SPEC 3.1.1 • PAPER 2 SECTION A: READING
Paper 2 Question 2:
Summary & Synthesis
The first cross-text question — and the one most students get capped on. What synthesis is, why it isn't summary, and how to clear the strictest rule on Paper 2.
Lesson 3.02 | AQA 8700 | AO1 · 8 marks · ~8 minutes
The First Cross-Text Question
Question 2 is the first question on either paper that asks you to work across both sources at once.
What it tests
AO1 — both bullets: identify and interpret information, and select and synthesise evidence from different texts. 8 marks, four levels of two marks, about 8 minutes.
The trap in one line
Most students treat this as a summary task and get capped at Level 2. The mark scheme rewards synthesis — a different, learnable skill.
The Stem and the Direction
Stem Pattern You need to refer to Source A and Source B for this question.
[Source A's X and Source B's Y are different / similar.]
Use details from both sources to write a summary of the [differences / similarities] between [X] and [Y]. [8 marks]
Read the direction first
The question asks for differences in 7 of 8 recent papers. The similarities variant is rare but real (it appeared in Nov 2023, on the similar ways nature can help people). Misreading the direction wrecks an otherwise strong response.
The focus changes paper to paper (places, companions, ways of getting to sleep) but is always a comparison between matching elements in the two sources.
Summary Is Not Synthesis
Summary
Reporting what each text says, separately. Scores at the bottom of the mark scheme.
Synthesis
Combining inferences from both texts into integrated comparative statements. Scores at the top.
Summary
"Source A is about a warehouse. Source B is about a lighthouse." — two facts side by side.
Synthesis
"The warehouse worker is directed by a system, whereas the keeper must be the system himself." — one sentence holding both.
What Synthesis Looks Like
Synthesis fuses an inference from each source into a single comparative statement:
Summary keeps A and B in separate boxes — that caps at Level 2. Synthesis fuses them — that reaches Level 3–4.
The Cap Rule That Catches Students
This is the strictest cross-text rule on Paper 2.
⚠️ ONE TEXT ONLY. A response that deals with just one source is capped at Level 1 (1 mark) or Level 2 (3 marks). You cannot reach Level 3 without genuine use of both sources.
⚠️ THE QUIETER TRAP. Two paragraphs — one per source, no comparative connectives — technically use both texts but read as parallel summaries glued together. These land at the upper end of Level 2, not Level 3.
The fix
Organise every paragraph around a comparative claim, not around a source.
The Connective Toolkit
Synthesis depends on a small set of phrases that explicitly hold the two texts together:
For differencesFor similaritiesFor complication
whereassimilarlyhowever
by contrastin the same wayalthough
in contrastbothyet
Sentence frame
"Where Source A focuses on…, Source B focuses on…" — a reliable structure for an entire response. A response with no comparative connectives is almost certainly two summaries glued together.
Paraphrase vs Inference
The Level 1 → Level 2 boundary is defined by whether you process the evidence or just restate it.
Paraphrase (L1)
"In Source A there is a barcode scanner."
Inference (L2+)
"In Source A the scanner suggests a workplace that controls every movement."
The mechanical fix
Every time you cite evidence, follow it with "this suggests…", "this implies…" or "this conveys…". The same detail carries different mark-scheme weight depending on whether you interpret it.
The Mark Scheme (8 marks)
Four levels of two marks. The descriptors turn on synthesis and inference:
LevelMarksWhat it does
Level 47–8Perceptive, sustained synthesis; perceptive inferences from both; judicious references
Level 35–6Clear synthesis with connectives; clear inferences from both; relevant references
Level 23–4Some inference; both texts addressed but loosely; some references
Level 11–2Paraphrase rather than inference; simple references
The Method
About eight minutes, five moves:
- 1Read the direction — differences or similarities? Underline it.
- 2Find the matching elements — the same aspect in each source (what A says about X, what B says about Y).
- 3Infer from each — anchor to a brief quotation from each source, then process it: "this suggests…", not just "this says…".
- 4Combine — fuse the two inferences with a comparative connective.
- 5Repeat — every paragraph is a comparative claim, not a source. Aim for two or three.
