THE CLOSE READING PROCESS

WHAT IS CLOSE READING?

• Close reading involves critical analysis.

• It is NOT casual reading which seeks to summarize

events or evaluate the merit of thoughts and

emotions brought to life by the reading experience.

READ THE FOLLOWING AND THEN ANSWER THE QUESTIONS:

“A Flannerby Barp for Nall”

Nall was so plamper. She was larping to the flannerby with Charkle. She would grunk a flannerby barp so she could crooch out carpies. Charkle lanter her gib out the nep. “Parps, Charkle,” jibbed Nall plamperly. “Now we can crooch out carples together!” pifed Charkle trigly.

1. Who are the characters in this story?

2. What do we know about Nall?

3. Why did she want to grunk a flannerby barp?

4. Where did Charkle lant her gib?

5. Why was Charkle so excited?

What kind of questions are being asked? We don’t understand the meaning, but we can still understand the function. When close reading, you can’t just rely on understanding function. Close reading involves both!

CLOSE READING CENTERS ON 2 BASIC QUESTIONS:

• What does the author say? (Meaning – beyond the

literal)

• How does the author say it? (Method)

HOW DOES THE STUDENT “CLOSE READ?”

Step 1: READ!!! Read the passage at least twice.

• Read the literature for literal meaning (learn the

characters and plot). Learn precisely what occurs.

• Reread word by word, phrase by phrase,

sometimes aloud and thoughtfully.

HOW DOES THE STUDENT “CLOSE READ?”

Step 2: Make up your own title for this poem or

passage, and write a (brief) plot summary for the

piece.

HOW DOES THE STUDENT “CLOSE READ?”

Step 3: Determine point-of-view of speaker and his/her

objectivity.

HOW DOES THE STUDENT “CLOSE READ?”

Step 4: What do you know about the setting? Be as

specific as possible.

HOW DOES THE STUDENT “CLOSE READ?”

Step 5: Note carefully structure, style, form, poetic or

literary devices.

For instance …

EXAMINE STRUCTURE

• Ask and answer broad questions on structure. (Plot structure; what does the organization of the plot suggest? Diction level? Sentence structure?)

• Ask and answer specific questions on structure components. What about conflict-climax-denouement? Reversals? Foreshadowing? How and/or why are they used? What is implied/stated by these?

LITERARY ELEMENTS

• Ask and answer broad questions on literary

elements (i.e. character, imagery, point of view,

theme, irony, stream of consciousness, tone, genre,

subject). These questions involve examining the

forest, not the trees; you’re looking for the overall

impact of these elements and their

interrelationships.

LITERARY ELEMENTS CONT’D.

• Ask and answer specific questions on literary

elements. What function does each character

serve? Why? How does a specific image work? In

harmony? Otherwise? Does the point of view shift?

Why? Is the point of view constant? (These are the

kinds of questions one would ask.)

PATTERNS OF REPETITION

• Look for recurring patterns (i.e. motifs – recurring

themes in a work of literature).

• Examine the unusual.

• Examine the omitted.

SYMBOL USAGE

• Do not overdo with symbols, but stay aware that

some things do have a meaning beyond their literal

one.

HOW DOES THE STUDENT “CLOSE READ?”

Step 6: What purpose does this poem or passage

achieve?

Purpose is extremely important! It’s why you do close

reading.

Everything on the AP exam is motivated by purpose!!!

PURPOSE

• Close Reading involves:

• Meaning: What does the author say?

• Method: How does the author say it?

• However, the goal of close reading is to establish

purpose: why does the author use this method?

PURPOSE

• In essence, why did the author choose the point of

view, tone, rhetorical strategies, stylistic devices, et

cetera? These choices are the ones that allow the

author to achieve his purpose.

• For you, the reader, you must draw inferences as to

why the author chose the particular: what to say

and how to say it.

