1. HOW TO UNDERSTAND A DOCUMENT
1. A TEXT

2. 1. Look around the text ¤ Time period? ¤ Author? ¤ Place and context?
It was written / published / issued in + month / year
on + day
¤ Author?
-- It was written by ……..
¤ Place and context?
-- It dates from …, a period when…
Note:
if there are questions, read them first to look for clues.

3. 2. Look at the text Type of text? It is…
-an extract (=excerpt) from a novel / biography / short story / historical document / newspaper / user guide / a movie script / a (theatre) play…
- a poem, a personal or professional letter, the lyrics from a song…

4. 3. Read the text
--) WH ?  spot all the reference to people: Names, pronouns (she = ?, they =?), nouns (her cousin, our boss…) Types of narrator (who is telling the story?)

5. --) Where?  place (City or Country names, indoors or outdoors, familiar or strange place, fictional or non-fictional?) --) When? Dates, time of year / of the day, characters’ age. --) What? main topic(s) Look for lexical fields, repeated words, key words.

6. Why ? Why is it important / funny / sad that…
How? How does it make you feel, what’s your reaction?
How? How is it done? The tricks the author uses to make us feel… angry, sympathetic, aware…

7. 4. Report on the text
Use all the questions from n°2 and 3 to recap all you know, from the most obvious to the most personal.
This text is a… from… by… It was written in… during a period of…
This extract is about / deals with…
It conveys a (very deep, committed, meaningful…) message thanks to (rhythm, lexical fields, identification with the characters…)