Success Criteria Close Reading
UNDERSTANDING
Success Criteria Summary Questions
1. Underline the answer in the passage
2. Express in own words
3. Use bullet points
4. Look at key words in the question (identify/ give three reasons/describe/explain/explain in detail etc.) to see the depth of answer required
5. Use number of marks as a guide to number of points
6. Be clear and concise
Success Criteria Context Questions
1. Quote the word or expression and state its meaning.
2. Identify/quote a contextual clue.
3. Explain how the contextual clue helped you to arrive at the meaning.
4. Repeat the above process if there is more than one word.
• Use the framework:
• The word/phrase “X” means (PROVIDE A DEFINITION). The word/phrase “X” in the passage, meaning to (PROVIDE AN EXPLANATION OF THE WORK/PHRASE), helped me to arrive at this meaning.
Success Criteria for Linking Questions
1. Underline the link sentence: this is where you need to quote words and phrases from!
2. Quote a word/phrase that links back
3. Summarise the idea(s) it links back to
4. Quote a word/phrase that links forward
5. Summarise the idea(s) it links forward to
• Use the Link Framework:
• THE WORD/PHRASE “(quote from the link)” REFERS BACK TO THE PREVIOUS TOPIC, NAMELY (define the writer’s first point/argument). THE CONJUCTION “(only quote a linking word or conjunction if it is obvious!)
• SUGGESTS THAT A NEW ARGUMENT WILL FOLLOW. THE WORD/PHRASE “(quote from the link phrase/sentence) INTRODUCES THE NEW TOPIC, NAMELY (define what the new argument is).
ANALYSIS
Success Criteria Word Choice Questions
1. Quote the word (One or two words only!)
2. Give detailed connotations. (Choose words with strong connotations and go beyond the obvious.)
3. Relate to the question/context (Explain how the connotations are relevant in this context
Success Criteria for Imagery Questions
1. Identify the image and its type (simile, metaphor, personification), making sure that you quote a full image and not just part of one.
2. Write down the literal meaning of the image by stating what is being described in comparison with what. The literal will be the thing that is actually present.
3. Write down the connotations you would associate with the words of the image being careful to choose words with figurative meanings.
4. Show the link between the connotations which you have chosen and the literal word meanings present in the image.
Success Criteria for Sentence Structure Questions
1. Identify a technique of sentence structure used in the passage (list, climax, anti-climax, repetition, balance and contrast, parenthesis, short sentence, short paragraph, rhetorical question, extremely long sentence, exclamation, question and answer etc.)
2. Quote an example or give a line reference.
3. Explain the effect of the sentence structure (you should have separate notes on common effects produced by various sentence constructions – learn these!)
4. Relate to the question/context.
Success Criteria for Tone Questions
1. Identify a tone (humorous, light-hearted, ironic, dry, tongue-in-cheek, emotive, mocking, colloquial, chatty, reflective, effusive, nostalgic, caustic, persuasive, argumentative, serious, bathetic, critical, sneering, flippant, cynical, sympathetic, angry, hectoring)
2. Quote a phrase or example of sentence structure which helps create the tone.
3. Explain how it does so (by following technique for word choice or sentence structure.
4. Repeat steps two and three with another example.
Success Criteria for Language Questions
1. Quote an example of sentence structure, imagery or word choice
2. Follow the strategy for that type of question.
3. Look at the key words and number of marks in the question: you may have to look at more than one technique, and give 2-3 examples.
EVALUATION
There are fewer of these questions but they tend to be worth more marks. The understanding and analysis questions will help you to answer the evaluation questions. These questions are there for you to judge how well the writing has been done.
• always be positive in your criticism.
• pick out and name techniques of style. Often there will be a list in the question - make use of it.
• always quote to support your answer
• pick out specific techniques with comment – do not be vague.