CLOSE READING

INTERMEDIATE 2: Wednesday 16 May

1.00pm – 2.00pm

HIGHER: Thursday 17 May

9.00am – 10.45am

Understanding Questions (U)Understanding questions ask you about the MEANING of what has

been written.

Meaning is usually gained by explaining the words that written around the given phrase. (always in your own words) (e.g. Context questions)

They often require you to show your understanding of the line of thought or argument in the text. (e.g. Link questions)

Always Follow the “pattern” when answering questions. Always use your own words.

You Try…. Context Question

“The rumour that Douglas was a prisoner was still unsubstantiated. There had been no witnesses to his bailing out of the plane, and no solid information could be expected from beyond enemy lines for weeks, perhaps even months.”

Question:

Show how the context helped you arrive at the meaning of the word unsubstantiated.

Context Questions

How do we answer it? (Pattern)

1. Clearly give the meaning of the word in the question. (i.e. unsubstantiated)

2. Quote two words/phrases that help you get to the meaning of this word and explain briefly how those quotes helped you.

(Quickly … you have 2 minutes ….)

Try one More ….(use the pattern ….)

“Most of the stuff earmarked for Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP) in the New Mexico desert is plutonium-contaminated detritus which emits relatively low quantities of radioactivity – gloves, bits of drill, flasks, valves, rags, test tubes, pipes, sludge, shoes, lab coats and so on.

Question:

Show how the sentence provides a context which enables you to understand the meaning of the word “detritus”.

Understanding Link Questions ..

Link questions ask you to prove that you understand the line of though/argument of the text.

You will be asked how one sentence acts as a link between the two parts.

Practice Link Question …

“This is not the first book that Bronson has written from behind bars, having already published Birdman Opens His Mind, which features drawings and poems created by Bronson while in prison. And he is not the first prisoner to discover creative expression while residing at Her Majesty’s pleasure.

Jimmy Boyle, the Scots sculpture and novelist, discovered his artistic talents when he was sent to Barlinnie Prison’s famous special unit, which aimed to help inmates put their violent pasts behind them by teaching them how to express their emotions artistically.

Question:Explain how the last sentence of the first paragraph acts as a link

between two paragraphs.

Link Question Pattern …

1 Quote the part of the link sentence that refers back to the earlier topic …

2 Explain what that topic is …

3 Quote the part of the link sentence that looks forward to the next topic …

4 Explain what that topic is about.

5 If a linking word/phrase is used (e.g. a conjunction) then refer to it.

And he is not the first prisoner to discover creative expression while residing at Her Majesty’s pleasure.

Conjunction – linking word between two ideas

“to discover creative expression…” Links back to the first idea of Bronson discovering his creative ability ....

“he is not the first prisoner” … links forward to introduce Jimmy Boyle ..

Context Question … You Try …“Early one morning the sub-inspector at a police

station the other end of the town range me up on the phone and said that an elephant was ravaging the bazaar. Would I please come and do something about it? I did not know what I could do, but I wanted to see what was happening and I got on to a pony and started out. I took my rifle, and old .44 Winchester and much to small to kill an elephant, but I thought the noise might be useful in terrorem.

Question: Decide on the meaning of “in terrorem’ by the words around it.

Answer …

The word “in terrorem” seems to mean to scare or terrorise.

The reference to the “old .44 winchester’ rifle and its loudness or “noise” suggest that both are meant to scare or terrorise the elephant.

Try another Link Question

George Orwell said that sport was “war minus the shooting”. Orwell’s famous phrase captures well the passion and hatred that animates the great football rivalries – Rangers and Celtic, Barcelona and Real Madrid, Liverpool and Manchester United. Remove the hostility between these rivals and the sporting contest is diminished.

For this reason, Spurs fans were not only justified but duty-bound to give Sol Campbell a torrid reception on his return to White Hart Lane in enemy colours. Supporters held up balloons and posters bearing the word “Judas” booed Campbell’s every touch, and pelted Campbell’s team bus with beer cans and bottles.

Answer:

1. “Enemy colours” 2. links back to paragraph one which describes

people treating sports like a war.3. “torrid reception” 4. links forward to the next paragraph which

describes crowd anger at Sol Campbell defecting to White Hart Lane playing for a new team.

5. “For This Reason” is the linking phrase between the two paragraphs.

Next Tricky type of Close Reading Question ….

Sentence Structure

• Statement• Rhetorical Question• Exclamation• Command• Minor Sentences

=> Used to create atmosphere or create a tone.

Used for making

Strong points

Getting you to think about the issues

Humour/shock

A challenge to respond

Dramatic effect

Short and long sentences side by side is known as juxtaposition – used to grab your attention .

Punctuation Questions:

What are these AND WHY ARE THEY USED?

1. Parenthesis.2. Colon3. Semi-colon4. Dash5. Inverted Commas

You Try …

“I thought I was in heaven. They couldn’t get me; they didn’t know where I was. Even I didn’t know where I was – well, I was in the steam-room of my health club as usual but, in one very real sense, I’d fallen off the edge of the world. You see, I’d had my mobile phone stolen.

Class Discussion: Comments on sentence structure, punctuation, tone and atmosphere ..

Imagery(Literal/root meaning + connotations + Effectiveness)

1. Simile

2. Metaphor

3. sustained metaphor

4. Personification

5. Onomatopoeia

6. Alliteration

7. hyperbole

8. Litotes

9. Euphemism

10. Paradox

11. Oxymoron

12. Juxtaposition

13. Cliche

What two things are being compared? (Literal meanings!)

In what respect are the two things similar?

How does the comparison help you to visualise the subject better?

Imagery Practice …“Yet at the heart of this even more draconian approach to

immigration policy lie a number of misconceptions. The UK is not a group of nations swamped by a tidal wave of immigration. Relatively speaking, Europe contends with a trickle of refugees compared with countries who border areas of famine, desperate poverty, or violent political upheaval. The countries of origin of the highest numbers coming here change from year to year, depending on the hotspots of global conflict.

But whether they are transient or would-be settlers, they face an uphill battle trying to find legal employment. People with real skills and talents to offer us find themselves in the black economy, or unemployed, because of a sluggish system of processing applicants, allied to regulations which preclude the legal marketplace.”

Discuss how effective you find the writer’s use of imagery in lines 27-37 in making her point clear. You may refer in your answer to one or more examples.