- Question 13 of the Pearson Edexcel Functional Skills English Level 2 Reading exam asks students to compare similar ideas between two texts and provide a quotation from each text to support each similarity. It is worth 6 marks, more than any other question. - To earn full marks, students must identify two similarities between the texts and provide a directly quoted sentence from each text that supports each similarity. Many students struggle to identify the similarities. - The document provides guidance on how to successfully answer Question 13, including how to identify and note relevant details from each text, write paragraphs comparing the similarities and quotations, and examples of both strong and weak student answers.

1. Pearson Edexcel Functional Skills English Level 2
Reading Exam
 Comparing texts to identify similarities - Question 13

2. Question 13
In the Pearson Edexcel reading exam, Question 13 is the highest marked question.
It is worth a total of 6 marks. Being able to answer this question successfully can make
all the difference to your final overall score for the exam.
You have to compare similar ideas in Text A and Text C. You also have to give one
quotation from both texts to support each similarity.
This is what the Principal Examiner at Pearson Edexcel had to say about candidates’
performance on Question 13:
This is a challenging question and the average score was 2.73 out of 6.
Most candidates were able to choose relevant quotations from each text,
but they often struggled to identify the similarity.

3. 13 Compare similar ideas from Text A and Text C about what you need to get started in a
career.
In your answer you should:
give two similarities from these texts about what you need to get started in a career
give one quotation from Text A and one quotation from Text C to support each similarity.
Identify the keywords in the question — you will find these at the end of the task statement.

4. 13 Compare similar ideas from Text A and Text C about what you need to get started in a
career.
In your answer you should:
give two similarities from these texts about what you need to get started in a career
give one quotation from Text A and one quotation from Text C to support each similarity.
Make a note of the keywords in the task statement on a blank sheet of paper if it helps you to remember
them.

5. 13 Compare similar ideas from Text A and Text C about what you need to get started in a
career.
In your answer you should:
give two similarities from these texts about what you need to get started in a career
give one quotation from Text A and one quotation from Text C to support each similarity.
It will also be useful to make a note of the number of similarities and quotations you have to find so
that you don’t forget to include all the evidence you need for the full 6 marks.

6. Scan Text A carefully and make a note of
anything to do with the keywords - what you
need to get started in a career.
Try to find 2 ideas if you can and jot them
down - better if you can put them into your
own words.

7. This is one idea that is relevant to the topic -
“enhance your CV”.

8. This is another idea that is relevant to the
topic - “demonstrating how hard you can
work”.
You have now found 2 ideas from Text A that
are both relevant to the topic of getting
started in the right career.
Time to look at Text C...

9. Scan Text C carefully to find similar ideas to
those you found in Text A.

10. Here is one idea that is similar to the idea in
Text A about having a good CV.

11. Here is another idea similar to the one in
Text A about showing how you can work hard.

12. Once you have identified two similar ideas or views in Text A and Text C, get the
quotations to support them — 2 from Text A and 2 from Text C.

13. Here is the first quote from Text A: “enhance
your CV”

14. Here is the second quote from Text A:
“demonstrating how hard you can work”.

15. Here is the first matching quote from Text C:
“strengthened my CV”.

16. Here is the second matching quote from Text
C: “prepared to work very, very hard”.

17. Writing an answer to Question 13
The important thing to remember is that you don’t have to write a long and detailed
answer to Question 13 to get the full 6 marks.
As long as you have identified two similar ideas and as long as you have found the
relevant quotations for both similarities, there is no reason why you wouldn’t be
awarded full marks.

18. Writing an answer to Question 13
Here are some sentence stems to help you write about the similarities:
Both texts tell us...
Both texts say/mention...
Text A and Text C both say/mention...
Giving the quotations:
Text A says/tells us...
Text C says/tells us...
You must write two paragraphs — the first paragraph for the first similarity, and the
second paragraph for the second similarity.

19. Writing an answer to Question 13
Here is an example of an answer with the similar ideas and supporting quotations
highlighted:
Both texts mention the importance of having a strong CV. For example, Text A says
“enhanced my CV” and Text C says “strengthened my CV”.
Another similar idea between both texts is that you should show you can work hard.
Text A tells us you have to take every chance of “demonstrating how hard you can work”,
while Text C tells us you should be “prepared to work very, very hard”.

20. Now let’s take a look at some sample answers from exam candidates to Question 13...

21. This candidate scored only 1 mark out of 6 for
selecting one relevant quotation from Text A.
The other three quotations are not relevant to
the task. Two of the quotations are taken from
Text B instead of Text C.
No similarities have been identified.

22. This candidate managed to score 3 marks out
of 6.
They identified one relevant similarity
between Text A and Text C (“Both talk about”)
and gave an appropriate supporting quotation
from each text.
The other similarity and supporting
quotations were not rewarded because they
were about a language feature (3rd person,
although the quotations show that the
language feature is direct address, not 3rd
person).
This is a reminder to you to focus on the
topic you are given for Question 13.

23. To recap...
Question 13 is the highest marked question in the reading exam, worth a total of
6 marks. Being able to get the full marks can make all the difference to your final
overall score for the exam.
You have to compare similar ideas in Text A and Text C. You also have to give
one quotation from both texts to support each similarity.
To succeed in answering this question, you need to make sure you identify two
similar ideas in Text A and Text C, and support them with relevant quotations
from both texts.