Passage Analysis Essay

1. The how and why and all that Passage Analysis Essay

2. Prose passage • Exposition -- Description • Narration -- Argumentation • Variety of genres or time periods • Analysis of rhetorical strategies • Example --Cause and effect • Contrast/comparison --Classification • Process --Definition • Narration --Description What is it?

3. Analysis of language • Analysis of stylistic elements --subject matter --language/diction --Selection of detail --point of view --figurative language --tone --syntax --organization What is it?

4. Determine how well you read, understand and analyze challenging texts • Assess how well you manipulate language to communicate your ideas What’s the purpose?

5. The level of your writing is/should be a direct reflection of your critical thinking Key Point:

6. Analyze the author’s view Analyze rhetorical devices the author uses to achieve her purpose Analyze stylistic elements and their effects Compare/contrast two passages with regard to style, purpose, or tone What kinds of questions?

7. Analyze author’s purpose and how he achieves it Analyze how an author re-creates an experience Analyze how the author presents herself in the passage Discuss the intended or probable effect of the passage More…

8. On a 9 point rubric Readers reward you for what you do well As a draft (40 minutes) How is it graded?

9. Planning is crucial, so spend: • 1-3 minutes reading and working the prompt • 5 minutes reading and making margin notes on the passage • 10 minutes preparing to write • 20 minutes writing your essay • 3 minutes proofreading How to tackle this?

10. The following paragraphs are from the opening of Truman Capote’s In Cold Blood. After carefully reading the excerpt, write a well-organized essay in which you characterize Capote’s view of Holcomb, Kansas, and analyze how Capote conveys this view. Your analysis may consider such stylistic elements as diction, imagery, syntax, structure, tone, and selection of detail. Reading the prompt Now, look at your essay prompts. ANNOTATE THE PROMPT—underline all the key information and what it is asking you to do.

11. The following paragraphs are from the opening of Truman Capote’s In Cold Blood. After carefully reading the excerpt, write a well-organized essay in which you characterize Capote’s view of Holcomb, Kansas, and analyze how Capote conveys this view. Your analysis may consider such stylistic elements as diction, imagery, syntax, structure, tone, and selection of detail. The prompt…annotated

12. Sometimes it is difficult and stressful to get everything from your brain onto your paper You can write: In this essay I have to…. In this essay I have to tell what Capote’s view of the town is and explain how he reveals this …I have to identify the author’s view and analyze the diction, imagery and structure he uses to reveal his view …I have to tell that Capote thinks the town is boring but also has some positive attributes. I have to explain the diction, imagery, and detail. Helpful hint

13. Option #1 • Read quickly to get the gist of the passage • Reread, highlighting and taking margin notes • Option #2 • Read slowly, highlighting and taking margin notes • Reread to confirm that you have caught the full impact of the passage Reading the passage

14. Don’t skip this step • Careful reading AND annotating the passage are crucial to success • GROUP WORK: Each group is going to annotate the text for a specific purpose and then share. • Negative imagery & diction +Western terminology • Positive imagery & diction +Character description • You have exactly 8 minutes to do this! Warning!!!!

15. Now that we have had a chance to fully analyze the opening passage of In Cold Blood, you are going to work independently on organizing your ideas and writing your introduction. Complete pages 1-2, and then write an introductory paragraph—attempt #1—on the back page (p 4). (You will complete p 3 for homework!) GUIDED Worksheet—independent

16. Forget everything you’ve learned about beginning an essay (not really, but almost) • It should catch the reader’s attention • It should set the tone of your essay • It should only be a couple of sentences long Developing the opening Paragraph

17. Make a direct reference to the passage (suggested) Identify the text and its author Address the question (Capote’s view of Holcomb) Specifically mention the elements you will refer to (diction, tone, etc.) with an adjective in front of it: an objective tone, humble diction, Western terminology, outsiders point of view… Opening paragraph

18. In the opening of In Cold Blood, Truman Capote presents a bland picture of the town of Holcomb, Kansas. Through specific structure, careful selection of detail, and a detached tone, he makes it clear that he views Holcomb as dull and ordinary. Samples Intro A

19. Holcomb, Kansas. Holcomb, Kansas. Even the sound of the place is boring and uninteresting. Moreover, Truman Capote seems to agree with this in his opening to In Cold Blood. I, too, would be inclined to pass by this sleepy, bland, and undistinguished hamlet. This view is developed through the author’s tone, structure, and selection of detail. Sample Intro B

20. “Like the waters of the river, like the motorists on the highway, and like the yellow trains streaking down the Santa Fe tracks, drama in the shape of exceptional happenings had never stopped here.” This is the town of Holcomb, Kansas. Using a reportorial tone, specific structure, and selection of detail, Capote introduces the reader to this unremarkable town in the opening of In Cold Blood. Sample Intro C

21. In Cold Blood is a very appropriate title because Capote presents a cold and unemotional view of Holcomb, Kansas. His tone, structure, and selection of detail create a distant and detached picture of this desolate farm community. Sample Intro D

22. Truman Capote opens with a passage describing a small town called Holcomb, Kansas. Capote uses a variety of elements to express his view. Sample Intro E

23. Present your analysis • Use specific references and details from the passage • Don’t just paraphrase • Place quotation mark around exact words • Citations are not necessary; integrate author in sentence • Integrate quotes; condense quotes Developing Body Paragraphs

24. Use ‘connective tissue’ to establish adherence to the questions --use repetition of key ideas in prompt and in your opening paragraph --Use echo words/synonyms (town, village, hamlet) Stay on topic Body paragraphs continued

25. We know it stands of Advanced Placement BUT…… Keep in mind the people who read your essay joke that it means “Address the Prompt.” In other words……be sure you do what the questions is asking; stay on topic A.P.

26. Refer back to your prewriting often Look at the “In this essay I have to…” statement that you wrote If you get stuck in the middle of the essay, you can actually write the above phrase in your essay. Keep writing until you get back on track. Then, cross out the phrase. A.P.

27. Forget everything you’ve learned about conclusions Yes, really!!!! Do NOT summarize in your concluding paragraph Concluding paragraph

28. Capote’s imagery, tone, and diction convey his view about Holcomb. Through these devices we get the idea that Capote views the town as dull and ordinary. zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz!!!!!! Bad Conclusion

29. Holcomb may be dull and boring, but Capote hints that the “quiet” and “ordinary” town may be disrupted. Something other than wheat is on the horizon. The last two paragraphs contain a shift. Capote contrasts the town with the school and foreshadows a change. This contrast may indicate more to come for the town of Holcomb. Instead, write a conclusion like this: