Standard Grade

Close Reading

Don’t Stress About Close Reading

Learning Intention

To understand the types of questions that

could be asked in the close reading paper and

learn how to answer them successfully.

Close Reading Exam

You will sit two close reading exams. There

are three exams – foundation, general and

credit.

Everyone sits the general exam and one of the

others dependant on their ability.

Close Reading Exam

• The close reading exam is designed to test your ability to read a passage carefully and answer questions on the passage and the techniques used by the writer.

• The passage will be a newspaper article or a section from a short story or novel.

• You have 50 minutes to do this.

Layout of the Exam Paper

On the passage you will find the following:• There is often a short introduction in italics telling

you what the passage is about or where it comes from.

• If the passage is from a newspaper it will be laid out in newspaper style.

• Each paragraph of the passage is individually numbered.

• The name of the author will appear.

Layout of the Exam Paper

On the question paper you will find the following:• You will see headings in bold telling you which

part of the passage to look in for your answers. • Key or important words in question will also be

picked out in bold.• In the margin you will see how many marks are

available for the question. If you see 2 and 0 separated by a little black square, then you will have to get the whole answer totally right to get any points at all.

Layout of the Exam Paper

• When you see a 2 1 0 they you many need to give two pieces of information. Or, if you are being asked to explain, you may get 1 mark for a partial explanation, but you will need to explain more fully and in more detail to get both marks.

Layout of the Exam Paper

• The questions will take you through the passage in order, with the final questions asking you to think back over the whole passage as a whole.

• The amount of space you are given to write your answer in gives you an indication of how much you need to write.

• If you are expected to give just one word or to pick from multiple choices, there will be a box to write in or tick.

Use Your Own Words

Unless you are being asked to quote, you should use

your own words. This shows you really understand

what the writer is saying. Which of the following

expressions tells you that you ought to quote?

Why do you think…? Which word…?

Explain fully…? Find an expression…?

Write down the word…? Which expression…?

By close reference to the text…

Use Your Own Words

These phrases tell you to quote from the

passage:

• Which word…

• Find an expression…

• Write down the word…

• Which expression…

Use Your Own Words

It can be difficult to use you own words butyou must do this to get the marks. Rewritethe following in your own words:• Beneath her discreetly black coat my aunt had very

long, slender, shapely legs. • He was forever at a loss with guests.• He ambled behind her to the escalator.• He got the whole story of her financial hardship.• In place of shoes his feet were bound with bandages.

Questions Types

Questions are constructed to test your abilitiesin the following areas:• Reading to obtain an overall impression or gist of a

text• Reading to obtain particular information from a text• Reading to grasp ideas and feelings• Reading to appreciate the writer’s craft• Reading to evaluate the writer’s attitudes,

assumptions and arguments

Question asking you to obtain particular information

This section concentrates on picking out

individual pieces of information from a text. This

means that the reader is expected to identify specific,

individual items of information in the text: what

people do, what places look like, what evidence

there is for something happening, what reasons are

offered for a character’s behaviour, and so on.

Example

Behind them, all kinds of people are perched

on the tailgates of a variety of vehicles. Is this

some bizarre store for recycled rubbish?

Well, it in a way it is.

Write down an expression which shows that

the writer thinks this ‘junk’ makes a strange

collection.

Answer – bizarre store

Questions asking you to grasp ideas or feelings

With this type of question you are going

deeper into the text, not just looking at facts

and information but going into feelings.

These may be the feelings of the characters in

the text, or those of the narrator, or those of

the writer.

Example

At the last corner before the school’s streetthey both halted in an accustomed way and hesquatted down to give her a kiss. She didn’tmind the ritual but not outside the gate: herpals might see and that would be tooembarrassing. “…but not outside the gates…” Explain in your own

words why the daughter made this condition. Answer – If her friends saw her dad kissing her she

would feel uncomfortable about it.

Questions asking you to evaluate the writer’s attitudes,

assumptions and argumentWe are looking at what the writer is thinking

and saying. We are not in the mind of a

character or of any narrator the writer has

created. You are most likely to find questions

likes this if the passage is factual, especially if

it is a piece of journalism.

