Title: Finding Your Voice – A Comparison of Communication Challenges Communication is one of the most important tools we have as humans.
This guide breaks down how to excel on an exam task about finding your voice, using a model essay that compares communication challenges to show you exactly what earns top marks for comparative analysis.
📋 Exam Question
Compare communication challenges in an English-language story of your choosing with either the short story "Who Said We All Have to All Talk Alike", the song "Talk", or one of the films in the preparation material. Your chosen story may be a film, TV series, short story, novel, song, game or other work of fiction.
In your text:
Briefly introduce your chosen stories.
Discuss relevant communication challenges in your stories, giving examples.
Reflect on what we can learn about communication from the stories you chose.
✏️ Model Answer
Title: Finding Your Voice – A Comparison of Communication Challenges
Communication is one of the most important tools we have as humans. But what happens when the way we speak is different from what others expect, or when we struggle to speak at all? In this text, I will compare communication challenges in the short story “Who Said We All Have to Talk Alike” by Varsha Shah and the film “The King’s Speech” directed by Tom Hooper.
“Who Said We All Have to Talk Alike” follows a girl who is proud of her background and her way of speaking. She uses a mix of English and her family's heritage language. However, she faces criticism from a teacher who tells her to "talk properly"—meaning to speak “standard English.” The girl is confused and hurt, because she sees her way of speaking as part of who she is. The story highlights how people are sometimes judged based on their accent or dialect, and how this can affect confidence and identity.
In “The King’s Speech”, Prince Albert, later King George VI of England, struggles with a stammer. Speaking in public is extremely difficult for him, which is a serious problem for someone who must lead a nation during war. He feels embarrassed, frustrated, and helpless. The film shows his journey with speech therapist Lionel Logue, who helps him gain confidence and improve his speech—not by changing who he is, but by understanding his fear and treating him with respect.
Both stories explore communication challenges from different perspectives. In “Who Said We All Have to Talk Alike”, the challenge comes from how someone speaks and the pressure to sound a certain way. The girl doesn’t have a problem communicating—others just don’t accept her voice. In “The King’s Speech”, the challenge is physical and emotional. The King knows what he wants to say, but he can’t always say it clearly. Both characters face pressure to conform and feel judged because of how they speak.
What these stories teach us is that communication is more than just pronunciation or grammar. It’s about connection, confidence, and being heard. The girl in Varsha Shah’s story learns that her voice matters and doesn’t need to be changed to fit others' expectations. The King learns that even someone with a speech disorder can inspire a nation when they speak with honesty and courage.
In a world with so many different languages, accents, and ways of expressing ourselves, it is important to accept and value all voices. These stories remind us that people shouldn’t have to change who they are to be understood. Communication is not just about talking the same—it’s about listening with respect. …