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English 10

Unit 1

Close Reading and Literary Analysis

6 topics · 24 practice questions · Free responseNot yet reviewed

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Notes

Reading closely

  • Read a passage more than once: first for literal meaning, then to annotate, then to ask how and why.
  • Watch for patterns (repeated words, images, sentence shapes) and breaks in those patterns.

Diction, tone and syntax

  • Diction is word choice. Connotation gives words emotional color and builds tone, the speaker's attitude.
  • Mood is the reader's feeling, not the speaker's.
  • Syntax is sentence structure. Short sentences and fragments add emphasis; long sentences can build or overwhelm. Inversion, parallelism, asyndeton and polysyndeton shape rhythm.

Writing analysis

  • Make an arguable claim, support it with evidence, and explain it with commentary.
  • Embed quotations in your own sentences. Use brackets for changed words and an ellipsis for omitted words. Avoid dropped quotations.
  • Analyze craft with device + example + effect + connection to meaning. Look for juxtaposition.

Topics in this unit

Each topic has its own short notes and practice.

Practice

"The old teacher's voice was gentle, patient, warm as afternoon light." The tone toward the teacher is:
Which is plot summary rather than analysis?
"And the rain fell and the river rose and the bridge groaned and still we waited." The repeated "and" is an example of:
A student quotes: The poet calls the sea "a gray and ... restless beast." The ellipsis shows that the student:
Which word choice gives "the crowd" the most threatening connotation?
In a story, a character insists she is calm, but her sentences become shorter and choppier as she talks. A careful reader should conclude that:

Free response

Write your answer first, then open the scoring guide.

Free-response question

Read this original passage: "Grandmother's kitchen had not changed in forty years. The same chipped blue bowl sat by the window. The same clock ticked above the stove, a little slow, the way it always had. But the chair at the head of the table was empty now, and nobody would sit in it."

(a) Identify the tone of the passage and support it with two words or phrases.

Show the answer and scoring guide

The tone is quietly mournful or nostalgic. Phrases like "had not changed in forty years" and "the chair ... was empty now, and nobody would sit in it" show fond memory mixed with grief.

Check off the points you earned:

(b) Explain the effect of the repeated phrase "The same."

Show the answer and scoring guide

Repeating "The same" stresses that everything in the kitchen has stayed constant. This builds a feeling of comfort and continuity, which makes the one change, the empty chair, stand out more painfully.

Check off the points you earned:

(c) Write an arguable claim about the passage and one sentence of commentary that supports it.

Show the answer and scoring guide

Claim: The unchanged objects in the kitchen highlight the grandmother's absence more strongly than any direct statement of grief could. Commentary: Because the bowl and the clock remain exactly where they were, the empty chair becomes the only sign of change, quietly showing that the person who gave the room its meaning is gone.

Check off the points you earned: