Higher Close Reading

Transcription

1 Higher Close Reading

2 ANALYSIS In the Close Reading paper you will be expected to analyse and comment on two texts that you have never seen before. For some people that is a very daunting prospect but it doesn t have to be One way to analyse new texts is through this MAGIC FORMULA

3 Word choice Connotations Imagery Figures of speech

4 Word choice creates images in our minds From these images we create links or connotations Figures of speech are used by the writer to create the imagery we picture in our minds These four literary devices are inter connected and can be viewed in any order from side to side, up and down and in a cycle. It is important to remember this

5 Activity 1 Words create connotations As a group, consider the word RAT What does this word mean to you? Is it positive or negative? Does it create a pleasant image in your mind? What other words are related to this word? Mind map this word and see how many connotations you can find.

6 Activity 2 More Connotations In pairs consider the following words Friends Nature Culture school Home God War Port Glasgow Mind map the words and think about your results Many of the connotations might be predictable but some may be surprising You could try mind mapping the surprising ones

7 Word choice creates connotations and images and is made up of figures of speech

8 Activity 3 The magic formula in practice On your own write a few creative sentences to describe two of the following A busy city street The sunset over an ocean The movement of a cat An aeroplane taking off A park in wintertime Mountains in summertime

9 Now, swap your writing with a partner and using the formula,analyse how the other person has created a particular image. What you have done here is no different to the analysis you will perform in the exam Words work When the evening is spread out against the sky like a patient etherised upon a table ( T.S. Elliot) The piercing chill I feel: My dead wife s comb, in our bedroom, under my heel (Taniguchi Buson)

10 The four main techniques covered by analysis are SENTENCE STRUCTURE IMAGERY TONE WORD CHOICE You will never be asked simply to analyse a sentence or paragraph You will be asked how the techniques help the writer get his point across Always keep in mind the demands of the question you may be asked how the language features convey the writer s feelings or emphasise the point they are making

11 Activity 4 Analyse Sentence Structure Look for anything in the way sentences are constructed: whether they are long or short, linking functions, why there is a parenthesis, why there are lists, what is the effect of a metaphor or simile etc..

12 I have often wondered whether the world would have heard of him had he dug his heels in on the day of departure. Probably not. In 1930, in racist, reactionary, bigoted, small town America, uppity young black men were lucky to get one break, let alone two. Destiny decreed otherwise. A legend was in the making. What overwhelms you about this man from such a violent trade are the goodness, sincerity and generosity that have survived a lifetime of controversy, racial hatred, fundamental religious conversion, criminal financial exploitation, marital upheavals, revilement by many of his own nation and eventually the collapse of his own body Higher Mohammed Ali Passage

13 Think about the question you are asked about how sentence structure helps the writer to dramatise his view about destiny and Ali Try to find as many interesting features of sentence structure as you can, then think how that helps to bring the passage to life. You should have been able to find some of the following features and explain how they made the passage more dramatic

14 First sentence quite long, the writer is asking himself a question. Second sentence by contrast this is very short and is answering the question. Third sentence this contains a list of adjectives describing America the cumulative effect is highlighting how difficult it was for a black man to succeed.

15 Paragraph 2 First sentence - very short and dramatic. Drama continued in the next sentence Final sentence contains two lists. The first is a list of attributes a list of Ali s good qualities. This contrasts with the lengthy list of events in his life, which show the difficulties he had to overcome. The parenthesis eventually comes at the end of this long list of problems and shows that this was the worst of his problems

16 Activity 5 Analysing Imagery With questions on imagery, always look at what the image is (use the magic formula) and how it applies to what the writer is trying to say. Writers use images to make it easier to understand what they are trying to say because we can picture the image in our heads.

17 One fight I attended in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, showed a fascinating insight into how the money haemorrhaged. He was accompanied by a retinue of 44, of whom perhaps six were professionally involved. The rest were relatives, old pals of Ali who had fallen on hard times, and outright leeches. Daily they plundered the hotel s shopping mall, amassing clothes, jewellery and tacky souvenirs, all charged to Ali account. Higher 2001

18 Q. Show how effective you find the writer s use of imagery to convey his feelings about what happened to Muhammed Ali s money. A * Remember the demands of the question!

19 We will examine them one at a time There were four really good images you could have looked at in this example. remembering the demands of the question. Remember also to look at the marks the question is worth This will give you an indication of how much you need to put in your answer

20 HAEMORRHAGED this usually means bled profusely. Here it shows how the money disappeared at an alarming rate like an injury where the bleeding cannot be stopped. This shows how the writer is aware of the speed at which the money was spent

21 RETINUE this suggests the people surrounding a king or a person of importance. Ali is like the king with all these people living off him, like spongers at a royal court. This shows the writer s disapproval of them

22 LEECHES these are usually creatures that suck blood. This infers that the people living off Ali s money are like insects living off his blood. The fact that the leech is usually seen as a horrible slimy creature shows the writers feelings towards these people

23 PLUNDERED this means stole and is usually associated with looting. Here it is used to describe Ali s hangers-on getting things from the shops without paying for them themselves. The writer describes them as if they were thieves.

