Close Reading Revision

Preparation for Thursday’s Higher Paper

2 papers in 1 hour 45 mins

IMPORTANT POINT IN CLOSE READING

• Time keeping.• You have 1 hour and 45 minutes to complete 2

papers• You cannot waste time.• 1. Do not repeat the question before answering it:• Eg. What is the meaning of the phrase ‘retail therapy’• Just write what it is…eg. Curing depression by

shopping• DO NOT: The phrase ‘retail therapy’ means…You are

wasting time. This is NOT an essay. You DO NOT have to write in full sentences.

1. Types of Question

• Higher papers are formulaic. As long as you know WHAT the question is asking it should be straight forward for you to answer…as long as you have studied your techniques.

Understanding Questions

• General rule?• Answer in your own words as far as possible

• Context Questions• Link Questions

• How can all of these questions be considered as ‘understanding’?

Important Focus:

• How much information should you provide in the ‘own words’ questions?

• Why is this important?

• You ARE allowed to write on your paper – section off appropriate bits as you notice them. Then, all you have to do is to put the information in your own words!

Example 1

• Our gaze now shifts much nearer in the time corridor – to the invention of recorded sound. Though the early gramophone came into being in the 1870’s as a result of the desire to record and reproduce speech, very soon its principal, monogamous marriage was with music. Thomas Alva Edison’s invention of recorded sound unleashed on the twentieth century a massive amount of music in a multitude of forms. It gave music wings to cross the planet. Before the gramophone age, people heard a particular piece of orchestral music maybe once or twice a decade. Now anything can be listened to instantly, at the flick of a switch, the drop of a needle or the aiming of a laser. 150 years ago the very slowness of making a notated score of a piece of music meant that the creator had to live with it and think about it for a period of time before it was released to the world. Now a recording can be made instantaneously, even at the point of creation. Where once a catchy, impulsive melody made up on the spot and enjoyed for the evening would die the next morning never to be heard again, now everything can be captured for posterity. And in addition, where once musicians lived and died on their live performance, now editing allows them to relive and redo their mistakes and wobbles as many times as they like.

• Using your own words as far as possible, identify five benefits the gramophone has brought to the world of music. 5U

Answer• 1. own words – recorded sound unleashed on

the twentieth century…• 2. own words – it gave music wings to cross the

planet• 3. own words – before the gramophone…

aiming of a laser.• 4. 150 years…the point of creation• 5. where once a catchy…captured for posterity• 6. once musicians lived and died…as many

times as they liked.

This gives a very quick and, relatively, easy 5 marks

• You should have your own method:

• 1. Write in sentences so that they flow on from one another and form a paragraph

• 2. List your sentences as bullet points

Link Questions

Question: By referring to specific word or phrases, show how the sentence performs a linking function.

• The 7.15 Latin dance class is full, as was the six o’clock, as is the 8.30. In the reception area of Edinburgh Dancebase, learners, ranging from the middle-aged, fresh from work, to students, mill around waiting to dance.

Unlikely as it may at first seem, this is occurring across the country. Against similar winter backdrops people are queuing up to learn to dance. National inhibition is being shed as salsa merengue and cumbia beats force hips to sway rhythmically and partners to twist complicatedly. French ceroc classes are filling up, street dancing to hip-hop is being used as an exercise class. Even ballroom dancing is enjoying something of a renaissance.

How does the first sentence of the second paragraph perform a linking function in the line of thought?

Answer

• ‘This’ refers to the dance classes in Edinburgh being full.

• ‘is occurring across the country’ links forward to the ideas in the second paragraph as it goes on to say that this is happening in many different places across the nation.

• REMEMBER the EXPLAIN part has to be in your own words as far as possible…

If you’re really lucky…

• You’ll get this question for 3 marks!!

• What is the function of the sentence in the argument of this passage. By referring closely to specific words and phrases show how it fulfils this function.

Remember…

• What else creates a link?

• How does it work?

Analysis

• At Higher level, the question paper may ask you to refer to the writer’s LANGUAGE. LANGUAGE is a broad term which encompasses the language AND structure techniques that we learned at standard grade – when referring to language ensure you have ALL of your techniques at hand.

• Important to remember if the question refers to language – this is technique based and is not asking you to paraphrase what is going on.

General steps for an analysis question

• 1. Identify the feature/technique

• 2. Quote where appropriate

• 3. Analyse the effect/impact of the technique in terms of the passage.

Common mistake

• Simply identifying the technique will get you 0 marks at Higher.

• Giving the definition of the technique will get you 0 marks

Eg. Repetition adds emphasis to the point• You MUST explain WHY it has been used in the

passage/what does it add to the passage?

Word choice – how do we approach this?

• Basically, why has the writer chosen this word? Out of all the words available, why did the writer use this one?

• You MUST always show that you understand the meaning of the word…

• Example:• A person who is under the average weight for

his/her height could be called:• Underweight / skinny / slim.

Denotation and connotation

• Denotation is the literal meaning of the word.• For all three we know the words to MEAN thin

Underweight:

Skinny:

Slim:

• Because of the popularity of partner dancing – as opposed to the lone experience of shuffling one’s feet and randomly jerking your arms at a club/family wedding – the BBC has decided to make a celebrity version of Come Dancing the centrepiece of its new Saturday night schedule. Fronted by Bruce Forsyth, the show will feature celebrities testing their salsa skills under the guidance of world champion ballroom dancer Donnie Burns.

