Close Reading

Close reading is an integral part of comprehension, analysis, and writing rhetoric prompts. As noted in class today, it will take time at the beginning of a prompt to connect with the text via the circling/underling/what geometric shape you prefer of words and phrases that stand out during your reading process. These words will eventually form patterns of diction, tone, and other strategies or signify shifts in strategies throughout the passage. The most significant reason to close read is to have a plan and have the evidence for your essay at your fingertips. You won't have to reread the passage over and over to find suitable evidence. Close reading saves you time in the long run! Shocking!

To start a prompt, you have to break down the prompt itself: what type of essay are you writing, who is the author and his/her audience, what is the background needed for analysis? As noted in class, some people misread the prompt from the beginning - identifying the wrong audience or the wrong information regarding Banneker. 

Afterwards, you dive into the prompt, circling (my preference) words of importance, significance, notice. You may not know the strategy yet, but you can find connections between your circled words. As you progress through each paragraph, you will begin to notice repetitive and shifting elements -- what you need for an understanding of the entire passage!

Once the close read has reached its zenith, you can then construct a brief outline/list/plan for what the essay will cover. Knowing your strategies - and the order - will help you write more effectively and more quickly. Notice how time just came up again!

For homework, finish any close reading of the Banneker prompt, read the instructions for your new AP scoring gig, and evaluate the rangefinder essays by giving each one a score somewhere in the range of 1-9. We will be working with these rangefinders on Monday, so make sure you have everything ready to go for class. Absentees, this is hard copy only. I highly recommend stopping by on Monday morning and picking up the rangefinder packet to prep for your later AP Lang class that day.

Meanwhile...at this point, all classes have been assigned Vocab Unit 13 words, which will either resume (4th hour) or begin (the rest of you) on Monday.