Close and Critical Reading Questions: Cheat Sheet 

Translation: What is this story about? What Does The Text Say? Translation: What is this story about?

Summarize the story in 3- 5 sentences tops! How would you summarize or determine a shortened version of the text containing only the main points? Summarize the story in 3- 5 sentences tops!

What is the gist/central idea? What is the main point of the ENTIRE story? What is the story centered around?

What is the specific textual evidence used to support the central idea? You have to know the main point of the story/ passage first. How do you know the main point is the main point? What sentence(s) from the story told you so or led you to this conclusion?

What are the most important ideas/events? What are the most important points in the story? What does the reader REALLY need to know?

What are the ideas in order of importance or presentation? Put the ideas in order based upon where there are located in the story or sort them in order by importance.

What ideas might the author be suggesting rather than directly stating? What is the author’s real purpose in writing this? What did you read “between” the lines? Be a Shark 

In what way is the information/ story being presented to me? HOW DOES THE TEXT SAY IT? In what way is the information/ story being presented to me?

What is this? Why is it being presented this way? How is the information organized (time, topic, cause/effect, compare/contrast, persuasion.) What is this? Why is it being presented this way?

What genre does the selection represent? What kind of story/ Passage is this? Autobiography Essay Biography Nonfiction Fiction Poetry

Whose voice did the author choose as narrator? Which character is speaking within the passage/ story? Is the author speak as himself/herself?

From what point of view/ perspective is this written? Who’s eyes or life are we looking through when we read the selection? Is this first person point of view, second, third?

What are the sources of information? Where is the author getting his information from? Mainly used for nonfiction.

What language is used? (technical, dialect, archaic words) How is the author speaking? Do words used seem like they are being spoken from a very long time ago?

What are style, mood, and tone? TONE is simply the author’s attitude toward the subject. MOOD is the overall feelings or emotions that are created IN THE READER. Style is the way the writer uses words to create not only the events of story, but their feel as well.

What word choice, imagery and figures of speech (simile, metaphor, irony, personification etc.) does the author use? What words are used in order for you to get a picture of what the author is talking about in your head?

WHAT DOES THE TEXT MEAN? What does the story/ passage mean?

What are the concept that make the reasoning possible, what assumptions underlie the concepts, and what implications follow from the concepts? What are the ideas that made your way of thinking about the selected passage possible, what assumptions did you make because of those ideas and what is do the ideas suggest?

WHAT DOES THE AUTHOR WANT THE READER TO BELIEVE? What does the author want me to think or take with me? **Whether you actually believe it or not is nor the point***

WHAT IS THE QUALITY OF THE INFORMATION COLLECTED; ARE THE SOURCES SUFFICIENT, RELEVANT, CREDIBLE OR CURRENT? Based on the evidence the author used to state their point, should I believe them?

WHO OR WHAT IS NOT REPRESENTED? Who or what did the author leave our in order to make their point?