Close Reading

Understanding

Types of Questions

• Understanding- What a writer has said• Analysis- How they have said it• Evaluation- How well they have achieved this

Understanding

You must show that you understand key words/ideas in the passage.

Look out for words like 'explain' or 'main points' or 'line of thought' in the question.

Remember YOU MUST ALWAYS USE YOUR OWN WORDS; do not simply repeat words from the passage. It is important to show that you comprehend the question by using other words with a similar meaning.

Be brief! Bullet points are recommended.

•

In this type of question you will be:

Answering questions in your own words.Working out the meaning from context.

We will be looking at: InferenceKey points.Supporting detail.Linkage.Topic sentences Summarizing an argument or following a line of thought. 

In Your Own Words

• Highlight key parts of the question• Find and highlight the answer in the passage.• Translate into your own words.• Try to think about the meaning of the whole

phrase, as opposed to individual words. • Do not quote, if you do so you will receive no

marks.

Use the Code to show you Know

Really good answer. (Next Einstein)Straightforward/ acceptable answer. (On

the money) Weak/misguided answer. (Stop watching

so much TV and read more) Other possible points. (Damn! I knew I

could have had that) Similar questions already tackled. (Oh,

another one of those questions)

Use the Code to show you Know

New Year is supposed to be a time for looking both backwards and forward. But if it’s a good thing to acknowledge a quiet moment of transition between past ands future, it’s profoundly debilitating to find yourself permanently trapped between the two, and it often seems, at the turn of the year, as if that kind of limbo is where British society has found itself for the last 30 years or so, unable to move backwards, yet somehow reluctant to move on.

Q) Explain the situation in which, according to lines 1-6, “British society has found itself”. 2U

Task: Use the code issued to you and apply it to each answer. You should be able to justify why you have given each symbol to each answer.

Possible Answers

It is stuck between the past and the future. It knows it can’t go back the way, but is unwilling to accept the future.

It is unable to move backwards , yet somehow reluctant to move on.

British society is seriously weakened by being caught between two ideas: a fondness for a past it knows can’t be revisited and an unwillingness to embrace new ideas.

No attempt to use own words!!!!

Why is the middle one incorrect?

Things seem awfully heated in America right now; so heated you could probably toast a marshmallow by jabbing it on a stick and holding it toward the Atlantic. Millions are hopping mad over the news that a bunch of triumphalist Muslim extremists are about to build a "victory mosque" slap bang in the middle of Ground Zero.

Because there have been stories in the media (the news) that gloating Muslim fundamentalists are planning to build a mosque on the site of the September 11 attacks.

Possible Answer

Writer’s attitude to what the are saying. Ironic, serious, mournful, light-hearted,

hyperbole (exaggerated)

Tone

Tone is hyperbole “more than five times higher than the

tallest building on Earth,” exaggerates the scale of the building.

“where it will blind pedestrians and fry small dogs” exaggerates the harmful/ provocative nature of the ‘mosque.’

I'm exaggerating. But I'm only exaggerating a tad more than some of the professional exaggerators who initially raised objections to the "Ground Zero mosque". They keep calling it the "Ground Zero mosque", incidentally, because it's a catchy title that paints a powerful image – specifically, the image of a mosque at Ground Zero.

They have been using this, not because it is accurate, but because it creates both a picture and a name that demand attention and stick in your mind.

Give the words meaning Quote words /phrases that helped you

arrive at that meaning. Explain how they helped you arrive at that

meaning.

Context Questions

When I heard about it – in passing, in a soundbite – I figured it was a US example of the sort of inanely confrontational fantasy scheme Anjem Choudary might issue a press release about if he fancied winding up the tabloids for the 900th time this year. I was wrong. The "Ground Zero mosque" is a genuine proposal, but it's slightly less provocative than its critics' nickname makes it sound. For one thing, it's not at Ground Zero. Also, it isn't a mosque.

Provocative means something designed to engender /provoke a strong reaction, usually a negative one.

The fact that it is compared to a ’confrontational fantasy scheme’ helped me to understand this, as this also suggests something / someone looking to deliberately create conflict.

Wait, it gets duller. It's not being built by extremists either. Cordoba House, as it's known, is a proposed Islamic cultural centre, which, in addition to a prayer room, will include a basketball court, restaurant, and swimming pool. Its aim is to improve inter-faith relations. It'll probably also have comfy chairs and people who smile at you when you walk in, the monsters.

