Close reading examines how particular choices of language and form create meaning.
Start with a relevant observation, select brief evidence, and explain what the important words suggest in context.
A quotation should support a claim rather than replace explanation.
See it. Say it. Understand it.
Easy / Start here
A short piece of evidence should be followed by an explanation of its particular implication.
Moderate / Add a little
A device name is useful only when connected with meaning and effect.
More detail for teachers and confident learners
Close reading examines how particular choices of language and form create meaning. Start with a relevant observation, select brief evidence, and explain what the important words suggest in context. A quotation should support a claim rather than replace explanation. Details of contrast, syntax, sound or imagery become useful when their relationship with the passage's central experience is made clear.
Do not annotate every word simply because it could carry an association. Select the details most relevant to the question and test your interpretation against the surrounding text. Distinguish a strong inference from speculation. When a brief quotation is available, integrate it grammatically into your sentence and preserve its wording. Develop one precise explanation before adding another device name. The aim is a coherent reading rather than a list of terminology.
At this revision stage, test an interpretation against details which might complicate it. These original unseen examples demonstrate analytical methods; they do not replace study of the prescribed texts. Develop a defensible reading while acknowledging any uncertainty left by the passage.
වැඩි විස්තර අවශ්ය විට පමණක් මෙම කොටස කියවන්න.
Optional extra unit worksheet
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A narrator is the voice telling a story, and is not automatically the author.
A first-person narrator takes part in or observes events using I or we.
A third-person narration may reveal one character's thoughts or move more widely.
See it. Say it. Understand it.
Easy / Start here
A third-person narrator may report an action without confirming its motive.
Moderate / Add a little
The narrator and author should be kept distinct.
More detail for teachers and confident learners
A narrator is the voice telling a story, and is not automatically the author. A first-person narrator takes part in or observes events using I or we. A third-person narration may reveal one character's thoughts or move more widely. Viewpoint controls what the reader knows and what remains uncertain. A narrator can misunderstand an event or present a selective version of it, so confidence does not guarantee reliability.
Ask who sees, who speaks and what access that voice has to information. A limited viewpoint can create sympathy, tension or irony by keeping another person's motive hidden. Explain an effect through a detail of the narration rather than simply labelling it first person. If the reader knows more than a character, consider how that difference changes the response. Avoid treating every judgement made by the narrator as an objective fact.
At this revision stage, test an interpretation against details which might complicate it. These original unseen examples demonstrate analytical methods; they do not replace study of the prescribed texts. Develop a defensible reading while acknowledging any uncertainty left by the passage.
වැඩි විස්තර අවශ්ය විට පමණක් මෙම කොටස කියවන්න.
Optional extra unit worksheet
Practise the whole unit and receive a separate answer or model guide.
Characterisation is the way a literary work creates an impression of a person.
A narrator may describe a character directly, but speech, action, relationships and choices can also reveal qualities indirectly.
A character may behave differently under pressure or develop during a story.
See it. Say it. Understand it.
Easy / Start here
A confident statement can conflict with a nervous action, creating complexity.
Moderate / Add a little
A character trait requires evidence, not a label based on an isolated word.
More detail for teachers and confident learners
Characterisation is the way a literary work creates an impression of a person. A narrator may describe a character directly, but speech, action, relationships and choices can also reveal qualities indirectly. A character may behave differently under pressure or develop during a story. Distinguish a stable trait from a temporary emotion. One impatient remark does not automatically prove that a character is selfish in every situation.
Begin with an accurate observation, then infer a quality or motive and explain the link. Consider whether a narrator's judgement might be limited or biased. Contradictory evidence can make a character more complex rather than make your interpretation impossible. In an essay, organise by the qualities or changes relevant to the question, not by an unrelated biography. Treat a plausible alternative reading fairly when the words allow it.
At this revision stage, test an interpretation against details which might complicate it. These original unseen examples demonstrate analytical methods; they do not replace study of the prescribed texts. Develop a defensible reading while acknowledging any uncertainty left by the passage.
වැඩි විස්තර අවශ්ය විට පමණක් මෙම කොටස කියවන්න.
Optional extra unit worksheet
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