If you have a teenager studying for their GCSE English assessments, chances are that they will have to compare two texts in writing. If their exam board is AQA, it’s likely that – in the literature paper – they will have to compare two poems. Comparing poems can be overwhelming. Your teenager will have (hopefully) taken copious notes on each poem, which they will then need to distil into a cogent comparative essay. In an assessment, notes on at least one of the poems will have to be memorized. This is why, it’s essential to prepare and revise the comparison ahead of having to write the essay. In the following video, I show how I brainstorm a comparison of two poems from the Power and Conflict anthology. The video is long, but it can be paused! By the end of it, your teenager will have a sheet of A4 with all the information they will need to write a high scoring essay comparing both poems. I suggest equipping them with a piece of paper and a pen, getting them to answer the questions on the slide below, and then encouraging them to take notes along with me.