Example

As we walked up to the main lobby there was ‘Vampire’ red wine for sale, glass vials of red liquid, wooden stakes and probably some garlic stashed under the counter. As these tacky souvenirs revealed, it wasn’t the real Dracula’s castle but Hotel Castel Dracula, a three-star hotel built in the mountains to service some of the nearby ski slopes.

In your own words, what is the writer’s attitude to the various goods for sale in the hotel lobby?

Appreciating the Writer’s Craft

The writer makes careful choices when

writing. You should be able to show that you

recognise and appreciate the techniques the

writer has used and the effect of these. This

could include commenting on the use of

imagery, sentence structure or word choice. You

may be asked to establish the tone or style of a piece

of writing and how the writer achieves this.

Sentence Structure

Take a good look at the sentence youare being asked about and ask yourself a fewquestions:• Is the sentence noticeably long or short?• Is it a proper sentence or is it somehow incomplete?• Is it making a statement, asking a question, exclaiming in

surprise or anger, giving an order?• Does it have any unusual or very noticeable punctuation?

What does the punctuation do?• Is the sentence in an odd order? Are any of the words in

unusual places?

Sentence Structure

Sentence structure just means the way that

sentences are put together. If a sentence is

constructed in an unusual way you will notice

this. Often a writer will construct an unusual

sentence to grab your attention, or to gain

some particular effect.

Sentence Structure

• Long sentences can be used to give complicated information and emphasise the link between ideas

• Short sentences can be used to sum up and to attract attention by stopping the reader in their tracks

• Repetition – certain words are repeated for emphasis

• Rhetorical questions – do not require an answer and usually make a statement

Sentence Structure

• Use the punctuation to help you answer sentence structures questions.

• Punctuation marks are the signposts in the structure of sentences.

Commas

• It helps if you understand the function of punctuation marks

• Think about the function of the commas in the following examples:

-This number is being played live, in response to many requests, by Robbie Williams.

-I went to the shop, the one on the corner, to get coffee.

-I bought oranges, apples, bananas, lemons and grapes.

Commas ,

Commas are

• Used to clarify text and avoid misunderstanding

• Used (as a pair of commas) round parenthesis

• Used to separate items in a list

Write these down

Colon :

• To introduce a list• To signal an explanation following a

statement. Eg. The isle is the most desolate place I have ever seen: its docks deserted, windows smashed…

• To contribute to the balance of a sentence which contains contrasting ideas. Eg. To err is human: to forgive is divine

Semi-colon ;

• Think about how the semi-colon is used in the following:

• I have a dog; his name is Patch.• The alternatives included: a “Landscape of Thorns”

– a square mile of randomly spaced 80 ft spikes; “Menacing Earthworks” – giant mounds surrounding a 2,000 ft map of the world displaying all of the planet’s nuclear waste dumps; a “Black hole” – a huge slab of black concrete that absorbs so much solar heat that it is impossible to approach.

Semi-colon

Semi-colons are used to:

• Indicate an interconnection between items which in themselves could stand as grammatically correct sentences.

• To separate items in a complex list where commas are already used within items.

Write these down.

Single Dash -

Look at these examples and think about the function of the dash.

• My brother went to work today – or was it yesterday?

• ‘Landscape of Thorns’ – a square mile of randomly-spaced 80 ft spikes.

Single Dash

The single dash is used

• To indicate an afterthought

• To replace the colon after a statement and before an explanation.

Write these down.

Parenthesis

• Parenthesis is the name given to the technique of adding additional information to a sentence.

• This can be for a variety of purposes: to supply additional information, to provide details or examples, to offer an aside or an authorial comment, to insert a reservation, to repeat an idea in a different style.

• Paired dashes, brackets and paired commas can all be used to give this extra information in a sentence.

– Write this down

Parenthesis

• Consider the following examples:

• John Fraser, Head Boy, stepped up to the lectern to make a speech of welcome.

• The Headteacher, known for her ferocity towards miscreant boys who wouldn’t take a warning, moved towards the guilty two standing in the corner

Parenthesis

• He told me that I would be perfectly safe – somehow I didn’t believe him – and that it was virtually unknown for this type of creature to attack human beings.