24 Don t understand the meaning of any of these words? REMEMBER work on your vocabulary skills!

25 Activity 6 Analysing Word Choice When you are dealing with questions on word choice, always think of the CONNOTATIONS of the word, not just its meaning. The writer has chosen these particular words for a reason: to show his attitude, his feelings, his stance etc.

26 Higher 2002 We are sitting at one end of a time corridor, over a thousand years long. We, that is, you and I, are trying to concentrate on the dark remoteness at the other end the Dark Ages of Europe. They, the foreigners at the other end are almost silent. Whilst we are bathed in light and colour, they are hidden from the harsh glare of the sun in what looks like a cell or a tunnel

27 Q. Show how the word choice in these lines illuminates any 2 aspects of the world of the Dark Ages. A.

28 Again there are many features that you could find and comment on. 1. DARK REMOTENESS this shows how far away from us these people are, how strange their world is. 1. FOREIGNERS how different these people are from us

29 3. ALMOST SILENT their world is almost without noise 4. HIDDEN - these people are frightened by the brightness we take for granted 5. A CELL OR TUNNEL this suggests a dark, enclosed space where they are hemmed in without light

30 Activity 7 Analysing Tone You should Know by now which TONES are most likely to turn up. When you read the relevant section, try to think of the tone you would use if you were reading it ALOUD When asked about tone you are often being asked about the writer s attitude to the subject matter.

31 If the purpose is to entertain the tone might be light heated or humorous. In this case it is likely to be more informal or conversational INFORMAL Colloquial, slang and dialect words Simple short sentences Contractions I ll, It s, They re etc Incorrect grammar

32 If the writer s purpose is more serious then the choice of words will reflect this and the word choice is likely to be far more formal. FORMAL Standard English/Complex vocabulary Complex sentences No contractions Correct grammar

33 A writer who feels angry and trying to shock the reader will use emotive language the shivering children huddled together covered only by a sour smelling blanket A writer trying to be persuasive will use words like surely e.g. surely we should expect a higher candidate to identify tone correctly

34 Recognising an ironic tone is vital. Irony is usually an attempt to make us laugh at something foolish or to make a moral comment. The statement appears innocent on the surface but has an underlying meaning. E.G. Siegfried Sassoon wrote Does it matter? Losing your sight? There s such splendid work for the blind: And people will always be kind He was disgusted at attitudes to War casualties and attacked them in his poetry.

35 Higher 2002 Lexden Church Hall was a typical modern municipal amenity: orange and green curtains, a squeaky floor and a faint smell of hospitals. To encourage an atmosphere most of the lights were off. Q. Show how the writer uses tone to convey his feelings about the experience. Remember you have to identify the tone and show how the writer achieves it

36 A> The tone is one of irony. The description typical modern amenity is followed by a colon, which suggests the expectation of something modern and interesting. Instead it sounds really grim. The second sentence reinforces the idea of how dull and unexciting the place was.

37 REMEMBER For every feature you find in Analysis you should mention THREE things in your answer QUOTATION TECHNIQUE COMMENT ON EFFECT Using this will ensure you are rewarded for all the thinking you have done

38 ANTICIPATING THE QUESTION One of the most advantageous skills to have in the Close Reading exam is the ability to anticipate what the paper may ask you as you are reading the passages for the first time. This takes some practice, but is extremely useful. The best way to develop this skill is to make sure you are familiar with the format of Higher Close Reading questions and to be actively analysing while you read the paper.

39 Activity 8 Write Your Own Questions Look at the following sentence: It s been something of a national hobby, which is why there is almost no corner of the globe where you won t stumble over a Caledonian Society enthusiastically peopled by folks who will do anything for the old country bar live in it.

40 If you read something like this in an exam paper, you might snigger to yourself. This should be your clue that that the important technique here is the ironic TONE. On closer inspection, we can see that this is created through certain WORD CHOICE, such as stumble and enthusiastically, as well as the anti-climax of the SENTENCE STRUCTURE.

41 So, when you came to the question paper, it would not be any surprise to you to see a question like this: What is the writer s tone and how is it achieved? 2 A In your head, you have already answered this question fully, so this is two very easy marks. Also, you will be able to answer this question a lot more quickly, thus saving yourself time for the more complex questions.

42 The machine is slowly changing my behaviour. Certainly, I stand much more happily in the irritating bank queue when plugged into a Brahms Intermezzo or the addictive Chopin Barcarolle but at the same time I notice almost nothing going on around me. Worse, were you to try to wrest my ipod away from me, I would become quite violent. Worse still, I am so intent on what is flowing into my head that even if I do notice other people, they belong to a universe quite unconnected with my own.

43 You should have noticed that the WORD CHOICE concerning the ipod was very positive, whereas that relating to everyday life is negative. This contrast is also highlighted by the words universe and unconnected. You should also have noticed the climactic SENTENCE STRUCTURE of Certainly Worse Worse still and that the first sentence is short, to be direct about the point they are making.

44 So, hopefully you formulated a question similar to this: How does the sentence structure and word choice in the above show the writer s concerns about her increasing dependence on her ipod? 4 A Hopefully this has shown you how predictable the SQA are with their questioning, how easy it is to analyse any text and how brilliantly you are going to perform in this year s exam!