Teaching Students to Analyze Deeply
In the early days of my teaching career, close reading analysis became a buzz word quickly in the English department along with ICE paragraph writing (what isn’t buzzwordified in education?!). Teachers argued about what it meant and wondered how to scaffold the skill effectively (we were in the midst of curriculum renewal). We built close reading analysis into courses, assessments, and rubrics and trusted PLC’s (professional learning communities) to figure out the process of teaching close reading skills.
Sophomore year, in particular, became the year of close reading analysis and teaching students how to uplevel their analysis essay writing skills. Naturally, this had me wondering how best to instruct students and provide them with the experience and tools necessary to be successful.
Teaching Students The Close Reading Process
I found it helpful for students to begin their close reading journey by analyzing visual texts, i.e. pieces of art, sculptures, photographs, etc. We often begin with art pieces by Nathan Sawaya who is popular for turning the “Lego” into art. His yellow “Lego Man” is a favorite of students who spend a lot of time discussing the deeper meaning or message of this piece. We list details from the piece on the board or on a Padlet, discuss connotations, look for patterns, and draw conclusions. The students are engaging in the close reading process without knowing it, and then we work to bridge the gap between visual and written text, taking that process with us.
"What do you notice?" This question is a low-stakes way to unlock discussion and meaning-making as you use what they notice to organically model and talk aloud through close reading of different texts.
Another aspect of teaching writing I’ve fine-tuned over time is the process, especially with regard to literary analysis. Students need support in selecting great quotes for close reading. We have called this “PRAISSS-Worthy” evidence - evidence that is Plentiful, Relevant, Accurate, Interesting, Short, Stylized and Symbolic. Over time, we’ve simplified this to "Power Quote" and modeled how to choose powerful quotes and unpack them on a deeper level.
Whatever you call it, spend some time here when we are looking at a text in order for students to understand what the “best” evidence looks like because this is the foundation of close reading for literary analysis.
Writing an Analytical Thesis Statement
After choosing strong evidence, students engage in the close reading process. To get started, grab this close reading analysis resource which will help your student writers to:
List important details - diction, syntax, and literary devices - that they notice in the text.
Spent time brainstorming connotations of these details - abstract ideas, things, and emotions - that they associate with each detail.
Look for patterns in those connotations - i.e. does the idea of “loss” occur repeatedly, or do several details suggest a similar tone or idea?
Draw conclusions - what do these patterns mean?
Write an analytical thesis statement: “What” they notice in the text + an active verb + the big idea or “message” suggested by the text. These three parts form a power-packed thesis statement. For a thesis, the “what” needs to be categorical, i.e. the author’s writing style or word choice in order to be broad enough for the purposes of literary analysis.
Using the Inquiry Process in Close Reading Analysis
When students are ready to begin writing, I first ask them to take that thesis statement they’ve written and “unlock” it. This means that they ask questions about the thesis statement, order these questions, and then answer the questions.
Viola! Those questions turn into topic sentences and you’ve helped students create an inquiry-based outline for their essay.
Writing an Analytical Paragraph
To prove the thesis statement, students will work their way through several analysis cycles. For each of these cycles, they should have:
Topic sentence / claim
Context
Quote blend
Literal paraphrase of the quote
Analysis of the quote in which students call out words and phrases, discuss deeper meanings and connotations
Connection of details together and ultimately to the claim
Wrap-up / extension / bridge to the next piece of evidence