Inverted Commas

Inverted commas can be used

• To indicate the words actually used by a speaker in direct speech

• To indicate the words of a quotation

• To indicate a word used in an unusual way or slightly out of context

» Write this down

Ellipsis

The three dots at the end or in the middle of asentence are used to:• indicate the sudden breaking off of speech or line

of thought• indicate a trailing off, the line of thought implied

rather than expressed• signpost a change in subject• imply an unwillingness to continue

» Write this down

Question Mark

• Used to indicate a question and can create a questioning tone or doubt.

• Can indicate a rhetorical question – one the answer to is understood or implied.

Further features of sentence structure

Look for • long sentences – often used to get across complex

ideas• short sentences – often used to make a clear,

simple point• lists – to list all the important details for emphasis• repetition of words or structures to emphasise a

point.

Types of Sentence

Statement – gives information

Question – asks something

Commands – tells us to do something

Exclamation – sentence that expresses strong feeling – ends in an exclamation mark

Identify the Different Sentence Types

• 1. What time does the match start?• 2. Give me the money.• 3. What a hassle the day turned

out to be!• 4. The man crossed the road

slowly and carefully.• 5. Oi! Come here!• 6. What do people care nowadays?

Example

The transaction seemed to fluster her, as if shemight not have enough to pay for the fewthings she’d bought. A tin of lentil soup. Aindividual chicken pie. One solitary tomato. Maybe she did need the avocados – orsomething else.How does the writer emphasise that the woman hadbrought ‘few things’ through the use of sentencestructure? (2 1 0)

Sentence Structure

Answer – Each item (1) is given a sentence of its own (1)

Word Choice

This is a very simple idea. When you are

being asked about word choice you are simply

being asked to look at the words and see why

the writer has chosen those particular words to

describe something or some feeling, rather

than any other similar word.

Connotation and Denotation

Denotation

The denotation of a word is the basic

meaning.

Connotation

The connotation of a word is what it suggests

to you.

Try this example

All the following words’ denotations are the same – they all mean thin.

Explain the different connotations for each of the words and explain the effect it creates

- Underweight- Skinny- Slim

Answering a word choice question

• Normally you get no marks for identifying interesting words

• All the marks that you are going to get will arise from the connotations which you discuss.In answering any Word Choice question you should:

1. Quote the word(s)2. Follow your quotation with ‘suggests…’3. Refer to question along with comment

Word Choice

The transaction seemed to fluster her, as if she might not have enough money to pay or the few things she’d bought. A tin of lentil soup. An individual chicken pie. One solitary tomato. Maybe she did need the avocados – or something else.

How does the writer emphasise that the woman had bought ‘few things’ through the use of word choice? (2 0)

Answer – use of a / an / one / individual / solitaryAny one for two marks

Imagery

You may be asked to assess the effectivenessof imagery. Imagery is a COMPARISON (one thingis compared to something else that isn’t actually there). Theimagery concerned is normally: SimileMetaphorPersonificationWrite down a definition and example of each ofthese.

Simile

This is when one thing is compared toanother using ‘like’ or ‘as’.e.g. Juliet was as beautiful as the sun.

Here the image created is of thebeauty and lightness of the girl.

Metaphor

• This is a comparison where one thing is describe as another.

• e.g. My house is my prison.• The idea being created is that the

speaker feels trapped, imprisoned in some way.

Personification

• This is a kind of metaphor which describes something inanimate/non-human as if it were human.

• e.g. Death stalked the battlefield.• Death is described as a figure

walking about seeking something.

Answering the Imagery Question

1. Decide what (a) is being compared to what (b). 2. Think about the connotations of what it is being

compared to.3. Write down your ideas. You might use this template: This is an effective ______ because it compares

___A____ to ____B____. ___B___ makes me think of_______. Therefore _____A/B____ is effective because _________

Example

Alex was like a lion in the fight.1. Alex is being compared to a lion.2. Connotations of lion – fierce, aggressive, big,

frightening, brave3. If Alex was fierce and aggressive it is an effective

simile.Your answer may be:This is an effective simile because it compares Alexto a lion. A lion gives the idea of aggression andbravery. Therefore this simile is effective as Alex was brave and aggressive in the fight.

Imagery

He was as happy as a kid in a sweetshop.

Explain how effective you find this simile

Imagery

He was as happy as a kid in a sweetshop.

Explain how effective you find this example.

