CLOSE READING - some hints

-

Ensure you are familiar with the key command words and what they mean:

  • Identify
  • Explain
  • Analyse
  • Summarise
  • Evaluate
     
    Own words Question
    1. Find the answer in the passage - LOCATE
    2. Highlight or underline the answer.
    3. Now reword it taking care not to use the words you have underlined - TRANSLATE
    4. Bullet point your answer – use the number of marks on offer to dictate the number of points you make.
     
    Context Question
    1. Give the meaning of the word.
    2. Quote a word or phrase or refer to a technique from the context that led you to this meaning.
    3. Explain how this word/phrase/technique helps you understand the meaning of the original word.
     
    Linking Sentence Question
    1. Quote the linking word or phrase (if there is one) and explain its function.
    2. Quote the words that link back to the previous paragraph. Explain what the previous point is.
    3. Quote the words that introduce the next point. Explain what point the writer goes on to make.
     
    Summarising Question
    This is usually a big mark question. Use the number of marks to work out how many points you should make. Bullet point your answer
    1. Treat this as an extended own words question
    2. Break down the chunk of text you are to look at into smaller chunks and work out the key idea in each
    3. Ensure that you write out each point in your own words
     
    Imagery Question
    1. Identify the image (what is being compared to what?)
    2. Give the literal meaning of the image.
    3. Explain the connection between the two. (Just as…. so….)
    4. Explain the effectiveness of the comparison – ensure you have answered the question
     
     
    Word Choice Question
    1. Quote a word/phrase.
    2. Explain the connotations of the word/phrase (what you associate with the word).
    3. Explain what this suggests about what the writer is describing.
     
    Sentence Structure Question
    1. Identify/name/quote a technique of sentence structure
    2. Comment on the effects of its use and how this fits with/helps you to understand the point the writer is making in these lines.
     
    To help you find relevant features to comment on, follow these steps:
    1. What type of sentence(s) is/are being used?
    Statement
    Question/rhetorical question
    Exclamation
    Command
    Minor sentence
     
    2. How is the punctuation used to divide up the sentence?
    Commas - a list or breaking a complex sentence into clauses?
    Colons
    Semi-colons
    Parenthesis
    Single dash
     
    3. Is there anything unusual about the structure of the sentence?
    Inversion
    Repetition
    Climax or anti-climax
    Antithesis
     
    4. Do the sentences form a pattern?
    Repetitive or balanced structure
    Contrast between complex and short sentences
     
    Tone Question
    1. Identify the tone employed by the writer
    2. Quote a word/phrase/image which reveals the tone and explain how it does so
     
    Effective as a Conclusion Question
    1. Does it sum up the main points? Quote and explain what they are and quote or summarise where they were made earlier on in the passage.
    2. Does it restate the writer’s point to view? Quote and explain what it is, then quote from earlier in passage and explain the link.
    3. Does it link back to the introduction? How? Quote and explain.
    4. Does it use word choice/imagery begun in the introduction or used throughout passage? Quote and explain from both the conclusion and from earlier in the passage.

Popular posts from this blog

Walt Kowalski - character development in 'Gran Torino' dir. Clint Eastwood

-
The following item gives an account of the development of the character of Walt Kowalski in 'Gran Torino'. Reading it may be useful in understanding the sorts of things you could explain in a critical essay. Also, the development of the character of Walt is important in the film, because it goes hand in hand with the development of his relationship with Thao and the development of the theme of respect. Clearly, since this is taken from the internet, it cannot be copied. This would be plagiarism.. A film in which there is a character who becomes a hero is ‘Gran Torino’, directed by and starring Clint Eastwood. The story is set in modern day Detroit, where the central character, Walt Kowalski, a retired car plant worker and Korean War veteran, struggles to come to terms with the changes in his community. In particular, the plot revolves around his unlikely friendship with Thao, a teenage boy from a Hmong immigrant family. The first time we see Walt is a close up of h...
Read more

'Gran Torino' dir. Clint Eastwood - analysis of 'sacrifice' sequence

-
Image
Below is an example of how someone wrote about 'Gran Torino'. It is an old essay, it answers a specific question, it does not use the PEAR paragraph and it is also very long - you only have forty-five minutes - nonetheless, it may be useful to have a look at it, to get some ideas. Remember that, because this essay appears on the internet, copying it is plagiarism. . Choose a scene or sequence from a film which is particularly dramatic. Describe what happens in the scene or sequence, explaining how the film makers effectively use techniques to create drama. A film in which there is a particularly dramatic sequence is ‘Gran Torino’, directed by and starring Clint Eastwood. The story is set in modern day Detroit, where the central character, Walt Kowalski, a retired car plant worker and Korean War veteran, struggles to come to terms with the changes in his community. In particular, the plot revolves around his unlikely friendship with Thao, a teenage ...
Read more

'Gran Torino' dir. Clint Eastwood - 'sacrifice' sequence 'screenplay'

-
Image
Evening – It is dark. Low level shot of gang’s flats. Virtually Walt’s point of view. Reverse shot of Walt approaching flats. Sound of crickets, dog barking and people within buildings. Closer shot of flats. Blind moves. Smokie exits door to top of steps, followed by Spider. Smokie and Spider’s point of view shot of Walt.             WALT            Any swamp rats in there? Long shot from behind Walt           SMOKIE           I didn’t think your ass would have came...           WALT           Shut up, gook!   Medium shot of Smokie and Spider Low angled long shot of Walt. Reverse shot – another door opens. Back to low angle reverse shot of Walt.         ...
Read more