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The Language of composition

Chapter Two Close Reading: The Art and Craft of Analysis. The Language of composition. Reading, Writing, Rhetoric. Close Reading. Goal is to develop an understanding of text Close reading is strategy Create meaning based first on the words, then on the larger ideas suggested

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The Language of composition

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  1. Chapter Two Close Reading: The Art and Craft of Analysis The Language of composition Reading, Writing, Rhetoric

  2. Close Reading • Goal is to develop an understanding of text • Close reading is strategy • Create meaning based first on the words, then on the larger ideas suggested • When writing about a text, you start with larger ideas, then use examples from the language to support

  3. Close Reading • We do it subconsciously every day • We are aware of interaction of subject, speaker, audience in conversation • We analyze conversations • We even consider style (body language, tone, expression, etc.)

  4. Analyzing Style • Consists of tone, sentence structure and vocabulary • Style contributes to meaning, purpose and effect • Examples of style questions based on Ground Zero text, p 37 • Style falls into two categories: diction and syntax

  5. Diction • Diction: choice of words • Trope: artful diction • Examples: metaphor, simile, personification, hyperbole

  6. Diction – Considerations • Which important words are general/abstract vs. specific/concrete? • Are the important words formal, informal, colloquial or slang? • Are some words non literal, creating figures of speech?

  7. Syntax • Syntax: arrangement of words • Scheme: artful syntax • Examples: parallelisms, juxtapositions, antithesis

  8. Syntax – Considerations • What is the order of the parts of a sentence: normal or inverted? • Which part of speech is most prominent? • Are the sentences periodic or cumulative? • How does the sentence connect its words, phrases and clauses? • Which of the questions on p. 37 are about diction and which are about syntax??

  9. Talking with the Text • The point: generate your own questions • Remember, not just identifying techniques, but analyzing their effect. • Also, remember style is a subset of rhetoric so we’re analyzing it as a means of persuasion • Therefore, determine the PURPOSE, what style choices are made, and what is their effect (towards the purpose)

  10. Annotation • Using a pen or pencil, on text or post-its • Words you don’t know? • Words that seem related? • Thesis statements and topic sentences? • Imagery? • Allusions? • Things that stand out – quotation marks, punctuation, certain sentences, facts Example on page 40 – Joan Didion

  11. Dialectical Journal • Double-entry notebook • Visually represent the conversation between text nd reader • See example, p. 42 • Note Taking (text) vs. Note Making (commentary)

  12. Graphic Organizer • See example, p. 44 • Copy something the writer has said • Restate it in your own words • Analyze how the writer makes the point (strategy or style element) • Function or effect on the reader

  13. Close Reading Assignment • Assignment, p. 48 • Complete a Dialectical Journal Entry for the passage by Ascham

  14. Analyzing a Visual Text

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