How to Engage a Close Reading of the Text

Reading a text, and engaging a close reading of the text, are two entirely different things. Some of the questions you should ask as you engage a close reading are listed below. You might print the MS Word version of this handout and use it as a template for notetaking in preparation for the pop quizzes, or as a set of guidelines as you prepare your own page of notes.

What was the main point of the text, and what arguments were developed to make that point?

 

How does the rhetor describe the situation? Might it be described differently by: historians, the audience, or opponents to the rhetor?

 

How is the ethos of the speaker developed in the speech?

 

Who is the audience? How does the rhetor characterize the audience?

 

What specific words does the rhetor use to characterize friends and enemies? With whom does the rhetor associate and dissociate the cause and the opposition?

 

Does the rhetor offer a call to action, and if so, what is it?

 

If this were a speech given today, what would the media take as the "sound bites"? Are there any striking metaphors, analogies, or comparisons that appear in the speech? Are there any memorable stories told? How do these coordinate with the main point of the text?

 

Is there anything strange about what the rhetor said or didn't say? For example, are there any contradictions in the text? Is there anything that the rhetor said that you didn't expect him or her to say? Are there any disjunctions between the text and its presumed purpose?

 

Can you explain why audience members responded in the way they did?

 

Can you apply any of the rhetorical terminology introduced in class to the text?