The tone is irony (difference between what is said and meant, which is more light-hearted than sarcasm). The people are not ‘monsters’ as they will greet visitors in a welcoming and pleasant manner. Brooker here is mocking the attitudes of the protestors.

Perhaps spatial reality functions differently on the other side of the Atlantic, but here in London, something that is "two minutes' walk and round a corner" from something else isn't actually "in" the same place at all. I once had a poo in a pub about two minutes' walk from Buckingham Palace. I was not subsequently arrested and charged with crapping directly onto the Queen's pillow. That's how "distance" works in Britain. It's also how distance works in America, of course, but some people are currently pretending it doesn't, for daft political ends.

They are pretending that the planned ‘ground-zero mosque’ is on the actual site of the terrorist attacks, as opposed to being fairly close to it.

That's literally all I'd ask them in an interview. I'd stand there pointing at a map of the city. Would it be offensive here? What about here? Or how about way over there? And when they finally picked a suitable spot, I'd ask them to draw it on the map, sketching out roughly how big it should be, and how many windows it's allowed to have. Then I'd hand them a colour swatch and ask them to decide on a colour for the lobby carpet. And the conversation would continue in this vein until everyone in the room was in tears. Myself included.

He ask them for extremely specific details of what type of mosque they would find acceptable. These would include the exact location and almost every feature of its design.

That hasn't happened. Instead, 70% of Americans are opposed to the "Ground Zero mosque", doubtless in many cases because they've been led to believe it literally is a mosque at Ground Zero. And if not . . . well, it must be something significant. Otherwise why would all these pundits be so angry about it? And why would anyone in the media listen to them with a straight face?

They are under the misconception that the name ‘Ground-Zero Mosque describes it as it actually. Furthermore, it must be extremely important because many media figures are displaying strong emotions over it.

According to a recent poll, one in five Americans believes Barack Obama is a Muslim, even though he isn't. A quarter of those who believe he's a Muslim also claimed he talks about his faith too much. Americans aren't dumb. Clearly these particular Americans have either gone insane or been seriously misled. Where are they getting their information?

Sixty per cent said they learned it from the media. Which means it's time for the media to give up.

Extremely significant proportions of Americans hold misconceptions on important issues, such as the religion of their president. Many of these factually confused Americans claimed that the source of these beliefs was radio, television and other news outlets.

How effective a conclusion do you find the final paragraph to be? You should refer to the style and ideas of the whole article in your answer

Identify main ideas of passage (Using quotations)

Are any of these recapped in the final paragraph?

Do any features of the style of the final paragraph match earlier, important aspects of the writer’s style?

How do the two connect?

Steps to Answering

That many people, particularly in America, are misinformed and are developing beliefs that are factually incorrect. The misleadingly titled ‘Ground-Zero Mosque’ is an example of this. It should be the media’s job to prevent this, therefore they are failing.

Main ideas

Use of biting, almost absurd humour to highlight a serious issue.

Hyperbole and irony (both quite untruthful tones) used to highlight how lies are being spread.

Final hyperbolic example of idea that ‘Obama is Gargamel and he's killing all the Smurfs’ reinforces this.

Style

Peers Assess AnswersIt’s important because whether we like it or not, an unstoppable change is about to begin that will make all the previous technological advances seem piffling. Andi, the first genetically altered primate, is the tangible herald of something that has been forecast for decades. As everything from Leonardo da Vinci’s helicopter designs to Arthur C Clark’d bombs in space has proved, if we can dream it we can do it. We dream about designing, modifying, changing and improving ourselves, and now it seems we can make it happen.

What can you infer about Leonardo da Vinci’s ‘helicopter’ (line 25) or Arthur C Clarks’s bombs (Line 26) from the context of the sentence in which they appear?

2U

In groups try to answer the question and then peer assess other answers to give them a mark out of 2. Be prepared to explain your marking.

That they became successful inventions in the future after being dreamt up by their inventors.

That they were early proposals for something that eventually happened.The context talks about things being dreamt about and then happening, suggesting that the same process applied to da Vinci’s helicopter designs and Clarke’s space bombs.

Andi, is similar to Da vinci’s helicopter and Clarke’s space bombs as suggested by the context in the passage. He will also become a successful innovation of the future like the other designs mentioned.

Possible Answers