To compare viewpoints well, you name what the writers share and then the precise point where they part. This skill appears in tasks that give you two texts, or two voices inside one text.
It follows from explaining language choices, because the difference between writers often lives in their word choices. Chinese passages stay in Simplified Chinese, with English explanation.
How do you compare without flattening?
Work through four moves.
- Shared ground: what do both accept as true?
- The split: what exactly do they disagree about (cause, cost, remedy, value)?
- Evidence from each: one short quotation from each writer.
- What it reveals: what attitude does each choice of words show?
Always compare point by point. Avoid a block on writer A followed by a block on writer B.
Worked example
Two invented passages, written for this lesson.
甲：课堂上的手机，就像桌上一杯随时会洒的水。收起来，是对所有人的保护。
乙：手机本身没有错，错的是没有规则。让学生学会在需要时用、不需要时放下，比一刀切收走更有用。
Question: compare the two writers’ views on phones in class.
Shared ground. Both accept that phones can cause trouble in class.
The split. 甲 locates the problem in the phone itself. 乙 locates it in the lack of rules (错的是没有规则).
Evidence. 甲 uses 随时会洒的水 (“a glass of water that may spill at any moment”) and the remedy 收起来 (“put them away”). 乙 says 手机本身没有错 (“the phone itself is not at fault”) and prefers 学会……放下 (“learn to put it down”).
What it reveals. 甲 treats students as at risk and prefers a protective ban. 乙 treats students as able to learn self-control.
Full answer: Both writers accept that phones can disrupt lessons, but 甲 blames the device, calling it 随时会洒的水 and wanting it 收起来, while 乙 blames missing rules (没有规则) and wants students to learn when to put it down.
A common mistake
Weak answer: 甲和乙都谈手机，只是看法不同。
This is flattened. It does not say what the views are, what they share or where they differ. Nothing in it needs the passages.
Correction: name the shared ground (phones can disrupt) and the exact split (the device versus the missing rules), each with a short quotation.
Self-check
- In the example, what do 甲 and 乙 agree on?
Show answer
That phones can cause problems in class. The disagreement is about where the problem comes from and what should be done.- Which phrase from 乙 shows the difference in remedy?
Show answer
比一刀切收走更有用. 乙 rejects a blanket ban and prefers teaching students to manage their own use.- Rewrite 甲和乙都谈手机，只是看法不同 as a precise comparison in one sentence.
Show answer
Sample: Both see phones as a risk, but 甲 wants them 收起来 because the device is the danger, while 乙 says 没有规则 is the real fault and favours teaching students to put it down.Where next?
Continue with Connect structure with meaning. The module overview shows how this lesson fits, and the writing revision compare view is useful for improving a comparison paragraph draft by draft.
For individual feedback on comparison answers, see Chinese tuition.