Evidence
Every level descriptor rewards references. Embed short quotations from both sources — judicious, not long. An inference with no quotation behind it, or a quotation with no inference in front of it, both leave marks on the table.
Worked Example — Two Workplaces
Two original non-fiction sources. Summarise the differences between the two workplaces.
Source A — modern Every parcel in the warehouse had a barcode, and so, it sometimes seemed, did I. A handheld scanner told me where to walk, how long I had, and whether I was falling behind. There were four hundred of us on the floor, and I rarely learned a single name.
Source B — 19th century On the rock there was no one to tell me what to do, and no one to do it for me. If the lamp failed at two in the morning, I climbed to it myself; if the storm took the boat, I waited weeks for another. I was never idle, and never — in any true sense — alone, for the sea kept its own restless company.
Levels 1 and 2
Level 1 · 1–2
Both texts, but pure paraphrase — no inference, no relationship between them.
Level 2 · 3–4
Some inference from each — but parallel, with no real comparative join. Upper Level 2 at best.
Levels 3 and 4
Level 3 · 5–6
Clear synthesis: a connective, an inference from both, held in one statement.
Level 4 · 7–8 "Source A's workplace is built so the system does the thinking and the worker simply executes, whereas Source B's demands that the individual be the system entirely. Where the warehouse surrounds its worker with four hundred others yet leaves him anonymous, the rock leaves the keeper physically alone yet, by his own account, never truly so — the real difference is not company but who carries the responsibility."
Why it's Level 4
Every sentence holds both texts at once — integrated, not sequential — and reads what each workplace is for (system vs individual responsibility), not just what it contains.
What the Examiners Said
This question is exactly where the AO1 examiner findings bite:
⚠️ EXAMINER ALERT. On Paper 2, examiners report that students retrieve information but find it difficult to interpret it — offering direct paraphrase rather than inferential understanding. On Q2 that is the precise difference between Level 1 and the higher bands.
⚠️ ADDITIVE, NOT INTEGRATED. Responses that address both sources but never connect them aren't capped by a rule — they simply score Level 2 on merit because they show no synthesis. The mark is lost not on knowledge but on integration.
Fix
Read your draft and underline every comparative connective. No connectives means no synthesis — go back and fuse the paragraphs.
Five Errors That Cap Your Mark
ErrorConsequenceThe fix
Summary, not synthesisParallel paragraphs cap at Level 2Every paragraph = a comparative claim
Paraphrase, no inferenceCaps at Level 1Follow each detail with "this suggests…"
Answering half the questionThin on one source caps at Level 2Give both sources equal weight
Wrong directionDifferences when it asked for similarities (or vice versa)Underline the direction in the stem
Comparing methods"How" the writers convey it scores nothing here (that's Q4/AO3)Stick to information and ideas
Practice Question
Source A — modern The new library had no librarian, only a row of self-service machines that beeped if you hesitated too long over a choice.
Source B — 19th century Old Mr Pryce knew every book on his shelves by its smell, and would not let you leave until he was satisfied you had chosen well.
Use details from both sources to summarise the differences between the two libraries. [8 marks]
L3+
"Whereas Source A's library replaces human judgement with machines that hurry the reader along, Source B's is organised entirely around one man's judgement — suggesting one space values speed while the other values care."
WHY
An inference from each source, fused with "whereas" into one comparative statement.
L1
By contrast, "Source A has machines and Source B has Mr Pryce" is bare paraphrase — both texts, but no inference and no relationship.
Summary
Key Points
8 marks · AO1 both bullets · ~8 minutes · four levels of two.
Synthesis, not summary — fuse an inference from each source into one comparative statement.
Cap rule: one text only → Level 1–2; both texts integrated needed for Level 3+.
Read the direction (differences in 7 of 8 papers; similarities rare).
Biggest trap
Two parallel summaries with no comparative connectives.
Avoid
Comparing methods — that's Q4. Here it's information and ideas only.
Exam Tip
Put a comparative connective in every paragraph and an inference behind every quotation. If you can't find a connective in your answer, you've written summary, not synthesis.
Next: The First Cross-Text Question