Its in there, now find it! How to do a Close Reading
Slide 2
The Goal Identify reoccurring images, symbols trends or
patterns for the purpose of creating meaning of a body of
text.
Slide 3
In other words Figure out what the author did, why it was done,
and how does it affect the meaning of the text.
Slide 4
1. Read with a pencil in hand, and annotate the text. 2. Look
for patterns in the things youve noticed about the text. 3. Ask
questions about the patterns you've noticed especially how and why.
steps
http://www.fas.harvard.edu/~wricntr/documents/CloseReading.html
Slide 5
Read with a pencil in hand, and annotate the text. Underline
things that you think are importantanything that strikes you as
surprising or significant, or that raises questions In the margins
of the passage, write one or two words that summarize key
passages.
Slide 6
Look for patterns in the things youve noticed about the text.
Does an image here remind you of an image elsewhere in the book?
Where? What's the connection? How might this image fit into the
pattern of the book as a whole? Could this passage symbolize the
entire work? Could this passage serve as a microcosm--a little
picture--of what's taking place in the whole work?
http://web.cn.edu/kwheeler/reading_lit.html
Slide 7
Look for patterns in the things youve noticed about the text.
What is the sentence rhythm like? Short and choppy? Long and
flowing? Does it build on itself or stay at an even pace? What is
the style like? Look at the punctuation. Is there anything unusual
about it? Is there any repetition within the passage? What is the
effect of that repetition?
http://web.cn.edu/kwheeler/reading_lit.html
Slide 8
Look for patterns in the things youve noticed about the text.
How many types of writing are in the passage? (For example,
narration, description, argument, dialogue, rhymed or alliterative
poetry, etc.) What is left out or kept silent? What would you
expect the author to talk about that the author avoided? Can you
identify paradoxes in the author's thought or subject?
http://web.cn.edu/kwheeler/reading_lit.html
Slide 9
Ask questions about the patterns you've noticedespecially how
and why. Why does the author keep describing a certain color, sound
or object? What effect does this have on the text? What would have
happened if X were different? Why did the author go out of his way
to? Is this subject matter an anomaly for its time period? Is this
a message that women commonly shared?
