1. For CLOSE READING

2.  For Higher English we need to look at OVERALL STRUCTURE  and  SENTENCE STRUCTURE  (Overall structure could be a topic for discussion in the final question which invites you to compare the two texts.)

3.  Two popular models of structure to be found in HE are:  FIRST MODEL  1) Question: What are we to gather about this issue?  2) A series of points or answers: Firstly/secondly/even more crucially....  3) A conclusion: So, the answer.........

4.  SECOND MODEL  1) Proposition The idea of ---- is much debated  2) A discussion Some people think../ Others believe that.../On the other hand..../But there is also......  3) A conclusion On the whole it would appear that....

5.  These are only two examples.  Many others which are variations on these.  Look out for SIGNPOSTS or LINKING words of phrases which will help you identify the way the argument of the passage is developing.  For instance, TIME is sometimes used:  In the past... But now...However, in the future....  So you could say the passage was arranged in time sequence to clarify the progress of the argument.

6.  Look out for organisational clues in opening sentences.  Look out for first words in paragraphs which can act as signposts. Series of points? Various opinions? Time sequence? Geographic? Etc. Etc.

7.  As with imagery and word choice, it is not enough to identify the kind of sentence.  You MUST say what the EFFECT of this particular structuring of the sentence has on the reader.  MEMORISE the 5 main possibilities

8.  Check each of the 5 possibilities against the sentence you are being asked to comment on. They are:  1) Punctuation and lists  2) Length of sentence  3) Use of climax or anti-climax  4) Repetition  5) Word order

9. . a point is finished.  !: gives TONE. (surprise, anger, excitement?)  : start of list/explanation/elaboration of idea  ; balancing point in sentence To err is human; to forgive divine. OR phrases in list  ( ),, - - all indicate a parenthesis ( to give additional information on....OR set up chatty aside with reader.  “.......” around word may cast doubt on truthfulness of words they highlight OR a quote OR identify titles of something.  ? To hook reader OR, to start discussion OR,if a number of them, to suggest confusion or bewilderment of writer.

10.  Identification is not enough.  You MUST comment on function and effect.  USUALLY you say ‘To emphasise the sheer number/quantity of......” OR “The cumulative effect underlines the number/quantity of...” OR “To emphasise the monotony of....”

11.  Easy to spot, trickier to comment on.  Short sentence. USUALLY you say ‘It adds dramatic impact to what is said since it stands out and takes the reader by surprise”  Its effect is doubled if it comes after a particularly LONG set of sentences.....  If it comes at the beginning of a paragraph, its position may add to its importance. It captures the essence of what is to follow in longer, explanatory sentences.

12.  Long sentence. USUALLY there to emphasise the length or complexity or monotony of some process or topic under discussion. (Check if preceded or followed by short sentence. Make something of this.)

13.  CLIMAX Check lists for this: e.g. ‘a thriving, gossiping and defiant sisterhood.’ ‘Strongest and most positive adjective saved for last to build to climax thus showing the writer’s admiration for the women’s stand.’

14.  ANTI-CLIMAX. Check lists for this also.  ‘The effect of the list is to suggest a build- up to something important, but the final item is quite the opposite which is humorous, coming as it does after many serious items.’

15.  Repetition in sentence structure/repetition in expressions or words/  Usually the effect is to underline the importance of what is being repeated: We need money, we need ships, we need men to sail them but most of all we need the courage of our convictions.  The repetition of the ‘we need’ phrase highlights the writer’s belief in the total necessity of these items and is his way of getting this through to the reader

16.  Writers play with this to create special effects: to give more impact to ideas; to stress feelings. Look for what may be at the opening of the sentence. Is this the order you would use in everyday speech?  I have asked this question a dozen times.  A dozen times I have asked this question.  By putting the phrase which he thinks most important at the beginning (‘a dozen times’) the writer is making its importance more vivid and noticeable for the reader/ bringing something special to the reader’s attention.

17.  The same kind of effect can also be created by moving the important word to the END. E.g. The chief coach was a strong disciplinarian but fierce in his protection of his players.  This can become: The chief coach was a string disciplinarian but in his protection of his players, fierce.