In the word « comparative analysis », you have two keywords : comparison and analysis. Therefore what is expected is that you compare the content and form of more than one document and that you analyse their content thoroughly.

Step 1: Analyse the documents individually.

For a text,

1. Read it several times.
2. Ensure that you have identified the key elements (use the 5WH questions), the topic, the repetitions, the oppositions within the text.
3. The 5WH questions : You formulate questions relating to WHO (persons, individuals, groups, organisations), WHEN (date, period, month, year, temporal markers, tense), WHERE (places, locations, countries, towns or villages), WHY (justifications, reasons), WHAT (type of document, definition, topic, subject) and HOW (means, method, ways).
4. One way of ensuring you understand the document as a whole is to summarise the key ideas in your own words. You could possibly rephrase each paragraph in one sentence.

For an image,

1. Look at it and give your first impression (and most important the reasons you have this impression). It could be for the bright colours, the theme.
2. Look at the paratext to contextualise the document. Identify the type of document (cartoon, advert, magazine cover, oil painting, a gouache, a photograph, a still (a fixed image from a movie), a landscape, a portrait). Relate the date to your knowledge (historical, cultural, artistic and literary context). Check if the author/ painter is well-known or not.
3. Use the elements above to make a full presentation of the document (introduce and contextualise the document).
4. Then move on to the visual aspects, describe the document by using expressions of space (in the background, in the middle, in the foreground, on the top right, on the bottom left …).
5. Once the description is done, use your knowledge and the elements on the image to analyse the document (the message and objective of the author/painter/photograph, his intended audience, how does the image successfully or unsuccessfully convey the message to the targeted audience? )
6. You could give your point of view and suggest an opening.

For an audio document or a video,

1. The same steps for reading a text can be applied (see above).
2. Yet phonological devices should be taken into considerations as accentuation and intonation convey feelings and emotions. The national and regional accents enable us to identify the nationality of the speaker.
3. The combination of sound and moving images is an important element in videos. If it helps you understand a video, you may have to analyse any discrepancies.

Step 2: Once you have analysed the documents individually, you need to find the similarities and differences.

1. If one similarity is the topic/ subject, you have to explain how the authors approach the theme/topic/subject differently (in term of content and form).
2. Compare how the choice of different media impact the reader/audience. Argue why a medium is more effective in conveying a message than another.
3. Your work need to be well-structured (Introduction, body and conclusion; paragraphing; connecting words; coherence and cohesion in your work). In each paragraph, ensure that you use a catchphrase or an introductory sentence, you explain by using a quote and comment the quote. One paragraph = one idea.
4. You need to make a choice and put all your analysis only if it is possible. It is NOT COMPULSORY to put EVERYTHING.
5. The criteria are as usual : structure, language (use of specific vocabulary to the topic and to essay-writing; mastery of sentence structure, simple and complex sentences), your ideas and its formulation, your style and creativity in conducting this task.