Planning a comparison of two texts on migration
A student must compare a personal letter written by a Bosnian migrant in the 1990s with a contemporary online article about migration. The letter is informal, emotional, and addressed to a family member. The article is formal, statistical, and addressed to a general readership. The student's plan lists similarities and differences in a table but has no overall claim. The teacher requires a comparison that says something about how purpose shapes language, not just a list. The student has 600 words and two sources.
1. What overall claim should the student build the comparison around?
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A workable claim: 'The two texts describe migration, but their purposes produce opposite language choices: the letter builds intimacy and shared feeling, while the article builds distance and authority.'
That claim does more than list features. It explains why the texts differ: one is addressed to a known person and aims to maintain a relationship, the other is addressed to strangers and aims to inform credibly. Every comparison point can then be tested against that claim.
A table alone cannot do this, because a table treats similarities and differences as equal items. The claim tells the reader which differences matter and why.
2. Give one comparison point that supports the claim, and explain how it does so.
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Model point: address forms. The letter uses informal second-person singular address because it is written to a family member, which builds intimacy. The article uses impersonal constructions and formal address to a general readership, which builds distance.
The point supports the claim because it shows purpose shaping language directly: the relationship with the reader determines the address form. It is not just 'the letter is informal and the article is formal'. It explains what each choice achieves for its reader.
The student should add a second point, for example emotional versus statistical evidence, and check that both points support the same claim rather than pulling in different directions.
3. The student worries the texts are too different to compare. How should she respond?
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She should compare them on shared ground: both are about migration, both select what to include, and both position the reader in a particular relationship to the migrant. The differences in form are the evidence, not an obstacle.
A useful test is to ask, for each text, who is speaking to whom and why. Both texts answer those questions, and the answers differ in ways that support her claim. That is comparison.
She should avoid the trap of writing two separate descriptions joined by 'however'. Each paragraph should discuss both texts on the same point, so the comparison stays visible throughout.