Writing a Set-Work Comparison Essay
The 12-mark Section B essay is won on one skill: weaving a set work and an unfamiliar extract into a single comparison. Learn to compare, not just describe.
Revise this, the fun way
Play it interactively, earn XP and build a streak, free.
Start revising freeWhat you'll cover
The 12-mark essay 🎼
Section B ends with a big **12-mark essay**. You compare an extract from a **set work** you have studied against an extract from an **unfamiliar piece**. Both scores are printed for you. This one question is worth a lot, and it is won or lost on a single skill: how well you **compare**.
Compare, do not just describe 🔀
"Compare" does **not** mean "describe piece A, then describe piece B". It means weaving them together. Point out **similarities and differences** side by side, and make **relative judgements**: which piece uses more of something, and to what effect.
The winning move
What does a grade-9 comparison essay do?
- Weaves both pieces into one comparative argument
- Describes each piece separately, one after the other
- Lists only the similarities
- Describes only the set work in detail
Compare using the elements 🎹
Compare using the **musical elements** so every point is precise: - **Melody**: shape, range, leaps or steps. - **Rhythm and tempo**: fast or slow, simple or syncopated. - **Texture**: how many layers play at once. - **Dynamics**: loud, quiet, or changing. - **Harmony and tonality**: major, minor, consonant or dissonant. - **Instrumentation and structure**: what plays, and how sections are ordered.
Match each element to the question it answers
- Melody
- Texture
- Dynamics
- Tonality
- Does it leap around or move by step?
- How many layers are playing at once?
- Is it loud, quiet, or changing?
- Does it sound major, minor or modal?
Build one paragraph
An interactive activity.
What scores marks
Select the TWO features of a strong comparison.
- It uses both similarities and differences
- It makes relative judgements between the pieces
- It describes each piece in a totally separate half
- It avoids naming any musical elements
Glue words 🗣️
Comparative **connectives** glue the two pieces into one argument: - For **similarities**: similarly, likewise, both, in the same way. - For **differences**: whereas, in contrast, however, on the other hand. Use them constantly, so every point touches **both** pieces at once.
Match each connective to a sentence that uses it well
- Whereas
- Similarly
- In contrast
- However
- The set work is loud, whereas the extract stays quiet
- Both use strings; similarly, both are fast
- In contrast to the set work, the extract is minor
- It starts quietly; however, it soon grows louder
Spot the comparison
Which sentence is a proper comparison, not just a description of one piece?
- The set work has a thick texture, whereas the unfamiliar extract is much thinner
- The set work has a thick texture and uses many instruments
- The unfamiliar extract is in a minor key
- Both pieces are examples of music
Write one paragraph
An interactive activity.
Comparison-essay frame
In Section B you write a 12-mark essay that _____ two extracts. A strong answer weaves them into one argument using both similarities and _____, joined by connectives like _____. Each point ends with a relative _____, rather than describing the pieces separately.
The jargon
What does making a relative judgement mean in a comparison essay?
- Saying which piece uses an element more, and to what effect
- Describing only one piece in full detail
- Listing every instrument in each piece
- Giving each piece a personal star rating