Close Reading Homework


In Close Reading exams, similar to the close reading exercises you have completed, you will be given a variety of types of questions. Among the most frequently asked questions are ones dealing with words. Sometimes you have to take the writer’s words and put the meaning into your own words, these are called (surprise, surprise) “In your own words” questions. Sometimes you have to identify HOW the author’s words work, for instance: what they imply. These are called “word choice” questions.

Below are some actual questions from exams you can use to familiarize yourself with the technique of answering them. What you do not finish in class, finish at home.

TIPS FOR “IN YOUR OWN WORDS” questions:
1)    Identify, before you write an answer, WHICH words or phrases you are to gloss (that means interpret).

2)  Choose your own words or expressions that convey the same or similar concept. When answering in your own words you MUST NOT use the words OR a form of the words from the text

3)  If the marks spread is  2 /1 /0  the marker is looking for TWO bits of information. That means you need to gloss TWO aspects of the phrase (not the same one twice!). If you gloss only one, you get only one mark.

4)  DO NOT REPEAT THE WORDS OF THE QUESTION

Here is an EXAMPLE with both the text you need and the related question. The text is from a story about a family of tourists visiting Dracula’s Castle.

Text is black. Questions are in red italics.

1. The eldest, Matthew, who had been taunting his younger brothers about being scared five minutes earlier…

Q: Explain, in your own words, how Matthew had been treating his younger brothers. _________________________________________________2/1/0

You should identify “taunting” and “scared” as the words you need to gloss.
(Two words because it’s a 2/1/0 ) Your answer should be something like this:

A: He teased them because they were frightened.  
             You get 1 mark for teased, 1 mark for frightened.

Teased is a gloss of “taunting” and frightened is a gloss of “scared”.

If you wrote “He was taunting them.”, or “He taunted them.” No marks. They are either a lift from the text or are forms of the word. If you wrote only “teased” you get only one mark.

Try the next ones.

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2. We had decided to send their father down first as a guinea pig to test how scary this experience was likely to be for our seven-, five- and two-year-olds…

Q: In your own words, explain fully why their father was sent down first.

When it says explain fully, try to gloss as much as you can.
Fill in the blanks below.

A: He was sent as a (or to) _______________ how___________ the ______________ would be for____________________.

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3. In the lobby there were… glass vials of red liquid, wooden stakes, and probably some garlic stashed under the counter (for sale). As these tacky souvenirs revealed it wasn’t the real Dracula’s castle (we were in) but Hotel Castel Dracula.

Q: In your own words, what is the writer’s attitude to the various goods for sale in the hotel lobby?

A: The _________________ were (was) ________________.  2/1/0

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For the next one, write the entire answer yourself but note the mark spread. It’s either 2 or 0, it’s all or nothing, so you need only one piece of information. Read the question carefully! It asks about the castle, NOT the setting.

4. The architecture (1980s mock castle) reflected the Dracula movies but the setting amid the dramatic scenery of the Tihuta Pass is stunning.

Q: In your own words, what is the writer’s opinion of the Hotel Castel Dracula? 

A:___________________________________________________________________   2/0

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5. One of the best meals was at the Count Dracula Club. Once the children got over the fear of the stuffed bears and stags on the walls and dog head skulls hanging from the ceiling, the food was fantastic…

Q: In your own words explain how the boys felt at the start of their visit to the Count Dracula Club. Why did they feel this way?

A:____________________________________________________________________  2/1/0

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Now that you are a pro at “In your own words questions” it’s time to try “word choice questions”. In these, you are given the meaning or effect of a word or phrase and you have to choose the words from the text that deal with that meaning or effect.

Here is an example:
The following text is from a story about students and teachers who need to prepare themselves for the first day of school term.

1. Some time later Twagger woke up. He listened to his dad snoring in the next room, then heard him snort himself awake and lumber down the stairs. Twagger slid out of bed, put his socks and trousers on and followed him.
         “Get yourself dressed. You look half-starved,” his father growled. He poured himself some tea and trudged back up to bed.

Q: Twagger’s father seems to be a grumpy and unenthusiastic person. How does the writer’s word choice show this in

(i)                    the father’s speech
________________________________he growled_______________ 2/0

(ii)                  the father’s movements?
_____________________he_lumbered (or)_he_trudged________ 2/0

TIP: if you are asked to deal with the writer’s word choice, you MUST quote the writer’s word or words. DO NOT put the answer in your own words. Now try the following questions on your own from the same story.

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2. Caroline is looking for her shirt, which she thought she had ironed last night.

Tanya (her sister) came out of her (own) room. “It’s in Mum’s room, if you want to know. Waiting to be ironed.”

 “But I ironed it last night.

 “No you didn’t, “ said Tanya, smug. “That was mine.”

“You brat!” shouted Caroline as her sister ran downstairs.

Q: How does the writer’s word choice indicate that Caroline is very annoyed with her sister?

­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­____________________________________________________________ 2/0

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3. By the time Mr Bead reached school it was nine o’clock. He raced across the road… He pounded up the stairs and into the staff-room, flung off his wet coat and draped it over the radiator, knocking someone’s steaming glove down the back. He had to dry his hands on a handkerchief.

Q: Give two examples of how the writer’s word choice indicates that Mr Bead was in a hurry.
_________________________________________________________________________ 2/1/0
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Here is a slightly tougher one: hint – choose not only the words, but HOW they are used. In this case, the HOW is essential because the question asks about emphasis.

4. “Mr. Bead! I’d like to talk to you about a boy in your form who made a habit of missing my lessons throughout last term.”

“Oh. Twagger.”

 “Whatever his name is… It mustn’t happen again, Mr. Bead.”

 “All right, Miss Grace. I’ll chase him up again.” He watched her grey bobbing head retreat. Her voice snapped with the rhythm of her shoes.

 “Indeed, again, Mr Bead. Indeed, again.”

Q: How does the writer emphasise that Miss Grace is not satisfied with the way Mr. Bead has dealt with Twagger before?

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