Close Reading Skills RUAE Skills The three areas

Close Reading Skills

RUAE Skills The three areas you are assessed on are: • your understanding of the content and ideas in the passage • analysis of the techniques the writer has used and the effect they create • an evaluation of how successful the writer has been

Understanding Questions 1. Own words question. 2. The context question. 3. The linking question.

Own words Tips Own words question: – Scan for key words in the passage then read to find the information to answer the question. – Now put the information IN YOUR OWN WORDS. – The number of marks allocated suggests the number of pieces of information to be found. – You get 0 marks for copying straight from the passage.

Own words You have to: • Explain what a word or passage means • Explain the point the writer is making • Give a reason for something that happens in the passage • Show you understand the information

Own words • • • Don’t swap every single word It is much to try to explain the full idea Use formal language Try to change as many words as you can Do not copy from the passage

Own words Example: • “In the last few years, we’ve moved from an information-scarce economy to one driven by an information glut. ” Could become: • Once, our commercial world didn’t have enough data to work with. Nowadays, it seems we have too much.

Own words Put these phrases in your own words 1. My ambition is to maintain this momentum. 2. The confidence and determination of these graduates is forcing the pace of change to increase. 3. For all his confidence, he admits that he is fortunate. 4. Having beaten 200 candidates to the job, she believes she has proved herself to be the best. 5. Employers’ attitudes might be changing but there is a lot of ground to make up.

Context • You might be asked to work out what a word means using the words and paragraphs that surround it (context)

Context • Explain in your own words what is meant by ‘…………. ’ in this context • How does the context of lines……… help you work out what is meant by ‘……………. ’? • Work out from the context what is meant by ‘………………’ in line………

Context Example The word ‘philanthropic’ as used here means done out of feelings of charity or for the good of others. I can work this out from the context because the expression is following by the idea that employing people with autism is not ‘charitable’.

Context Formula The word/expression ‘………………’ used here means …………………. I can work this out from the context because …………………………………

2. The context question • There are two stages to this answer; – First you state what you think the word means – Secondly you write down the clues from the context of the word which led you to your conclusion.

Summary Question • • • Briefly explain the main ideas Make sure you answer the question Underline the main points Put your answer in your own words Keep your answer to the point.

Summary Question “Hari, I am in prison, call me in a minute. ” I was standing in a garden centre when I received the message – an unlikely one for a middle-aged, middleclass woman to receive while choosing a rosebush. Tuggy Tug is the leader of a Brixton gang whom I befriended two years ago. Now he has been arrested for stealing mobile phones. He has just turned eighteen and this was his first time ‘in a big man’s prison’. His voice turned desperate: “Why aren’t you picking up your phone, Hari? ” • Summarise, in your own words, two reasons why this was an unusual call for Hari to receive. (2)

Identify Question It will ask you to: • Quote • Give an expression • Write a word or phrase • Answer with reference to the text

Identify Question • Copy exactly what is written in the text. • Do not explain unless it tells you to.

Example • From then on, however, a more familiar pattern reasserts itself. My warden leads us into a thicket of whistling thorn acacia that seems to be half a mile thick. I dutifully say my piece on whistling thorn acacia. After a minute or two, I start to get nervous. After five, I am beginning to panic. • Quote an expression that shows the writer lacked enthusiasm.

Try this! He and a few thousand before him. Since her construction at Kristiansand in 1927, the 210 -ft training vessel has introduced generations of adventurous spirits to the skills and thrills of sailing a full-rigger ship. Question Quote an expression 4 which sums up what the experience offers trainees.

Try this! Extract He and a few thousand before him. Since her construction at Kristiansand in 1927, the 210 -ft training vessel has introduced generations of adventurous spirits to the skills and thrills of sailing a full-rigger ship. Question Quote an expression from paragraph 4 which sums up what the experience offers trainees.

The link question • This type of question asks to show a sentence links two parts of a text. • It is set to test your UNDERSTANDING of the structure of a text.

Link question You need to: • Show one part of the sentence links back to the previous paragraph • Show the other part of the sentence refers forward to the next paragraph.

Link question ‘It would really surprise you, ’ said her mother. ‘Some nights she has sheets with 100 times tables. I don’t want it to become a chore because it will put her off. I work full-time; I don’t want the time we spend together being a battle about homework. ’ FAMILY TENSION is just one of a string of negative effects of homework for children, according to a new book which says much of it is pointless. The book, The Homework Myth, to be published in Britain in the spring, also says too much of it turns children off education and does not make them do better in tests.

Answer • The word /phrase “family tension” links back to the battles over homework which was discussed in the previous paragraph. • The word /phrase “an explosive new book” introduces the idea of the book mentioned which is discussed in the new paragraph.

Link question Formula • The word /phrase “………………. . ” links back to……………… which was discussed in the previous paragraph. • The word /phrase “………………. . ” introduces the idea of ……………… which is going to be discussed in the new paragraph.

Example Designer gear doesn’t feature too heavily on the millionaire agenda, either: over half spend less than £ 500 per year on clothes – including underwear and socks. This may be because they are too busy to spend their time buying clothing or shop. Millionaires are generally workaholics, working an average 64 hour week, often longer. How does the underlined sentence provide a link between the 2 paragraphs?

Answer • The word “shop”/ “buying clothing” links back to the amount that millionaires spend on clothes which is discussed in the previous paragraph. • The phrase “too busy” introduces the idea of how much work millionaires do which is going to be discussed in the new paragraph.

RUAE TECHNIQUES • Simile is a comparison which uses like or as • The effect is to provide a creative description and a clear image in the reader’s mind • Metaphor is a comparison which says something is something else. • The effect is to provide a creative description and a clear image in the reader’s mind • Personification is a comparison of something to a person. • The effect is to additional description and sometimes to transfer the writer’s emotional response on to other objects.

RUAE TECHNIQUES • Alliteration is when two or more words begin with the same consonant sound • The effect is to create a clear rhythm and emphasise specific words • Onomatopoeia is when a word replicates the sound that it describes • The effect is to create a powerful description and add drama/tension • Word choice refers to any words that are used in a piece of writing, especially description • The effect is to additional detail and to ensure that the reader is able to infer information that is not specifically stated

RUAE TECHNIQUES • Parenthesis is brackets, commas or dashes are used to additional information into the middle of a sentence • The effect is to provide additional insight into the topic being discussed • Rhetorical Question when a question is asked but does not require an answer • The effect is to illustrate the writer’s point of view and to attempt to be persuasive as it appears that this idea cannot be refuted. • Linking Sentence when a sentence connects two topics by containing similarities to both • The effect is to ensure that the writing flows naturally and that the argument is easy to follow. Usually identified by conjunctions.

RUAE paper 1. Read the questions – Decide how confident you feel about answering them and traffic light them 2. Read the passages – Look up any words you don’t understand write them in your jotter 3. Try to answer as many questions as you can