Writers' viewpoints and perspectives

A viewpoint is what a writer thinks about a topic; their perspective is shaped by when and where they lived and what they experienced. In GCSE English Language Paper 2 you compare two writers, often one from the nineteenth century and one from today. The texts here were written for Calcali, the older ones in the style of their time.

Key facts

  • Find each writer's viewpoint: what do they want the reader to believe? Look at their strongest words.
  • Decide whether the writers agree, disagree, or agree about some things but not others.
  • Think about perspective: a writer in the 1850s may see work, travel or cities very differently from a writer today because their world was different.
  • Compare methods as well as views: tone, word choice, examples, facts and formality.
  • Link the two texts with comparative words: ⟦both⟧, ⟦similarly⟧ and ⟦likewise⟧ for agreement; ⟦whereas⟧, ⟦however⟧ and ⟦in contrast⟧ for difference.

Worked examples

Example 1

Text A (1840s): ⟦These railways are a menace.⟧ Text B (today): ⟦Trains are one of the greenest ways to travel.⟧ Do they agree?

  1. Writer A sees railways as dangerous; Writer B praises trains for the environment.
  2. They are on opposite sides, so they disagree.

Answer: they disagree

Example 2

Why might the writer in the 1840s fear trains?

  1. In the 1840s, railways had only just appeared and seemed fast and frightening.
  2. Writer B lives with trains every day and worries about pollution instead.

Answer: ⟦Railways were new and unfamiliar in his time.⟧

Example 3

Choose the linking word: ⟦Writer A praises a brisk walk; ___, Writer B says walking lifts your mood.⟧

  1. Both writers praise walking: they agree.
  2. ⟦similarly⟧ links two views that agree; ⟦in contrast⟧ would be wrong.

Answer: ⟦similarly⟧