Close (analytical) Reading: Generic Questions for Informational Text:

Examples: What, if any, examples, are given in the text? Examples for what?

Embedded Definitions: What, if any, words or phrases are defined within the text?

Cause/effect statements: What, if any, statements in the text answer the question “Why?”

Descriptions: Are there any detailed descriptions in the text? Of what? What words allow you to visualize the thing described?

Main Idea: Is the main idea of the text stated directly? Once? More than once?

Vocabulary: Are there any key words in the text that are used in an unfamiliar or unusual way? Does the reader have to “recalculate” the meaning of any key words?

Organization: What organizational system does the author use? Chronological? Spatial? Order of importance? Story? Classification?

Close (analytical) Reading: Generic Questions for Informational Text:

Metaphor: Are there metaphors? If so, what do they mean?

Pronoun Antecedents: Do we know the referents of all of the pronouns?