1 / 15

The Writing Center

The Writing Center. Flowers Hall G09 512-245-3018 M-Th 9 am – 9 pm, Friday 11 am – 5pm Bobcat Chat Online Tutoring: Sundays & weekday evenings. McCoy Hall Room 226: M 2-5 & T 3-6 Appointment basis www.writingcenter.txstate.edu. Close Reading Techniques. Presented by

Download Presentation

The Writing Center

An Image/Link below is provided (as is) to download presentation Download Policy: Content on the Website is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use and may not be sold / licensed / shared on other websites without getting consent from its author. Content is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use only. Download presentation by click this link. While downloading, if for some reason you are not able to download a presentation, the publisher may have deleted the file from their server. During download, if you can't get a presentation, the file might be deleted by the publisher.

E N D

Presentation Transcript


  1. The Writing Center • Flowers Hall G09 • 512-245-3018 • M-Th 9 am – 9 pm, Friday 11 am – 5pm • Bobcat Chat Online Tutoring: Sundays & weekday evenings. • McCoy Hall Room 226: M 2-5 & T 3-6 • Appointment basis • www.writingcenter.txstate.edu

  2. Close Reading Techniques Presented by The Texas State Writing Center

  3. What is a close reading? • A specific and detailed examination of a particular passage of a text or the text as a whole.

  4. 4 Steps of Close Reading 1) Select the text 2) Annotate 3) Interpret 4) Organize an outline

  5. 1) The Text • Select a short passage. • Make sure it is significant to the text as a whole. • Poems & Plays: Make sure to read the text aloud.

  6. 2) Annotate • Use a pencil. • Underline key words and phrases. • Make notes in the margins.

  7. What are you looking for? • Gut reaction, especially for poems. • The Important - What are the themes of the passage? - What are the themes of the entire text? • The Unusual and Unexpected - Contradictions - Omissions

  8. What else? • Patterns and Repetitions - Images - Symbols - Narration Styles - Sentence Structures - Stage directions (plays) - Sounds (plays & poems) - Line Breaks (poems) “serpent-like”  Temptation -------------------- “light blue pair” “some lavender” “some all black” “various shades of tan and gray”

  9. And… • Vocabulary and Diction - What words stick out? - What words have double meanings? - What words are unfamiliar to you?

  10. 3) Interpretations • Examine the patterns - How are they connected? - Why? - What is significant? Senses Emotions Emphasis Theme Biography

  11. 4) Organize an Outline • Include a closely argued thesis. • Use precise citations for illustrations. • Select only the pertinent details. • Organize the paragraphs according to issues and meaning.

  12. Do • Read the text multiple times. • Read aloud plays and poems • Look up key words. • Take a step back after annotating.

  13. Don’t • Don’t highlight too much. • Don’t write a plot summary. • Don’t pad your paper with quotes. • Don’t organize your paragraphs to follow the order of the text.

  14. “A Pair of Silk Stockings” • Written in the late 1800s by Kate Chopin. • First published in Vogue magazine. • Summary: Mrs. Sommers, a poor mother of numerous children, receives some unexpected money. She plans on buying items for her children but ends up spending the money on herself.

  15. Consider • Tone • Style • Context • Theme • Figurative Language • Diction • Literal Content • Structure • Characterization

More Related