs while both texts A and B agree with the notion of equality, A focuses on ____ whereas B highlights  ____ ) will help your writing improve in sophistication and depth.

Step 2: Understand both your texts - as a pair

Avoid simply drawing connections between the texts which are immediately obvious. We'll use George Orwell's Animal Farm and Shakespeare's Macbeth as an example (don't worry if you haven't studied either of these texts, it's just to prove a point). The most obvious connection simply from reading the plot is that both Napoleon and Macbeth are powerful leaders. However, you want to starting asking yourself more questions to develop an insightful comparison between the two men:


Q: How do they achieve power?


Q: How do they maintain power?




Step 3: Understand the construction of your texts

Besides comparing ideas and themes, and having an understanding of what the text says, it’s also imperative that you understand HOW the texts say it. This type of analysis focuses on metalanguage (also known as literary devices or literary techniques). When you get technical with this and focus metalanguage, it does bring up the depth of your writing. Check out more information on our What is metalanguage post.

You could start asking yourself:

- What kind of description is used?

- What kind of sentences are used?

- Are they long and winding or rather short and bare?

- Are they dripping with adjectives or snappy?

- What is the structure of the text?

- Does one begin with a prologue/end with an epilogue?

- Is the text continuous or divided e.g. through letters or days or parts?

- Does the text end at a climax or ends with a true finality?

- What reoccurs throughout the text? (specific lines, symbols or images)


His depiction of Chapel serves as a subversion of the conventional type of slave; he is “half a slave, half the master” and belongs to “another way of life.” His defiance and rebellion against the dictations of society is exemplified through his speech, which consists of rhythmic and poetic couplets, filled with flowery language; which ultimately challenges the idea of illiterate slaves.

Step 4: Read and watch Lisa's Study Guides' resources

Doing this study all by yourself can be rather daunting, so we've got your back. We specialise in supporting VCE English by creating helpful videos, study guides and ebooks. Here are some just to get your started:

YouTube Videos

We create general study advice videos like this:

We also create Comparative pair-specific videos:


Study guides


Bombshells and The Penelopiad

Ransom and Invictus

Stasiland and 1984

The Crucible and Year of Wonders

Tracks and Into the Wild



And if that isn't enough, I'd highly recommend my 'How to write a killer Comparative' ebook.

Step 5: Brainstorm and write plans.


Doing plans is also an extremely time-efficient way to approach SACs. Rather than slaving away hours upon hours over writing essays, writing plans can will save you the burnout, and get you feeling confident faster.


Step 6: Get your hands on essay topics.

Often, teachers will provide you with a list of prompts to practice before your SAC. Some teachers can be kind enough to hint you in the direction of a particular prompt that may be on the SAC. If your teacher hasn’t distributed any, don’t be afraid to ask.


I Am Malala And Made In Dagenham Prompts

Ransom And Invictus Prompts

The Crucible And Year Of Wonders Prompts

Step 7: Write essays.


5. How to write a Comparative essay

Comparative essay structure


Secondly, jump over to Sarah's (English study score X) advice on Compare the pair: Structuring a Reading and Comparing Essay where she delves into two different types of Comparative essay structures.

Comparative essay example


In an introduction, you're expected to have the following:

  • Context (or background)
  • Both author's (or director's) name
  • Both title of texts
  • Contention
  • Main arguments

Here's an example from Mida (English study score 43), in her post A Comparative Essay Breakdown:



Body paragraph


- Topic sentence

- Example

- Evidence

- Linking sentence

If your teacher or school teaches you something slightly different - that's ok too. At the end of the day the foundations are the same.



The ambitions of the oppressed are achieved to a certain extent. However, they are not maintained and thus become restricted due to the beliefs and conventions entrenched in society. D’Aguiar asserts that a sense of liberation can indeed be achieved in the unjust system of slavery, and this is demonstrated through his characterisation of Chapel. His depiction of Chapel serves as a subversion of the conventional type of slave; he is “half a slave, half the master” and belongs to “another way of life.” His defiance and rebellion against the dictations of society is exemplified through his speech, which consists of rhythmic and poetic couplets, filled with flowery language; which ultimately challenges the idea of illiterate slaves. D’Aguiar also associates the allusion of the “two star-crossed lovers” in regards to the relationship between Lydia and Chapel; who were “forbidden” to “read together.” Despite this, the two characters take on a form of illicit, linguistic, sexual intercourse with each other, as they “touch each other’s bodies in the dark” and “memorise [their] lines throughout.” Here, D’Aguiar illustrates their close intimacy as a form of rebellion against the Eurocentric society, who believed such interrelation between blacks and whites was “heinous” and “wicked.” The individualistic nature of Chapel is also paralleled in Black Diggers, where Wright’s portrayal of Bertie expresses the yearning for a sense of belonging. Just like Chapel, Bertie desires free will, and he decides to “fight for the country.” This aspiration of his however, is restrained by both his Mum and Grandad; who in a similar manner as Whitechapel, represent the voice of reality and reason. Wright employs the metaphor of the Narrandera Show to depict the marginalisation and exclusion of Aboriginal people, as they will never be “allowed through the wire,” or essentially, ever be accepted in Australia. This notion of exclusion is further reinforced through Bertie’s gradual loss of voice and mentality throughout Wright’s short vignettes, as he soon becomes desensitised and is “unable to speak.” Here, Wright seems to suggest that the silenced voices of the Indigenous soldiers depict the eternal suffering they experienced; from both the horrors of war, but also the continual marginalisation and lack of recognition they faced back home. Consequently, D’Aguiar and Wright highlight how the ambitions of young individuals are limited by the truths and history of reality, and are essentially rarely achieved.





While this guide is fantastic to get you started, there are certain strategies you can implement to ensure your Comparative essay wows your examiner and puts in in the A-grade ranking. These strategies have been adopted by high-achievers in the past few years and have resulted in student achieving study scores of 45+. Make sure you don't miss out on these strategies by clicking our free download below. In the meantime, good luck!

Get our FREE VCE English Text Response mini-guide


Click below to get your own copy today!

Yes, I'd love a free mini-guide!

Comparative Essay Sample

Loved reading that blog? Then learn more by downloading our free comparative sample essay, written by a Victorian high-achiever and fully annotated by a professional tutor.

Click below to start your download!

Yes, I'd love a free sample essay!

Get exclusive weekly advice from Lisa, only available via email.


Thank you! Your submission has been received!
Oops! Something went wrong while submitting the form.

Other Guides You Might Be Interested In

No items found.
←Go back to blogs

latest articles

Check out our latest thought leadership on enterprise innovation.

Keep in touch



Thank you! Your submission has been received!
Oops! Something went wrong while submitting the form.

Follow Us
