"What is Close Reading?": A Literary Guide for English Students and Teachers

Summary

Close reading is a detailed textual analysis that goes beyond mere comprehension to interpret a text's deeper meanings. It involves examining both the content and the stylistic elements like imagery and figurative language. The process includes observing specific textual evidence, noting patterns and anomalies, and interpreting these observations to draw conclusions. It's not about summarizing or speculating on reader effects but uncovering the text's underlying ideologies and constructing new knowledge. Close reading is iterative, with observation and interpretation often occurring simultaneously, and when used for writing, it culminates in forming a cohesive argument.

Takeaways

• 📚 Close reading is a method of textual analysis that goes beyond comprehension to interpretation.
• 🔍 It involves looking at both the content of the text and the way it communicates its message through literary devices.
• 📝 The Common Core Standards define close reading as citing specific textual evidence to support conclusions drawn from the text.
• 🎓 Scholars use close reading to uncover underlying ideologies and culturally/socially constructed ideas within a text.
• 📈 Close reading is valued in higher education for its ability to generate new knowledge and insights.
• 👀 The process includes reading and observing the text multiple times to note as many specific details as possible.
• ✍️ Note-taking is a crucial part of close reading, which can involve annotating the text or compiling observations.
• 🔎 The second step is interpretation, where patterns and anomalies in observations are analyzed for implicit ideas.
• 🔄 The process of observation and interpretation in close reading is often iterative rather than strictly sequential.
• 📑 For writing a paper, a third step involves organizing observations and interpretations into a cohesive argument.
• ❌ Close reading is not just summarizing content, speculating on reader effects, relying on secondary sources, or seeking a single 'right' interpretation.

Q & A

What is the origin of the term 'close reading'?

The term 'close reading' has been around longer than the Common Core, but its exact origin is not specified in the script. It has been used in various contexts, including literary analysis and education.

How does the Common Core's definition of 'close reading' differ from a literary scholar's?

The Common Core emphasizes citing 'specific textual evidence' to support conclusions, while scholars view close reading as a mode of analysis that goes beyond comprehension to interpretation, often focusing on uncovering underlying ideologies and embedded ideas.

What is the significance of close reading in the context of higher education in the United States?

Close reading is significant because it is a method that allows for the production of new knowledge, which is highly valued in the U.S. higher education system.

What are the two major steps involved in the process of close reading?

The two major steps are reading and observing, which includes noting 'specific textual evidence', and interpreting what is noticed by looking for patterns and anomalies in the text.

Why is it important to read a text multiple times during close reading?

Reading a text multiple times allows for a more thorough collection of observations, which is essential for a deep and detailed analysis.

What role does notetaking play in close reading?

Notetaking is a crucial part of close reading as it helps in recording direct observations and thoughts, which can be annotated in the margins or collected in a notebook or computer file.

How does the process of close reading differ from simply summarizing a text?

Close reading goes beyond summarizing by analyzing how the text conveys its content through literary devices and by exploring the text's underlying ideologies and cultural constructs.

What is the 'bonus step' in close reading when writing a paper?

The bonus step is to organize observations and interpretations into a cohesive argument, which may involve refining or expanding the analysis to support the developing argument.

Why might close reading not require secondary sources?

Close reading is grounded in the text itself, focusing on direct observations and interpretations from the primary source material, rather than relying on external sources for analysis.

How does close reading handle the idea of multiple interpretations of a text?

Close reading acknowledges that there are many ways to observe and interpret a text, and it does not seek a single 'right' answer but rather encourages a deep exploration of the text's layers of meaning.

What are some literary devices that might be analyzed during close reading?

Literary devices such as imagery, figurative language, and motif are often analyzed during close reading to understand how the text conveys its meaning.