• How does the word choice in these lines show that the writer thinks that dancing on one’s own as opposed to with a partner is not very satisfying. 2A

Answer

• Four obvious choices of word choice:• Shuffling• Lone• Randomly• Jerking

• There are only 2 marks on offer – either do 1 VERY well or 2 quite well.

• Eg. “Shuffling” has connotations of clumsy, unskilled movements and suggests that the dancing is not very inspired. (2)

• Eg.2. “Randomly” or “Randomly jerking” suggests that the movements of the dance have no pattern and are made up. “Jerking” suggests it is quite rough and uncoordinated instead of smooth and elegant.

• It is not enough simply to identify – you get 0 for that. The marks you get are for the CONNOTATIONS.

Imagery Questions

• Again, we know the three types of imagery as

• SIMILE• METHAPHOR• PERSONIFICATION

• We should know how the function of these techniques already…

Formula to answer

• ALWAYS remember to do the 2-step imagery answer

• 1. literal• 2. figurative

• You MUST give an indication that you understand what the comparison is literally.

• THEN you can mention what the image lets you imagine

Example…

• A house like this became a dinosaur, occupying too much ground and demanding to be fed new sinks and drainpipes and a sea of electricity. Such a house became a fossil, stranded among neighbours long since chopped up into flats and bed-sitting rooms.

• Comment on the effectiveness of the imagery.

Answer• Literal: A dinosaur is – extinct/large• Lets you imagine that the house is obsolete/past its best and

very large.

• Fossil image –• Literal – a fossil is an imprint/something left over from the

dinosaur age• Lets you imagine – the house is too old for the modern age/ it

is a relic from a previous age

• What type of imagery is used in this example?

Remember these words?

• Hyperbole –

• Euphemism –

• Definition + effect?

Some new terms

• Paradox – a statement which appears to be a contradiction but which, on closer examination, does contain a truth.

• Eg. To preserve the peace, prepare for war• Eg.2. Nowadays people know the price of

everything, and the value of nothing.

• Oxymoron – • A condensed form of paradox where two

opposites are places side by side.

• Eg. Free servitude

Tone

• Tone is very important in your appreciation of the passages you are given to read.

• Remember – you have to use your common sense to determine whether something is serious or whether it is tongue-in-cheek.

• Just because you don’t think it is funny doesn’t mean this wasn’t the intention!!

• The important concept about tone is the ‘voice’• The words we use to describe tone are the

same kind of words we use to describe a voice• Angry• Happy• Ironic• Humorous

• Where possible you should justify your choice with reference to the text

Common mistake

• It is too easy to write ‘sarcastic’ and hope to get it right. At Higher (again, depending on the marks) we would expect you to justify your answer with reference to the text…

• NEVER write down options…serious or ironic• It will NOT deceive the marker and even if one of

your answers is right you will not receive credit for it!

Example• The truth was that he (Ali) was dead scared of

flying. Two months earlier, on his way to the U.S boxing trials, he had been violently buffeted during a turbulent flight across to California. It was the first time he had ever travelled by air and he swore he would never fly again. This was marginally inconvenient when he was one of the hottest hopes America had for Olympic boxing gold.

What tone is adopted by the writer in the final sentence? Go on to explain the effect of this tone in the context. 2A

ANSWER

• 1. Identification of tone: ironic• 2. Evidence: “marginally inconvenient” • 3. Comment on effect: why did the author use

this?

• Eg. Ironic. “Marginally inconvenient” is used when really he meant it was very inconvenient. This makes the sentence amusing but also highlights the frustration of those around Ali.

Structure techniques• Parenthesis• List• Inversion• Repetition• Long/Short sentences• climax• Colon• Semi-colon – be careful here…in some Duchess essays • “Browning uses the semi-colon to create a sinister

atmosphere.” WHAT? Look at the FUNCTION of the semi-colon…in context why have they been used? What do they emphasise? Make clear? Create tone?

REMEMBER

• You do not get marks by repeating the definition of the technique…you must use your common sense to tell me WHY the technique has been used in the passage.

Example

• With this faith we will be able to work together, to pray together, to struggle together, to go to jail together, to climb up for freedom together, knowing that we will be free one day.

• (Martin Luther King)

• Comment on the sentence structure

Answer

• A list building up to a climax (‘be free one day’)

• The length of the list highlights how long the struggle will be before freedom is achieved

• Repetition of ‘together’ emphasises that this has to be a group effort, one person cannot do this themselves

Miscellaneous

• If the passage starts referring to ‘you’ and seemingly asking your opinion…what is the purpose of this?

• If there is a paragraph of one line out on its own – what might the purpose of this be?

• If the final line of the passage ends with a question – what might the purpose of this be?

Evaluation Questions

• REMEMBER – this SHOULD always be answered like an ANALYSIS question but with opinion.

• At Higher level the final question of the paper asks you to compare the two passages you have read and give your opinion…this HAS to be answered with ANALYSIS techniques and BOTH passages have to be considered (mentioned)

• If the question refers to STYLE – this just means HOW it has been written…i.e. techniques!