The man is being compared to a child surrounded by

sweets. We know children love sweets so this would

be a wonderful place to be. Therefore the simile is

effective in telling us how happy the man is because

a child surrounded by sweets would be very pleased.

Further Examples

1. That shop owner is a real shark.2. Fear crept beside me as I walked

along the dark street.3. Her nails are like claws and her

eyes like chips of ice.

Questions about meaning in context

In these questions you are asked to use the

context to help you give the meaning of a

word or phrase. There is a set pattern for how

to answer these. You will get one mark for

giving the meaning, and the second mark for

showing how you were able to work out that

meaning form the context.

Example

It wasn’t often you had this kind of intuition about somebody,but as soon as he saw her looking at the seeds, he was certainshe was going to steal them. He moved closer to her, pickedup a watering can an weighed it in his hand, as if this wassomehow a way of testing it, then he saw her dropping packet

after packet into the bag.‘It wasn’t often you had this kind of intuition…’ Howdoes the rest of the paragraph help to explain themeaning of ‘intuition’?Answer – Intuition means that you sense or guess something. He guesses that she will steal the seeds and then he watches her doingthis.

Questions about how ideas are carried on

The question will ask you how the rest of the passage carries on an idea introduced in the first sentence. These questions are easy to answer and a quick way of earning marks. All you have to do is pick out details later in the paragraph which go with the ideas introduced in that first sentence.

Example

Downstairs was Count Dracula’s coffin in a narrowvault, the walls painted with the dramatic scenes ofhuman victims, wolves, skulls, skeletons and theblack-cloaked monster himself, red blood drippingfrom his pointed fangs. So far on our Romanianholiday, the only blood-sucking had been from themosquitoes in Bucharest. Luckily we had decided tosend their father down first as a guinea pig to test outhow scary this experience was likely to be for our seven-,five- and two-year-olds.‘Downstairs was Count Dracula’s coffin in a narrow vault, the wallspainted with the dramatic scenes’. In what ways does the writer conveythe ‘dramatic scenes in the vault?

Answer

The writer uses a list of horrific images such as blood, fangs, wolves, skulls and skeletons.

Questions about Linking

These questions don’t often come up in

Standard Grade but they are worth revising.

These types of questions will ask you how a

certain sentence, or paragraph, acts as a link at

a particular point in the passage.

Formula for answering the Link Question

1. Quote briefly from the linking sentence or paragraph.

2. Show how that quotation makes a link back to earlier in the passage.

3. Quote briefly again from the linking sentence or paragraph.

4. Show how this second quotation makes a link forward to what is to come in the passage.

Example

The three witches in Macbeth, prancing and cackling round their cauldron, provide the accepted cliches of witch behaviour and taste. Alas the Macbeth witches have merely served to reinforce prejudice, rather than cast illumination.

So does the witch deserve her poor image?It is probable that the Wiccan creed goes back to the dawn of

religious belief, when cave dwellers peered out and saw wonder in the rhythm of the changing seasons. Early witchcraft was probably no more that a primitive attempt to make sense of the unknown.

In what way can the single sentence be regarded as a link of the ideas within the article?

Answer

‘Her poor image’ refers to back to the prejudiced ideas about witches mentioned already, such as those found in Macbeth. The question, ‘Does the witch deserve …?’ introduces the next part of the passage, which is going to present a truer history of witchcraft.

Final Questions

Near the end of the paper you will be told to ‘Think about the passage as a whole’. These questions will draw on your knowledge and understanding of the whole passage. You will need to know the passage well and have worked through it step by step. We can not practise this today as you would need to have read a whole passage.

Examples of how these questions are worded

• From the passage write down an example of

the writer’s use of humour. Explain why it is

effective.

• Overall how do you think the writer feels about his experience with the humming birds? Support your answer by referring to the passage.

Final Tips

• Skim the passage quickly to get the gist. Then look at the questions before you read the text again more slowly.

• You don’t have to write in sentences and you may bullet point your answers. Make sure that they make sense though!

• If you are not sure – take a guess and put a mark next to it so you remember to check it later. Don’t waste your time at one question when you could be gaining marks on others.

• Remember to answer in your own words as far as possible!• Quote words from the passage if you are asked to quote,

give an example, give a phrase, write an expression…