English 10 / Unit 1: Close Reading and Literary Analysis
1.6 Analyzing Author's Craft
Notes
Craft analysis asks why an author made a choice and what effect it has. Move beyond naming a device.
- Use the formula: device + example + effect + connection to meaning.
- Weak: "The author uses a simile." Strong: "By comparing the city to 'a sleeping animal,' the author suggests its calm could turn dangerous at any moment."
- Useful verbs: suggests, emphasizes, reveals, undercuts, contrasts, intensifies.
- Consider juxtaposition: placing two contrasting things side by side to highlight their difference.
- Example: a story that places a lavish birthday party next to a scene of a hungry child outside uses juxtaposition to criticize inequality.
Practice
Which sentence best analyzes author's craft?
It names the device, gives an example and explains its effect.
A story cuts from a wedding feast to a beggar shivering outside the hall. This technique is:
Contrasting images placed side by side are juxtaposition.
Which verb would best fit a sentence explaining how a detail weakens a character's claim to be brave?
"Undercuts" shows the detail works against the claim.
Ready for more? Take the Unit 1 test.