• Here’s an example of purpose in writing …

PURPOSE

• To move from gaining in-depth insight, providing

apt and specific support to discussing purpose,

effect, or reason for strategies used by an author,

many students struggle with the latter. Here are

some words and phrases that may help you move

to higher level of purpose…

• Serves to

• Adds to

• Enriches the

• Shows

• Demonstrates

• Suggests

• Illustrates

• Emphasizes

• Reveals

• Portrays

• Exemplifies

• Explains

• Elaborates

• Conveys

• Implies

• Infers

• Translates to

• Proposes

• Reflects

• Contributes to

• Lets the reader know

• Employs

• Foreshadows

• Allows the reader

• Stresses the

• Is supported by

• Completes the

• Characterizes

WHAT TO NOTICE IN A CLOSE READING:

Look for Literary Devices: - irony: dramatic, situational, verbal - Poetic devices; diction - Sentence structure; structure of work. - First chapter, act, scene - Narrator—who, why, reliable or unreliable - Unusual or foreign words - Reference to art, literature, or events - Title, first line, last line - Doubles parallels - Predictions—true and false - symmetry

LOOK FOR ASPECTS RELATED TO THE CHARACTERS:

• Clothes • Sane/insane

• Changes in type or style of language

• Movement pattern-where does he/she go?

• Foils • Roles of women and men

• Any type of role reversal

• Leadership styles

• Money, wealth, acquisitions • Health, injuries, illness, vulnerabilities

• Physical appearance—does it fit personality?

• Body parts • innocence/experience

LOOK FOR THE FOLLOWING REGARDING ENVIRONMENT:

• Animals, insects, birds

• Air, earth, fire, water

• Landscapes (gardens, forests, deserts)

• City/town

• Disasters—plagues, famines, crop failure

• Stars, sky, universe, horizon

• Flowers, plants, trees, etc.

LOOK FOR THE FOLLOWING SYMBOLS:

• Numbers

• Colors

• Light/dark

• Hot/cold

• Hard/soft

• Names—illusive and ironic

• Weather—snow, rain, wind, dust, sun, shade

• Bodies of water

• Objects of any sort

• Food, drink, medicine, cigarettes, etc.

• Mirrors and other reflecting surfaces

• Religious references—crosses, 30 pieces of silver

• Toys

• Wood, straw, grass; metals: gold, silver, copper, etc.

LOOK FOR THESE REFERENCES TO TIME AND PLACE:

• Time—clocks, watches, day of week, month of year,

time of day, seasons; anachronisms

• Place—directions: north, south, east, west; nations,

continents, planets, etc.

EXAMINE PHYSICAL STRUCTURES:

• Windows, doors, gates, bridges, houses, castles,

church, courthouse, Main Street, highways, streets,

roads, etc.

LOOK FOR REFERENCES TO PAIN OR DEATH:

• Hell, devils, fire, inferno, etc.

• Shackles, ropes, chains, traps, gates, prison, jails,

strings, scissors.

• Manner of death—hanging, guillotine, pound of

flesh, long and lingering, starvation, pleasant.

• War

MISCELLANEOUS:

• Mythological references – Icarus, Zeus, etc.

• Role of machinery, technology

• Type of transportation—ships, trains, coaches, walking, etc.

• Geometric shapes, crosses, whirlpools, etc.

• Bodily fluids—blood, sweat, tears, bile, etc.

• Biblical references – Adam, crucifixion, blood, bread, lambs, pale horse, etc.

• Sight, blindness, eyes, Apollo, sunrise, etc.

• Coincidences

• Music—songs, hymns, prayers, chants

LOOK FOR THE CONCEPTS YOU LEARNED IN …

• How to Read Literature Like a Professor

HERE’S AN EXAMPLE OF CLOSE READING

• From a passage in Pride and Prejudice…

• http://www.showme.com/sh/?h=0q9VlD6

Practice a close reading on the following passage. Be sure to follow the 6 steps.

Every morning before breakfast, and before I come here, your mother and I go to the

guest room, the animals follow us, I thumb through the blank pages and gesture laughter and

gesture tears, if she asks what I'm laughing or crying about, I tap my finger on the page, and if

she asks, 'Why?' I press her hand against her heart, and then against my heart, or I touch her

forefinger to the mirror, or touch it, quickly, against the hotplate, sometimes I wonder if she

knows, I wonder in my Nothingest moments if she's testing me, if she types nonsense all day long,

or types nothing at all, just to see what I'll do in response, she wants to know if I love her, that's all

anyone wants from anyone else, not love itself but the knowledge that love is there, like new

batteries in the flashlight in the emergency kit in the hall closet, 'Don't let anyone see it,' I told her

that morning she first showed it to me, and maybe I was trying to protect her, and maybe I was

trying to protect myself, 'We'll have it be our secret until it's perfect. We'll work on it together. We'll

make it the greatest book anyone has ever written.' 'You think that's possible?' she asked,

outside, leaves fell from the trees, inside, we were letting go of our concern for that kind of truth,

