The Language of Composition
Chapter 2: Close Reading:
The Art and Craft of Analysis
AP English
Language and Composition
Close Reading

Close Reading is the process of
analyzing a text at the diction level to
develop a greater understanding.
 Deeper understanding is derived
from the connotative meanings of
these words.
Close Reading

Writing about close reading reverses
this process, starting with the deeper
understanding and then supporting
that understanding by addressing the
“smaller details,” via the words used.
Close Reading


Close reading is an
instinctive process
that we undertake
daily.
In a personal
conversation, we
always ask ourselves:
 “What’s his purpose?”

“What’s she after?”
Close Reading

We take into
account the
context of the
situation.
 Has anything
significant just
happened to
prompt the
conversation?
Close Reading

We take into
account more
subtle elements:
 Body language
 Facial Expressions
Gestures
 Tone of Voice

Close Reading
Close Reading
requires a return
to the Rhetorical
Triangle.
 These elements
help establish
Ethos, Logos,
and Pathos with
the audience.

Speaker
Ethos
Logos
Audience
Subject
Pathos
Analysis of Style

Understanding
style provides
insight into the
choices the
author makes at
the diction and
syntax levels.
Analysis of Style
Style is the author’s use of tone,
sentence structure, and vocabulary.
 Style can be divided into two
categories:
 Tropes = use of diction.
 Schemes = use of syntax.

Key Questions for the Analysis of Diction
1. Which of the
important words in
the passage (verbs,
nouns, adjectives,
and adverbs) are
general and
abstract? Which are
specific and
concrete?
Key Questions for the Analysis of Diction
2. Are the important
words formal,
informal, colloquial,
or slang?
3. Are some words
non-literal or
figurative, creating
figures of speech
such as metaphors?
Key Questions for the
Analysis of Syntax
1. What is the order
for the parts of
the sentence? Is
it the usual
(subject-verbobject), or is it
inverted?
Key Questions for the
Analysis of Syntax
2. Which part of
speech is more
prominent –
nouns or verbs?
Key Questions for the
Analysis of Syntax
3. What are the sentences like?
 Are they periodic (moving toward
something important), or
 Are they cumulative (adding details
that support an important idea in the
beginning of the sentence)?
Key Questions for the
Analysis of Syntax
4. How does the
sentence connect
its words,
phrases, and
clauses?
Rhetorical Analysis
Speaker
Audience

Subject
Rhetorical analysis is
understanding how
the author connects
the speaker, subject,
and audience, and
why the author makes
the stylistic choices
he/she makes.
Rhetorical Analysis

Close reading is about identifying
techniques and strategies (diction and
syntactical choices), but it is also
about understanding how these
choices help to achieve the author’s
overall purpose.
Rhetorical Analysis
 Analysis
is
about
answering
the “so
what”
question.
Rhetorical Analysis

As an analyst,
you must:
1. Determine the
author’s
purpose
Rhetorical Analysis
2. Identify the
author’s
rhetorical
choices
3. Explain the
effect the
author’s choices
have on the
meaning of the
text
Types of Close Reading

Annotation is a process of note taking
in the text or on post-it notes in the
margin of the text.
 It’s the process of recording your
inner discussion with the text.
Annotations
Here’s what to do:
 Circle unfamiliar words
 Identify main ideas: thesis statements
and topic sentences
 Identify words, phrases, or sentences
that appeal to you or that confuse you
Annotations



Look for figures of
speech, tropes,
schemes, imagery,
and/or details
Identify contradictory
phrases
Jot down questions
or comments about
the text
Dialectical Journal

Dialectical
Journal (DoubleEntry Notebook)
is a visual
representation of
the conversation
between you and
the text.
Dialectical Journal
Dialectical Journals
allow the reader to
break the text up
into smaller
chunks.
 This allows for
greater analysis of
the diction and
syntax employed
within the text.

Page #
Quotation
Why did I
find this
quote
interesting?