Close Reading Skills
Sentence Structure
What you will need to know…
Different types of sentences
 How they can be linked/ separated by
types of punctuation
 How component parts of a sentence can
be arranged in patterns
 How writers use different sentence
structures to create effect
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Types of sentence
Statement – narrative/ factual writing
 Question – reflective/ emotional writing
* rhetorical question
 Exclamation – conveys tone of
amazement, shock – any strong emotion
 Command – used in instructions and in
persuasive (e.g. advertisements)
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Minor Sentence
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Where the verb is omitted for dramatic
effect
Usually some form of the infinitive ‘to be’
e.g. He looked in his rear view mirror. Nothing
coming.
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Creates impact, suspense or urgency
Suggests informality
Could be an abbreviation (notes/ diary)
Task
Identify the followings sentences:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
Mrs. Mark is fantastic.
Is Mrs. Mark fantastic?
You will say Mrs. Mark is fantastic.
Gosh, Mrs. Mark is fantastic!
Do you think she will forget about the
Personal Study I haven’t done? No chance!
Paragraphing
Used to break writing into easier to
digest pieces
 Pre- twentieth century tends to use
much longer paragraphs.
 Short is easier to understand or
creates impact. E.g.. Advertising,
children’s fiction, tabloid newspapers.
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The Rules
New paragraph marks new stage in
narrative/ argument
 Occasionally used for effect
 Single sentence paragraph can
emphasise a statement or idea or…
 Can be to slow the action and create
suspense
 Anything unusually short is worthy of
note. Consider what the aim was.
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Key Terms
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List
Series
Parallelism
Climax/ anti-climax
Repetition
Expansion
Colon/ semi-colon
Short sentence
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Minor sentence
Balance
Antithesis
Parenthesis
Point of view
Triad
Position of “And…”
Direct address
List
Listing of items , consequences or ideas
 Not “commas make up a list”- items are
the list not the punctuation mark
 Make clearer
 Emphasise volume
 Reinforce ideas
 Suggest scope
 context
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Series
Similar effect to a list
 Usually employs parallel structure
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Parallelism
Repetition
 Task: Look at the following example of
parallel structure. Deconstruct the
different elements.
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Practise makes Perfect! 
I believe that both teachers and students who embark on a program of
portfolio development within their composition classes will learn a lot.
First, by comparing the first and last in-class essays, both students and
teachers will see measurable progress, and they will learn that writing
classes count. Second, by examining the character of successive essays
throughout the semester, both students and teachers will see
heightening degrees of student ownership, and they will learn that
students have something to say. Finally, by examining the final, in-class
essays, both students and teachers will see a development among
students for self analysis, and they will learn that students have
developed the critical capacity to learn and to think. These are
compelling reasons to use portfolio development within the English
composition classroom.
Answers
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First, by comparing the first and last in-class essays,
both students and teachers will see measurable
progress,
and they will learn that writing classes count.
Second, by examining the character of successive
essays throughout the semester,
both students and teachers will see heightening
degrees of student ownership,
and they will learn that students have something to
say.
Finally, by examining the final, in-class essays,
both students and teachers will see a development
among students for self analysis,
and they will learn that students have developed the
critical capacity to learn and to think.
Climax/ anti-climax
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Series and listed clauses or sentences
In climax, a series of ideas are arranged in the order
of increasing importance.
Simple, erect, severe, austere, sublime
What a piece of work is man! How noble in reason, how
infinite in faculties! In action, how like an angel! In
apprehension, how like a God!
Anticlimax is the opposite of climax - a sudden
descent from higher to lower. It is chiefly used for
the purpose of satire or ridicule.
Here thou, great Anna! Whom three realms obey,
Dost sometimes counsel take - and sometimes tea.
Repetition
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Words or phrases are repeated throughout the text to
emphasise certain facts or ideas
Use of structural repetition
Down. Down. Down.. Would the fall never come to an end! “ I
wonder how many miles I've fallen by this time?”she said aloud.
Down. Down. Down There was nothing else to do, so Alice soon
began talking again.
America at its best, matches a commitment to principle with a
concern for civility. A civil society demands from each of us
good will and respect, fair dealing and forgiveness.
America at its best, is also courageous. Our national courage is
compassionate. In the quiet of American conscience, we know
that deep, persistent poverty is unworthy of our nation's
promise.
Expansion
Usually indicated by a colon
 Not enough to say a colon to introduce a
list
 Comment on the general structure
 Comment on the list itself – content
 Refer to the point being expanded
 Refer to the overall effect
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Colon/ semi-colon
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Colon:
 introduces
a list
 Expands on a point (either side)
Semi colon links two sentence which are
related (specifies relationship)
E.g.. I went to Edinburgh. It was raining.
I went to Edinburgh; it was raining.
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Short sentence
For impact
 Must refer to the context
 What is it emphasising?
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Minor sentence
Verb omitted
 Informal
 Think about the type of writing used in
 Why would it be appropriate within the
context of the text?
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Balance
Created, usually, by some form of
parallel structure or repetition
 Look at the paragraph structure
 Balance of ideas?
 Key words to indicate this?
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Antithesis
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contrasting relationship between two ideas
antithesis emphasises the contrast between
two ideas. The structure of the phrases /
clauses is usually similar in order to draw the
reader's / listener's attention directly to the
contrast.
That's one small step for a man, one giant
leap for mankind . (Neil Armstrong)
To err is human ; to forgive, divine. (Pope)
It is easier for a father to have children than
for children to have a real father. (Pope)
Parenthesis
Extra information
 Commas are formal
 Dashes, brackets more informal –
almost an aside (try not to use in
essays)
 May come at the start of a sentence
(one commas omitted)
 Again, refer to context
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Point of view
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Structure used to reinforce/ reflect
the author's viewpoint
Triad
List of 3
 ‘magic number’ which appears in writing
 Refer to context – not merely identify
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Position of “And…”
Used to the start of a sentence to
emphasise
 Isolates and reinforces an additional
point.
 Grammatically incorrect – deliberately.
 Refer to context
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Direct address
2nd person
 Addresses reader directly to create
relationship
 Forces reader to consider point made
and own opinion
 Engages reader with the point/
argument
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All Together
Changing Rooms, Tool, Stories, Home
Front, you know the drill: take three
couples, shuffle them with an interior
designer/ DIY expert/ measly budget,
see what sticks.
Task
Look at the previous sentence
 Define every structural element
 Offer an explanation of the effects of
these elements on the text.
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