Close Reading

What is Close Reading?

'Close Reading' is the primary technique used in composing textual analysis papers and is essential for developing evidence for any persuasive writing. You, as the reader, focus on the specific details of a work's construction. You take the time to appreciate details of alliteration, repetition, how particular words contribute to the theme, color, lighting, angles, perspective, etc. As the writer, you will then construct your analysis of a work based on the details and patterns that stood out to you.

The Three Major Elements in a Close Reading:

• What/Data: textual evidence; a word, a phrase, an image, a literary technique, etc.

• Why/Claim: an assertion about what the "what" means for our understanding of the text

• How/Analysis: explanation of exactly how the "data" leads to the "claim."

Two Types of Approaches to Close Reading:

Here are two approaches for getting at these elements. Note that the first recommended step is to read the passage as you must have a sense of the whole before you begin assigning meaning or focusing on parts.

• "Data - Analysis - Conclusion (Claim)" Approach (usually preferable)

1. Read the passage.

2. Read the passage again, possibly aloud, and take note of any words, phrases, sounds, etc., that strike you.

3. Analyze the details you've found; organize them by theme, by type, by whatever seems to make sense, then determine what meanings they suggest by thinking about denotations, connotations, multiple meanings, contexts, etc.

4. Articulate your conclusions about the meaning of the details.

• "Hypothesis (Claim) - Data - Analysis" Approach

  1. 1. Read the passage or study the images carefully.

     2. Paraphrase the general theme or message of the text. Be sure to distinguish this from the message of the person speaking; sometimes the text does not support the claims of the character.

     3. Comb the text for details to explain your interpretation of its message. Note any textual or visual evidence that relates to the theme or message you got from your reading. 

     4. Connect step 3 to 2: articulate exactly what it is about the evidence that leads to your assertion about the meaning. 

     5. It is important to be mindful with the "Hypothesis (Claim) - Data - Analysis" approach. For it to work logically, you have to be able to hold a hypotheis loosely and change it to fit the evidence you find, rather than collecting only evidence that fits your hypothesis.

As for the written product, the bulk of any close-reading essay is the elaboration of the "how" element. The "how" is the glue between the textual evidence and the meaning you claim that evidence makes; it's proof that your assertion about meaning is supported by the text. The rest is mainly organization.

Elements to Include in a Written Close-Reading Essay for an Academic Audience:

1. An introduction including the elements your reader should be aware of to understand your thesis.

2. A thesis (generally as part of the introductory paragraph) that includes your claim about "meaning" and a "road map of your evidence - some suggestion as to the types of data you'll cite to support your claim, and how you've decided to organize the presentation of your analysis.

3. Body paragraphs with topic sentences that assert a part of the thesis by proving the topic sentences, you'll prove the thesis - and mention what part of the claim the particular paragraph will deal with. The content of the body paragraphs should be the articulated steps of the analysis you've done.

4. A conclusion that, at minimum, should recapitulate your argument, but preferably includes some assertions about the significance of your argument.

A Close Reading Tool-Box:

This guide may be helpful in analyzing passages, quotations, and images, both for your papers and for class discussions. This is not a worksheet; do not feel obligated to respond to each point here. The following are suggestions about how to pinpoint common types of data and connect them to meanings; some of the tips are useful more most texts, others are specific to fiction or poetry, others to persuasive argument, and others to visual rhetoric:

• How is the author using language to create specific effects? Is there a lot of detail? Is the language rich and flowery, or dry and scientific? Academic and formal, or colloquial and casual?

• What words are used? Use a dictionary to look up even words you already know; sometimes secondary definitions or the etymology of a word can shed new light on a passage. Do you notice any repetition of words, sounds, or images? What effect does the repetition create? Are words connected in themes or associations? Pay attention to the denotation v. connotation of the words.

• What tone does the passage convey? Is it comic? Straightforward? Satirical? Tragic? Mysterious? How do you know what words or expressions contribute to the tone? This is based on the feelings you get from your reading. Use textual evidence to support your claim to the reader.

• Identify figurative language, such as metaphors, similes, imagery, allusions, etc. What are the conventional uses or understandings of these images or ideas? Does the text support their traditional interpretation, or does the way they are used suggest an alternative understanding? Do the words suggest similar relationships or contradictory ones?

• What is the point of the text or part of the text you're analyzing? Is the author creating a mood? describing a character? making a pointed political critique? How do the elements of the text accomplish this goal?

• Do elements in the passage foreshadow, contextualize, or mirror other situations in the work? How does the foreshadowing, contextualizing, or mirroring help explain other events?

• Place the part of the text you're analyzing in its context within the work as a whole. Consider language use, images, themes, tone, etc. Are issues in this passage echoed throughout the text, or is this our only glimpse of a particular concern? Does the language in this passage exemplify that used throughout the work, or is there an abrupt change in style? How does this passage fit into the work?

• How does the text use space? Consider panel breaks, divisions, transitions, rests, as well as the organization of space within the panel or each panel. How are objects set in relation to each other: what happens in the space between objects, what angles/lines explicitly or implicitly connect objects, and what perspective does the text present'?

• How does the text use visual details like color and artistic style? For color, consider both hue and value: what connotations do the colors have, if any? Is there a pattern to how the colors are arranged or assigned? For style, consider whether the image is realistic, caricature, heavy line, sketch, or stick figure; how might the style contribute to the meaning?

• Pay close attention to character details, such as facial expressions, clothing, and props. How are characters dressed, and what does that suggest? What props are associated with each character? How do facial expressions contribute to the effect of the image?

• When texts are mostly visual, the inclusion or exclusion of words is important. Consider elements such as placement, set-ups and punchlines, spoken words vs. thought bubbles, in the image vs outside, rhythm (often connected to spatial position), and the absence of words.

Remember! You can always visit the Writing Center and have a session with a specialist to go over brainstorming, drafting, argument development, and so much more!