Analyzing Written Texts

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Analyzing Written Texts
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Summary

• Definition Brief version of what a text says
• Purpose Reminds readers of the main points of
  the text

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Components of a Summary

• Authors name and title of text
• Main point of original text (thesis)
• Important ideas that support the thesis
• Key examples and details
• Your own words and select quotes

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Writing a Summary

• Read the text carefully for understanding
• Re-read and highlight thesis, important ideas,
  key examples and details
• Put thesis, main ideas, and key examples and
  details into your own words
• Combine sentences and edit carefully.

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Definitions

• Analysisseparating into parts in order to
  understand the whole
• Text
• Etymology from the Latin word for woven, same
  root as textile
• Nearly any interweaving of words, ideas, or
  expression, including a non-fiction essay

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Analyzing a Text

• Unraveling the strands, breaking into parts
• Understanding what the parts all mean making
  connections among them and drawing some
  conclusion about the whole text
  (inference/interpretation)
• Inference or interpretation answers the question,
  So what?

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Explaining Your Analysis

• Presenting your analysis to a reader
• Showing your evidence and persuading your reader
  that your analysis is valid, that your
  understanding (inference/ interpretation) of the
  text is legitimate
• SG to persuade the reader to see things your
  way, including sharing your point of view on a
  non-fiction essay

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Essay 1 Essay 2

• Online advertisement
• Inference Target market
• Description of topic
• Analysis to support inference (features
  presented, language, visuals, etc.)
• Details and explanation of connections between
  details and inferences

• Non-fiction essay
• Inference Point of view
• Summary of essay
• Analysis to support inference (arguments,
  comparisons, evidence, etc.)
• Details and explanation of connections between
  details and inferences

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Analysis of Non-Fiction Essays

• Thesis
• Comparisons and Contrasts
• Claims about Cause/Effect
• Classification
• Definitions

• Appeal to Audience
• Examples
• Use of Sources
• Context
• Tone
• Organization

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Discovering a Point of View

• What is my gut-level, personal reaction to this
  essay and what the writer has to say in it?
• Do I agree or disagree with the author? Some of
  both?

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• Which arguments, examples, or details seem
  particularly effective? Ineffective?
• How significant or important are the authors
  ideas to us as readers? To society?
• How does this essay compare to another?

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Articulating Your Point of View

• Your thesis statement One sentence that
  summarizes your point of view on the essay.