A close reading focuses on a small part of a larger work in an effort to dig into the details of the works construction

Close Reading

A close reading focuses on the specific details of a works construction. You take the time to appreciate details of alliteration, repetition, how particular words contribute to theme, or in the case of visual texts, color, lighting, angles, perspective, etc. This is the primary technique used in composing textual analysis papers, and is essential for developing evidence for any persuasive writing.

The term close reading refers both to the act of reading a text closely, and the written product of your analysis of a text. Well start with the analysis aspect.

There are three major elements in a close reading:

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

Meaning/Claim: assertion about what the what means for our understanding of the text.

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

Here are two approaches for getting at these elements. Note that the first step is ALWAYS to read the passageyou 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 youve 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. Read the passage or study the image 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 step 2: articulate exactly what it is about the evidence that leads to your assertion about the meaning.

Careful with this one: for it to work logically, you have to be able to hold a hypothesis 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; its the proof that your assertion about meaning is supported by the text. The rest is mainly organization.

Here are the elements expected in a written close-reading-type 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 youll cite to support your claim, and how youve decided to organize the presentation of your analysis.

3. Body paragraphs with topic sentences that assert a part of the thesisby proving the topic sentences, youll 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 youve done.

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

Developing Close Reading Tools

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, 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?

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 text youre 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 youre 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 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, 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, stick figure; how might the style contribute to the meaning?

Pay close attention to character details, such as facial expressions, clothing, 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.

Kathryn Tucker, Ph.D.