How to Answer the ‘Power and Conflict’ Question

Power and ConflictEssay WritingEnglish Literature
Written By Natasha Tabani

It’s important to remember that the Power and Conflict question for AQA GCSE Literature is a comparative essay, so it needs a comparative structure that perfectly balances across both poems. Here, we’ll go through the best way to structure this essay so that it has a good balance of paragraphs and covers all of the assessment objectives. 

Need more help? Take a look at our Complete Power + Conflict Revision Course below!

THE INTRO 

  • Don’t spend too long on this, just write around 2-3 sentences that answer the question directly and explore each poem briefly 

  • For the thesis, make a comparison or contrast point about the poems (or, if you’re aiming for top marks, compare first, then contrast afterwards) 

MIDDLE PARAGRAPHS 

  • Write three or four Comparative PEE middle paragraphs 

  • Each ‘point’ should compare and/or contrast both poems together 

  • Explore poem A in detail - include lots of techniques and detailed contextual points

  • Link to poem B 

  • Explore poem B in detail - include lots of techniques and detailed contextual points

  • Write a summary sentence that goes through your main ideas again 

Tip: For high marks, have deeper and more sensitive/thoughtful points of comparison and contrast! You also want to be as thorough and detailed in your analysis as possible. 

CONCLUSION 

  • You only need 1-2 sentences here, just summarise the main ideas you explored and either repeat or develop your thesis 

Thanks for reading!

Need more help? Take a look at our Complete Power + Conflict Revision Course!

This course includes: 

  • A full breakdown of all the poems 

  • Tons of theme, context and language/structure/form analysis 

  • Key quotes 

  • Practice essay questions 

  • Grades 5-9 example answers 

  • + more! 

Natasha Tabani
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