We teach the comparison skill one-to-one online, working through poems together. The aim is linked, method-led argument, not two separate poem summaries.
What this task asks in OxfordAQA 9275
On the poetry paper, you write about the prescribed anthology poems. It is Paper 2a for the exam-only route or Paper 2b for the coursework route, and both are open book. The task asks you to analyse how the poets make meaning.
Typically, you also compare poems linked by theme and weigh one poet's methods against another's. Because it is open book, marks reward selection and comparison under time rather than memory. The marks for this question, its exact wording and whether comparison is required depend on your route and the current specification.
Confirm them with your school or on our qualification page.
How we approach it, step by step
- Read the question's theme and choose the anthology poem that answers it most fully, plus one poem to set beside it.
- For each poem, note two or three moments where a method (an image, a sound, a formal feature) carries that theme.
- Decide your comparative line of argument: how the two poems treat the theme differently, not merely that they share it.
- Since the poetry paper is open book, mark the poems fast rather than recalling them, and quote in short, embedded phrases.
- Build each paragraph around a point of comparison. Move between the poems within the paragraph instead of doing one and then the other.
- Weigh method against method (a metaphor in one beside a rhythm in the other), always tying back to the theme.
- Confirm the exact task wording, marks and whether comparison is required for your route on the current specification. See our qualification page.
An original model: anthology poetry
Below is our own comparative paragraph on two short poems we wrote for teaching, 'Harbour' and 'Crossing', both about leaving home. It shows how to move between poems within a single paragraph, comparing method with method.
The passage and model above are our own original teaching material, written to show the technique. None of it is a reproduced exam text or mark scheme.
Want help with Anthology poetry: OxfordAQA 9275? In a paid one-hour trial, an experienced teacher works on it one-to-one with your child.
Where students lose marks
- Students often write about one poem fully and then the other. The response never truly compares and the linking marks are lost.
- We see comparisons that stop at the theme. They note that both poems are about the same subject without comparing the methods the poets use to explore it.
- Some students feature-spot, naming rhyme schemes and enjambment without explaining what any of it achieves.
- Because the paper is open book, students sometimes over-quote whole stanzas instead of selecting short, telling phrases.
- Many drift into general appreciation of the poems rather than keeping every point aimed at the theme the question set.
Practise it
Start with the skills guide for the method. Then try the OxfordAQA 9275 practice tasks.
In a paid trial lesson, an experienced teacher can mark your child's own attempt against the criteria. Lessons are one-to-one and online, from RM70/hr.
Marks and word guidance can change between syllabus versions. Confirm the current requirements for your exam year with your school or the board's official syllabus, linked below.