9b E (Fb)
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Useful phrases for analysing texts
In general: “bedient sich adäquater Mittel der LESERLEITUNG”
= Vor-, Quer- und Rückverweise, e.g.:
- In the following, I’m going to … [= tell your readers what you are about
to do]
- As I said before / in the beginning … (etc.)
- I will enlarge upon this later / in the next paragraph … (etc.)
- Concluding one can say / In brief / To put it in a nutshell / From all this
follows that … (etc.)
 Make it easy for readers of your text to follow your argumentation!
Task 1:
 The text at hand / the given text is [an extract/excerpt from] … [a short
story/speech/newspaper article/novel/poem a.s.o.] written by […] [and
published in (the New York Times etc.) on [date] / in [year]. It is about /
deals with / treats of / describes / is concerned with / presents … [topic
= general topic, no details!].
 The general/essential/main idea expressed is …
 The [author/writer/speaker/poet] starts off by [+ gerund, e.g. stating
that …].
 He/She goes on by [+ gerund]…
 He/She speaks about / discusses / gives his (her) opinion on … /
expresses his (her) view concerning … / holds the view that … /
comments on … / presents the thesis that … / draws (come) to the
conclusion that …
 Use the present tense; don’t quote; use neutral language, i.e. don’t
evaluate; use your own words / paraphrase.
Task 2:
 In the following, I’m going to … [say what you are about to do, e.g. …
characterise Molly while putting special emphasis on the reasons for her
behaviour in this excerpt… cf. task!]
When analysing the structure of a text:
 The text/story/speech can be divided into / is divided into / falls into / is
composed of / contains / consists of […] parts / paragraphs / chapters
/ sections.
 The first / […] / last part / paragraph / sentence constitutes / gives us /
comprises the introduction / central problem / principal part / solution.
 In the first / […] / last part the author varies the theme / changes the
topic / goes into detail / passes from … to …
9b E (Fb)
2
When characterising:
 The author describes the characteristics / outer appearance /
intellectual qualities / mood / activities / social and psychological
condition / character traits of …
 The author gives a realistic / detailed description of / only gives a rough
description of ..
 The character is described / presented / characterised as …
 The basic traits of A’s character are …
 One of A’s striking characteristics is …
When analysing rhetorical / stylistic devices:
 The author makes use of / employs …
 This is done in order to stress / put emphasis on / emphasise / draw
attention to / highlight …
 The author wants to involve the readers/listeners by [+ gerund] /
convince them of …
 He/She wants to appeal to (e.g. the readers’ conscience) …
 He/She wants to imply / implies that …
 He/She wants to arouse interest / simplify / illustrate …
 He/She refers to an example
 He7She makes use of / employs / uses formal / informal / colloquial
words / expression / language.
 This word / phrase / expression refers to / underlines / emphasises /
means / stands for …
When referring to the text:
 As it is written in l./ll.: …
 As one can read in l./ll.
 This is indicated by l./ll. where it is said that …
 This can be proven with l./ll.
 L./ll. (…) suggest(s) that … as it is said that …
 …
 Don’t forget to sum up your main results.
 Use the present tense in your analysis only; use your own words; always
PROVE what you’re claiming by REFERRING to the respective lines.
 Don’t just list rhetorical or stylistic devices, but always explain their
function and their effect on the reader/listener.
 Try not to repeat what you’ve already written in task 1.
 ANALYSE doesn’t mean SUMMARISE, i.e. read between the lines.
Task 3:
 Task 3 can either be an EVALUATION (i.e. pro- and counter-arguments +
own opinion) or a RE-CREATION OF TEXT (e.g. a diary entry).
 You usually DON’T quote in task 3, but for a re-creation of text task it
might be necessary to refer to the text again (e.g. in case you’re asked
to refute an argument etc.)