Assume that the work is complex and every element and word has a purpose.

Format:
You will submit your paper on Canvas. You will have two hours to complete the essay.
Be sure to include your pre-writing, outline, draft, and show your writing process.
Once done with the essay, please save a copy of it for your portfolio.
Content:
For this paper you will do a close reading analysis of one of the poems or short stories we have read this quarter. Be sure to use textual evidence to support your interpretation. You want to express not only what the author is trying to convey but how are they accomplishing that. Be sure to refer to all the terms/elements of poetry/fiction that are at work that we have discussed in class.
Be sure to include your outline/prewriting along with your paper. Show the PROCESS of writing.
A Note: Close reading looks for the meaning that resides in the text. The skill called close reading is fundamental for interpreting literature. Reading closely means developing a deep understanding and a precise interpretation of a literary work that is based first and foremost on the words themselves. But a close reading does not stop there; rather, it embraces larger themes and ideas evoked and/or implied by the work itself. Doing a close reading involves a thought process that moves from small details to larger issues, covering all three levels of meaning: literal, figurative, and evaluative. The premise behind this type of criticism is that everything we need to know to fully understand a work can be found in the work itself. Close reading is the analysis of the form, the style, structure, imagery, tone, and genre of works of literature. Close reading involves careful line-by-line, and sometimes word-by-word, examination of the text. Every element is essential. Since everything should contribute to the work, figures of speech, point of view, diction, imagery, recurrent ideas or events, and so forth, then careful analysis of any aspect of the work should be revealing. When you close read, you observe facts and details about the text. You may focus on a particular passage, the text as a whole, a particular literary device, and/or one word/phrase. Close reading is very different from reading for pleasure. Your mind should be active, probing, wondering.

Steps to close reading:

1. Assume that the work is complex and every element and word has a purpose.
2. Assume that the work has a unifying theme that can be identified.
3. Look for significant words, sentences, symbols, characters, plot, and phrases that add to the theme.
4. Examine the authors use of form, literary elements that aid in understanding the text.
5. Close reading means that you read the work with a pen in your hand and writing paper beside you. You read a line, or paragraph, and then you think about it. You write down your questions and observations. You read on.
6. Close reading looks beyond the literal-level to the inferential and evaluative levels.

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