The Art and Craft of Analysis

Close Reading

Close reading asks you to do the opposite of what you spend most of your time doing in other classes: boiling down large amounts of information to thoroughly understandable/memorable chunks that are possible to reproduce on exams. I, on the other hand, am asking you to begin with a very small amount of information and infer from it, meditate on it, weave back and forth between it and the rest of the text. This makes it a totally foreign, and often frustrating process, especially for good students who have learned to read quickly, looking for only the most important information.

So…the NUMBER ONE thing to remember is to SLOW DOWN!!!!!

Close Reading But it is also a conversation….which you

are all VERY good at.

Teaser….What do Kim Kardashian and Channing Tatum have to do with close reading???

Stay tuned….

Close ReadingUnderstanding and interpreting the text based on the words

Start with the small details first—they will affect the text’s larger meaning

Once you have discovered the larger meaning, go back to those small details you started with and use these—the language itself—to support your interpretation

Close Readingclose reading becomes easier with practice and we use it unconsciously—and instantaneously every day as we respond to people and situations.

For example….What do you see?

For example…You probably noticed her hair, maybe her facial

expression, first. THEN you started making interpretations of who you thought she might be.

Same idea with reading….you notice smaller details, like certain words the author might use, and then you start to make interpretations based on all of those small details you found.

You can then go back and SUPPORT what you think this woman might do for a living, based on those small details.

Yes, it takes a little longer…but you understand the text in a different and deeper way!

Close ReadingWe are aware of the interaction between subject, speaker, and audience

We also consider style; body language, gestures, facial expressions, tone of voice, volume, sentence structure, colloquialisms, vocabulary and more

Close Reading: Textual Example Read alone : Ground Zero Identify the passage’s context and purpose (and

speaker)Context- the circumstances around a certain event or

situation. For example, if I see a person yelling “Shut up!” to another person on the side of a street, I might think, “Hey, that person is rude!” But perhaps what I did not see was the other person call them a poopy head. That is the context- the calling of names before the incident I saw.

Purpose- Why would the author write this piece? What motives? What inspiration?

**After reading alone and finding these out, when you think you have it- turn to your partner and see what

they think. Decide together.**

Close ReadingContext and Purpose:

Speaker: The writer, female, and not a New Yorker

Context: Visit to ground zero and is awed by the emptiness that was once the World Trade Center

Purpose: to describe the experience to readers who seven months later still feel the immediacy of that September morning.

Close ReadingAnalyze the

passage through the Rhetorical Triangle

Consider the interaction between subject, speaker, and audience.

Consider how she appeals to ethos, pathos, and logos

Audience

Writer/author /speaker

Subject/ text

Close Reading Ethos: ethical appeal; to convince an

audience of the author’s credibility or character

Pathos: emotional appeal; to persuade an audience by appealing to their emotions

Logos: logical appeal; to convince an audience using logic or reason

Now for some fun with pictures….

Examples:If he tells you to buy a certain brand of

cereal, are you more likely to buy it? SO, what appeal is this company using?

Examples:This cigarette company is trying to let

everyone think that their brand is “natural” and therefore “safe.” What appeal is this company using?

Examples:Mrs. Sellors cries every time these

commercials come on TV (and then gives her Chihuahuas big hugs). This company has achieved their purpose which is to appeal to my ________.

Close ReadingSo, who is the audience?Where can you find ethos, pathos or logos?Read again (alone) and once you’ve got it,

check with a partner and come up with your answer!

Close ReadingBerne’s audience, readers of the travel

section of a national newspaper, may be planning their own visit and thus interested in her personal experience.

Ethos established by actually going to Ground Zero

Pathos established by the emotionally charged subject.

Logos to show that visitors to the site are repopulating the area that was decimated on Sept. 11th.

Close Reading: StyleExamining Berne’s style provides information about the choices she makes at the word and sentence levels.

Close Reading: StyleJust as we pay attention to more than the

spoken words during a conversation, when we read closely, we look beyond the words on the page. And just as we notice body language, gestures, facial expressions, and volume in our conversations, we examine text in the same manner.

Close Reading: StyleWe can understand a text better by

examining its tone, sentence structure, and vocabulary.

These elements make up the style of the written piece and help us to discover layers of meaning.

Style contributes to the meaning, purpose, and effect of a text, whether it is visual or written.

Style sunglassesHair up

Smiling- on the phone

Oversized bag…looks like she is in an airport garage

So…what is the “tone” you get from her style? The structure of her look?

This same method applies to WORDS.

Close Reading: StyleWhy is the first paragraph one sentence?In that paragraph, why does Berne call the

empty space “the disaster”?Why does the third sentence begin with

“Gathered” rather than “Firefighters”?What examples of figurative language

appear in the fourth paragraph?Does the word huddled in the fourth

paragraph remind you of anything else you’ve read?

What is the effect of the dashes in the final sentence?

Close Reading: StyleThese questions fall into two categories: 1. the choice of words and2. how the words are arranged.

We call the choice of words DICTION and the arrangement of words SYNTAX.

Close Reading: StyleTropes is essentially artful diction.MetaphorSimilePersonificationHyperbole

Close Reading: StyleScheme is artful syntax.

ParallelismJuxtapositionsantitheses

Close Reading: Analyze Diction

1. Which of the important words in the passage (verbs, nouns, adjectives, and adverbs) are general and abstract. Which are specific and concrete?

2. Are the important words formal, and informal, colloquial, or slang?

3. Are some words non-literal or figurative, creating figures of speech such as metaphors?

Close Reading: Analyze Syntax1. What is the order of the parts of the

sentence? Is it the usual (subject-verb-object, or is it inverted?

2. Which part of speech is more prominent—nouns or verbs?

3. What parts of speech is more prominent—nouns or verbs?

Close Reading: Analyze Syntax4. What are the sentences like? Are they

periodic (moving toward something important at the end) or cumulative (adding details that support an important idea in the beginning of the sentence?

5. How does the sentence connect its words, phrases, and clauses?

Close Reading: Talking with the TextPay close attention to the choices a writer makes in the way he or she connects subject, speaker, and audience as well as the choices the writer makes about style.

Style is a subset—it is a means of persuasion.

Close Reading: Talking with the Text

As you interact with the text, keep in mind that you’re not only identifying techniques and strategies, but you are also analyzing their effect.

Close Reading: Talking with the TextEssential Question:

How do Didion’s choices in diction and syntax help her achieve a particular purpose?

Read Didion essay “Los Angeles Notebook”

Close Reading: AnnotationRead with a pen or pencil in hand.

Use Post-it notes if writing in the book is not possible.

Circle words you don’t know, or write them on Post-it notes.

Circle words you don’t know, or write them on Post-it notes.

Identify main ideas—thesis statement, topic sentences words, phrases, or sentences that you don’t understand.

Close Reading: AnnotationIdentify main ideas—thesis statement, topic sentences words, phrases, or sentences that you don’t understand.

Look for figures of speech, or tropes, such as metaphors, similes, and personification—as well as imagery and detail.

Close Reading: AnnotationIf you don’t know the technical term for something, just describe it.

Use the margins or Post-it notes to ask questions or to comment on what you have read.

Close Reading: Graphic OrganizerDivide the text to begin your analysis by using the paragraph divisions in the text as natural breaking points, or perhaps consider smaller sections that reveal interesting stylistic choices.

This should not be used during a timed writing because if the amount of time it takes to complete.