How do I choose which pieces to compare?

There is no right combination in the case of a comparative unseen analysis, but for the purposes of the ELAT, choosing two or three texts that lend themselves to an interesting angle of comparison is perhaps the best approach. Texts which present obvious differences, but less obvious similarities, often lead to the strongest responses. For example, in a paper on life and death, the texts could be thematically different, with one discussing youth and the other old age, but both might be written from the same narrative perspective. Alternatively, the texts could be structurally and formally different, one in verse and the other in prose, but both could be discussing birth, for example. A discussion of both difference and similarity gives you an opportunity to both closely and comparatively analyse to texts, as well as allowing you to structure your response around either a central difference or similarity.