HIGHER CLOSE READING Strategies

Question types Understanding (U) Analysis (A) Evaluation (E)

Strategy - Understanding questions Make a point to get a point. Bullet point your answers. Use your own words at all times. Not sure? Offer another possibility.

Strategy – Context questions (U) DEFINITION: give a definition of the unfamiliar word, as best you can. QUOTE: refer to the context & pick out (quote) words which mean something similar to your definition of the word. SHOW: Show how the quote(s) helped you to arrive at the meaning of this unfamiliar word.

Strategy – Linking questions (U) Quote Link back Quote Link forward (Remember to refer to the linking word if there is one.)

Analysis questions Imagery Word choice Sentence structure Tone Other techniques, e.g. hyperbole, alliteration

Imagery (A) Similes Metaphors Personification Involves a comparison Is not meant to be taken literally

Strategy – Imagery questions (A) Identify the type of image. Quote it. Say what is being compared to what. Use “just as... so too…”. Say what the comparison adds to the reader’s understanding of the passage.

Strategy – Word choice questions (A) Identify word Meaning Connotation Impact

Sentence Structure: You may be asked to comment on: Punctuation Sentence length Sentence types Sentence patterns You will never be given marks for simply identifying a feature (e.g. “the writer uses semi-colons”). You must always say what effect or purpose it has.

SENTENCE TYPES Statement The capital of Scotland is Edinburgh. Command Stand up. Get your things. Stand outside. Move! Question Are you feeling under the weather? Rhetorical Question Do I look like I was born yesterday? Exclamation What a fantastic present! How cool! I love it! Minor Sentence (sentences without a verb) aka ‘note-form’ What time? Three o’clock. Where? At the station. Happy days.

SENTENCE PATTERNS Repetition To emphasise the word/phrase being repeated. I have the same problem year after year after year after year. (This emphasises that things never change from one year to the next. The problem has gone on for ever.) List To emphasise the quantity, volume or variety of something. She loved most subjects at school: English, Maths, French, Biology, PE, Art, Music, Drama… Climax To show a progression or sequence. To build up to a dramatic or important finish. Susan’s behaviour annoyed her friends, angered her teachers, and utterly enraged her father.

PUNCTUATION Comma, Used to break up clauses/phrases in a sentence. Several commas can be used to create a simple list. At the shops I bought eggs, milk, soup, bread and cheese. Exclamation mark ! Shows emotions such as surprise, excitement, enthusiasm, anger or shock. I can’t believe I’ve won! I’ve won! I’m a millionaire!

Question mark ? Indicates a question. Rhetorical Questions don’t require an answer because it is already known or not needed. Questions are often used to involve the reader or grab their attention. Are you tired? Are you stressed? Do you wish you could just forget about your daily troubles? Then why not come to the Clarkston Spa Resort?

Ellipsis … To show a sentence trailing off. To show a sentence being interrupted. To show pauses or uncertainty. To show words have been missed out. She was worried. “I just…I mean… it was right there…can’t believe…I can’t have l…”

Colon : Introduces a list, quotation or example. My favourite books: Jane Eyre, Perfume, Mrs Dalloway, Twilight and War and Peace. Semi-colon ; Separates items in a complex list (where each item is several words long) The company has shops in London which is in the UK; Seville which is in the south of Spain; Houston which is the capital of Texas in America, and Rome the capital of Italy. Dash - Introduces extra information, an elaboration, an explanation or an example. The most terrifying dinosaur was the Tyrannosaurus Rex – a massive, carnivorous and aggressive beast.

Two Dashes or Two Brackets - - ( ) Called parenthesis. Used to insert one of two kinds of extra information: an explanation or more detail. A comment or aside from the writer (often humourous). The age in which the T-Rex lived (the Jurassic Period) was about 200 million years ago. My sister had only come into my room (rude enough in itself) to ask if she could borrow my jeans (as if!).

Strategy – Sentence structure (A) Identify the feature of structure being used. Comment on the effect of the structure on the reader’s understanding of the passage.

Tone Bank Informal; Humorous; Light Hearted; Whimsical; Gently Mocking Sarcastic; Mocking; Ironic Formal; Questioning; Outraged; Angry; Critical; Sinister Nostalgic; Reverential; Reflective; Awed Disappointed; Uncertain; Doubtful

Strategy – Tone (A) Identify the tone. Quote words or phrases that create this tone. Analyse how those words/phrases create the tone.

Formula – Evaluation (E) Identify an appropriate feature or technique. Show how it relates to the writer’s purpose, attitude or overall line of argument.