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WHAT AM I?

I can run but never walk, I have a mouth but never talk,

I have a head but never weep,

I have a bed but never sleep

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CLOSE READINGANALYSIS AND

EVALUATION QUESTIONS

19th September

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LEARNING INTENTION To consolidate understanding of how to

answer analysis questions To investigate how to answer evaluation

questions

Success Criteria I can correctly identify and answer analysis

and evaluation questions

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ANALYSIS QUESTIONS

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ANALYSIS QUESTIONS What are analysis questions asking you

about?

They are asking how how a writer has written a passage

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WORD CHOICE QUESTIONS These kinds of questions are asking

why a writer chose a particular word

This means your answer will focus on what that word can suggest to a reader

CONNOTATIONS rather than literal meaning

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WORD CHOICE QUESTIONS EXAMPLE:

What does the writer mean by saying that the road ‘snaked along like this for fifteen miles’?

Answer: By saying the road ‘snaked along’ the writer means the road was very twisty. She is comparing the shape of the road to all the twists and coils of a snake (this is the literal meaning). However, because snakes are often thought to be evil or dangerous things, the writer might be suggesting that the road is also dangerous or threatening as well as twisting (this is its suggested meaning).

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WORD CHOICE QUESTIONSSo what is it that millionaires have in

common? First, they’re extremely single-minded. They’re prepared to fight for success and to go round, over, under or through comet-sized obstacles that would daunt the majority of us.

Show how the writer’s word choice in ‘comet-sized obstacles’ makes us admire millionaires. (2 A)

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WORD CHOICE QUESTIONS The use of the metaphor ‘comet-sized’

shows how huge the obstacles they can overcome actually are. This suggests a massive task that would seem impossible to complete, yet millionaires can achieve them, which makes us admire them.

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TONE QUESTIONS You may be asked how the word choice

helps you identify what the tone of the passage is

The tone of a passage is the general mood or ‘voice’ of the passage. You can usually work out the writer’s attitude to a topic from the tone

Examples of tone:sarcastic, humorous, sad, depressing,

cheery, nostalgic, angry, disappointment, sympathetic

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TONE QUESTIONS To answer tone questions you must

identify the toneexplain which clue words helped you work

out the tone

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TONE QUESTIONSThe truth was that [Ali] was dead scared of flying.

Two months earlier, on his way to the U.S. boxing trials, he had been violently buffeted during a turbulent flight across the California. It was the first time he had ever travelled by air and he swore he would never fly again. This was marginally inconvenient when he was one of the hottest hopes America had for Olympic boxing gold.

Question: This was marginally inconvenient…boxing gold’

What tone is adopted by the writer in this sentence? Go on to explain the effect of this tone in this context.

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TONE QUESTIONS Answer:

The tone adopted by the writer here is ironic. He says ‘marginally inconvenient’ when he in fact means it would be very inconvenient. It makes the sentence amusing as he suggests that it is ironic that the unafraid boxer was scared of flying.

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IMAGERY QUESTIONS ‘Imagery’ in close reading refers to

specific techniques and – as it is an analysis question – the effect these techniques have on the reader.

The specific techniques are:SimileMetaphorPersonification

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IMAGERY QUESTIONS How to answer these questions:

Identify the relevant technique (no marks for this alone)

Explain the simile/metaphor/personification in terms of connotations

Explain why the author has chosen to describe the subject in this way (how effective is it)

Key strategies:Identify what is being compared to what.Say how these things are similar. Say what impression you get then. Is it

effective?

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IMAGERY QUESTIONSQuestion:Explain how the phrase “She sailed

through the exam” is effective.

The image is effective because of the clear and strong connection it makes between how she coped with the exam and how a boat sails through water. The idea is that she got through the exam effortlessly, just as a boat sails effortlessly through water.

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LINKING QUESTIONS These questions are usually on how a

sentence links two paragraphs together You will get one mark for the identifying

the part of the sentence which links back and another mark for identifying the part of the sentence which links forward.

How to answer:Show how one part links back to the

previous paragraphShow how the other part refers forward to

the new paragraph

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LINKING QUESTIONSHow does the sentence ‘While the line has to

be drawn somewhere, why is 18 the magic number?’ effectively link this paragraph to what has gone before?

The expression ‘the line has to be drawn somewhere’ links back to the ages at which you can and cannot do certain things, which was discussed in the previous paragraph.

The expression ‘…why is 18 the magic number?’ asks the question which is going to be answered in the next paragraph.

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LINKING QUESTIONSFormula for link questions

The word/expression ‘___________’ links back to ___________ which was discussed in the previous paragraph.

The word/expression ‘________’ introduces the idea of ____ which is going to be discussed in the new paragraph

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SENTENCE STRUCTURE QUESTIONS Sentence structure questions come up

several times and are usually found within evaluation questions.

You will have to comment on the effect that the sentence structure is having on you as the reader. (You can look at punctuation, short sentences, long sentences, one sentence paragraphs, etc.)

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SENTENCE STRUCTURE QUESTIONSComma , To separate items in a list

Pair of commas ,____,

To give an extra piece of information

Dash - To introduce a list, example or explanation

Pair of dashes -_____-

To give an extra piece of information

Brackets (______) To give an extra piece of information

Colon : To introduce a list, example or explanation

CAPITALS To emphasise something important

To suggest the way something is said

Italics To emphasise something important

To suggest the way something is said

Inverted commas ‘__’/

To indicate the title of a book, film, etc.

Speech marks/ To indicate exact words spoken

Quotation marks “___”

To suggest “so called” use of expression, irony, sarcasm

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SENTENCE STRUCTURE QUESTIONSI’ve learned how to take out my own

stitches: all you need is a pair of fingernail clippers and a strong stomach.

What is the purpose of the colon?

The colon introduces an explanation of what the writer has just said. He explains what you need to take out your own stitches.

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EVALUATION QUESTIONS

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EVALUATION QUESTIONS These are usually towards the end of

the question paper They often ask you how effective, a part

of the text is, perhaps the title, or the last sentence, or the last paragraph

You must give your opinion (make it positive – say it is effective), say what technique makes it effective, and give a quotation from the passage.