Higher English – Close Reading Vocabulary
These are just some of the more common terms you must be confident with in order to succeed in Higher close Reading
CONTEXT:
The context of something is the situation it is in. for words, it’s the words, sentences, phrases, etc, around a particular word. It gives clues to its meaning.
Ex: Explain how effective you find the image of the flowing tides in the context of lines 22-38.
SENTENCE STRUCTURE:
‘Sentence structure’ refers to the way a sentence is built / what makes it up. It is usually useful to look at: i)punctuation ii)the length iii)the order of words, among other things. All of these things are part of the sentence’s meaning as much as the words that are used.
Ex: Show how the writer uses sentence structure to demonstrate her strength of feeling in lines 101-109.
REFER TO…:
When asked to ‘refer closely’ to something, you should always quote.
Ex: By close reference to both passages, compare and contrast the two articles…
WORD CHOICE:
Word choice questions require you to quote specific words or phrases and comment on them. Why is this word better than another? For example, you could say, “She stormed into the room”, or you could say “She walked into the room”. Why would you choose ‘stormed’?
Ex: Show how the writer’s word choice in the sentence “That is…and work” (lines 31-34) makes clear her attitude to certain politicians.
TONE:
Tone is the writer’s implied attitude towards something. Think of tone of voice: it can be angry, happy, sad, ironic, humourous/light-hearted. The writer will not tell you what their tone is – it will come out in the words/phrases they use.
Ex: Identify the overall tone of each of the passages and say what effect the tone of each had on your appreciation of the passages.
LINK:
Close Reading questions will often ask about how something is a good link. Think of an actual link in a chain – it joins what came before with what comes after. For these questions, you must show how what came before is rounded up, and how what comes next is introduced.
Ex: Show how the first sentence in paragraph two provides a good link in her argument.
IMAGERY:
An image is a picture in your mind created by words. It is usually associated with things you see but can also be associated with the other senses. For example, recurring red images might bring up thoughts of anger, passion.
Ex: Select one example of imagery from these lines and explain how the writer uses it to make her point clear.
CONTRAST:
When you contrast two things, you discuss their differences. When asked to contrast two things, both sides must be discussed.
Ex: Show how the writer uses contrast in lines 24-37 to illustrate the impact of the Gulf Stream . You should refer to specific words and phrases in your answer.
IRONY:
Something is ironic when it means the opposite of what it says. For example, after a students arrives late for class, the teacher might say “I see you have arrived in good time again!” This is not to be confused with sarcasm, which is only a type of irony used to wound / insult. Writers will use irony to express their true feelings about their topic.
Ex: Why might lines 36-38 be considered ironic in the context of this passage?
STYLE:
A writer’s style is their particular choice of imagery, tone, punctuation, etc, to create a particular effect.
Ex: How successful do you think the writer’s style is at conveying her argument?
COLLOQUIAL:
Colloquial language is informal language, more similar to the way we speak than the way we write. A writer might use colloquial language to create a more informal tone, or they might ask informal questions to engage the reader.
Ex: Identify examples of colloquial language in paragraph 2 and explain the tone they create.