Textual Analysis

Things to remember about Textual Analysis (and it all applies to Close Reading, too – the Analysis questions)

The clue is in the title: Textual Analysis.

This means that you have to analyse the text.

This may sound a bit obvious, but it’s worth remembering. “Analyse” means that you examine something in detail. The “text” means the actual words – and you must comment on their effect.

So this means that you get no marks for:

* simply identifying a technique such as the use of a short sentence, a simile, a parenthesis

* saying something vague such as “This has an excellent effect”

* producing a relevant quote, but with no analysis of it

* producing some vague analysis without attaching it to any particular quote.

You get marks only for analysing something very specific, in detail.

So – no marks for the following:

The writer uses a lot of short sentences. [What are they? What is their effect?]

She also uses a lot of excellent vocabulary and this makes the description very vivid – you can really imagine that you were there. [What words do you mean? What is particularly vivid about them?}

She says “The man stared at me as if I were a particularly unpleasant slug” – this helps you to understand what she means. [What does she mean? What are slugs like? How might this describe his expression?]

Later she uses words which suggest all the colours which she sees in the landscape. [What words were these? How do they suggest the colours?]

These would be better answers

The writer uses a lot of short sentences, such as “I stared at him. He was not the usual postman. He was young. His hair was pink. He was smiling.” This emphasises the writer’s surprise at the postman’s unusual appearance, allowing the reader to understand the details clearly, one at a time.

She also uses a lot of very descriptive words to allow the reader to imagine the scene. “Desolate” suggests that the landscape is empty and gives a lonely impression. “Windswept” suggests that the environment is harsh. “Uninviting” gives the impression that the writer wouldn’t like to live there.

She says, “The man stared at me as if I were a particularly unpleasant slug”. A slug is a rather unappealing, slimy little creature, which most people wouldn’t greet with much enthusiasm, especially on their plants. Similarly, the man looked at the narrator as if she were a trivial and rather disgusting pest.

The writer uses a list of words to describe the appearance of the painting. She uses actual colours, such as “red… blue… lime green”, which tell us that the painting was very bright, with lots of different colours, and also words which suggest texture and shade such as “shimmering” – the shiny effect of the lake – and “patchy” – which suggests the uneven texture of the rock face.

Jerry's feedback on student responses to "Laidlaw"

Student response to last question from "In Mrs Tilscher's Class" Textual Analysis