'I do,' I said by touching her arm, 'If we try hard enough.' She reached her hands in front of her

and found my face, she said, 'I'm going to write about this.' Ever since that day I've been

encouraging her, begging her, to write more, to shovel deeper, 'Describe his face,' I tell her,

running my hand over the empty page, and then, the next morning, 'Describe his eyes,' and

then, holding the page to the window, letting it fill with light, 'Describe his irises,' and then, 'His

pupils.' She never asks, 'Whose?' She never asks, 'Why?' Are they my own eyes on those pages?

I've seen the left stack double and quadruple, I've heard of asides that have become tangents

that have become passages that have become chapters, and I know, because she told me,

that what was once the second sentence is now the second-to-last. Just two days ago she said

that her life story was happening faster than her life, 'What do you mean?' I asked with my

hands, 'So little happens,' she said, 'and I'm so good at remembering.' 'You could write about the

store?' 'I've described every diamond in the case.' 'You could write about other people.' 'My life

story is the story of everyone I've ever met.' 'You could write about your feelings.' She asked,

'Aren't my life and my feelings the same thing?' – ELIC, page 130

FRQ 3 – OPEN TOPIC

An individual’s struggle toward understanding and awareness is a traditional subject for the novelist. In an essay apply this statement to ELIC. Organize your essay according to the following plan:

- Compare the hero as we see him in an early scene with the hero as we see him in a scene near the end of the novel.

- Describe the techniques that the author uses to reveal the new understanding and awareness the hero has achieved.

Do not merely summarize the plot. Be specific in your illustrations.

BREAKING DOWN THE PROMPT

Theme: Struggle toward understanding and

awareness.

Tasks:

1. Compare hero in early scene with later scene.

2. Describe techniques author uses to reveal the new

understanding and awareness.

BREAKING DOWN THE PROMPT

Early Struggle Later

Awareness

Techniques that reveal

DEVELOPING THE OPENING PARAGRAPH

• Opening paragraph must: • Include the author’s full name and the full

title

• Address ALL aspects of the prompt: • Address both scenes (compare hero at the

beginning with hero at the end)

• Address the techniques used to reveal the awareness

• Write a thesis statement that answers the prompt. Do not merely repeat the prompt.

DEVELOPING THE BODY OF THE ESSAY

• Include the following in the body of the essay: • Present your interpretation and the points you wish to make that are

related to the prompt.

• Use specific references and details from the chosen work. [PLOT] • Incorporate direct quotes when possible.

• Place quotation marks around those words or phrases taken directly from the work.

• Move to purpose (explain the specific details significance; interpret the evidence) [THOUGHT]

• Use connective tissue in your essay to establish adherence to the question. • Use the repetition of key ideas in the prompt and in your opening paragraph.

• Try using “echo words” (i.e. synonyms such as transformation, change, metamorphosis or awareness, understanding, knowledge, comprehension).

• Use transitions from one paragraph to the next.

HALLMARKS OF A HIGH SCORING ESSAY

1. It addresses all aspects of the prompt.

2. It is highly detailed.

3. It demonstrates strong topic adherence.

4. There is strong integration of specifics to support

the thesis.

5. There is a perceptive analysis.

6. There is a clear linear development of the essay.

7. The essay is NOT repetitive and utilizes echo words.

8. There are very few syntax and diction errors.

AVOID THESE PITFALLS:

• Plot summaries

• Generalizations

• References to terms without qualifications or

specific support (i.e. “the author uses sentence

structure” – all author’s use sentence structure!)

• Repeating the same idea (over and over…)

THE END …

• For now!

ANOTHER OPTION:

The meaning of some literary works is often

enhanced by sustained allusion to myths, the Bible, or

Shakespeare. ELIC makes use of such sustained

reference to Shakespeare. Write a well-organized

essay in which you explain the allusion that

predominates in the work and analyze how it

enhances the meaning.