2.6  The Reading before the Writing: Analyzing Text

The Reading Before the Writing: Analyzing Texts

     This section will help you to analyze texts --the materials you must read before completing an informational or literary task. Remember that the rubric's definition for Focus & Meaning refers to the task and the text:

Effective writing:

• shows a clear understanding of the purpose of the task (or prompt) for the audience;
• establishes a clear controlling or central idea and remains completely focused on that idea;
• completes all parts of the task.

If there is a text (or texts) to read as part of the task, the writing also shows an understanding of key elements of the text(s), and makes clear connections between the task and the text(s).

     Independent writing tasks, of course, have no separate texts to analyze, except the one you write. You can't analyze that one until you've written it and it's time to revise.

     For informational and literary/critical tasks, the text must be analyzed just as carefully as the task. Think of the task or prompt as the lens you look through to get a clear and undistorted (not twisted) view of the text. Think of the text as a treasure map you must decode (discover the meaning of) if you want to get the prize.

If the lens isn't clear (you don't have a good understanding of the task), you won't see the map very clearly. You won't be able to tell a pirate's sword from a skinny little tree. Your interpretation of the map is bound to be wrong in some way.

Even if the lens is clear, you still have to decode the map. We'll go on to see how to take apart texts to discover not only what they mean, but also how they what techniques writers use to get across their messages. We'll start with informational texts.

     As a writer, you choose an organizing structure that will achieve your purpose with your audience. When you are reading and analyzing texts, you work in the opposite you identify the pattern to discover the writer's purpose. When you are writing responses to text-based tasks or prompts, you have to do both.

• Analyze the task to see your purpose and then choose an organizing pattern;
• Analyze the text to identify the pattern or structure and then discover the purpose.

     In the activities you completed earlier in this section, you had to define the contexts of a writing (writer's role, audience, etc.) and then write a controlling idea for that task in a sentence or two.

     In this section, you'll see the controlling idea of a number of different texts. To be successful, you have to recognize a controlling idea when you see one, and you have to be able to write a controlling idea that fits the prompt. In the sample texts that follow, the controlling idea is shown in boldface. Notice that the controlling idea is almost always expressed in the first paragraph.

Analyzing Text: Understanding Structure in Informational Texts

How-To Informational Text

     Informational texts are put together or organized in different ways to give you information for different purposes. Although it is true that almost any kind of text has an introduction, a body, and a conclusion, there are different kinds of introductions, bodies, and conclusions for different purposes.

     Think about the similarities and differences between a wallet and a clothes dresser. Both are used to keep various items. Both have compartments or sections for different kinds of items. You could call them both containers.

     You could put the stuff from your wallet in your dresser and take the dresser with you when you go out. You could try to fit your clothes in the compartments in a wallet.

     However, switching these containers isn't going to work very well. They are designed for different purposes, and so they are different sizes, made of different materials, and used in different ways.

     You can think of different organizing patterns as information containers for different purposes. A recipe, for example, is an informational text. It is structured or organized as a list of ingredients and a list of steps to follow. It doesn't matter if the recipe is for making blueberry muffins or mixed concrete; the structure will be the same. A recipe uses an organizing pattern we'll call the how-to pattern, since it shows you how to do something. As a writer, you should use the how-to pattern when you need to explain how to do something, to give directions.

The example that follows is brief how-to writing on patching a bicycle tube.

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Oh,Oh-Who's Going to Fix This?

Introduction: Why you should know this

Sometimes you get a flat tire when you're just too far away to walk the bike home. If you're carrying the right materials and tools, you can patch the tube yourself and save that long walk home.

Body: List of Ingredients

You'll need a pump, wrenches and prying tools, and a tube patch kit. Twenty minutes is enough time.

Body: List of Steps

First, use the wrenches to remove the wheel from the bike. Carefully remove the tube from the tire. Pump up the tube to find the hole or leak. With the scratching tool in the patch kit, rough up the surface of the tube around the leak. Put glue on the tube on an area larger than the patch. When the glue starts to get sticky, remove the patch cover, place the patch on the glued area, and press down firmly for a minute or two. When the glue is dry, carefully slide the tube back inside the tire, making sure you dont disturb the patch. Pump up the tube slowly, squeezing the tire in several places to make sure the tube is seated properly.

Conclusion: Special Advice

Finally, pack up your tools and ride home. Be on the lookout for broken glass, nails, potholes, or any other road hazards that could ruin your happy ending.

     You can see from the analysis notes in the margin that the introduction of a how-to writing tells you why you might want to know how to do this. The body has two parts, the ingredients and the steps. The conclusion offers extra advice. The controlling idea is in boldface.

Analyzing Informational Text: True Narrative Structure

     A true story or personal account is not structured the same way as a how-to because the purpose is different. While the recipe's purpose is to tell you what to do, the true story's purpose is to tell you what happened. The true story or personal account will be structured as a narrative pattern, a sequence of events that already took place. Do not confuse the personal account or true story with a literary or imaginative short story. As you'll see later in this section, literary short stories have a similar pattern but a different purpose. Here is a brief example of Jason's personal account of an experience he shared with his friend Billy. Notice what is included in the introduction, body, and conclusion.

  

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I Wonder What's Downstream?

Introduction: Background

One hot day at 4:00 in the afternoon I was running along the highway with Billy. We were getting ourselves into shape for fall sports practice that would start in two weeks. I had no idea I was about to put myself in deadly danger.

We'd run about four miles and I thought I would burst into flames if I got any hotter. We were two miles from my house, the end of the run. As we passed the stream below the power dam, I decided I had a better idea. I told Billy I was going to go sit in the water and cool off for awhile. He said he had to keep he didn't have time to stop.

As he ran on I slid down the bank to the stream. The stream was about fifty feet wide but only a foot deep. The bottom was all rounded stones. Some were so big they stuck out of the water by a foot or more. I took off my sneaks, not wanting to get them wet, tied the laces together, and threw them across to the other bank. I decided I would and make my way across, pick up my sneaks, and continue home.

Body: Conflict

I was halfway across when a wave knocked me down. That's right, a wave. The power dam at the head of the stream had opened its gates for some reason, and the water flow was suddenly ten times what it had been when I started.

I was trapped. If I stood up, the water knocked me down. If I tried to stay low in the water and crawl, the water pushed me quickly downstream. I didn't know what was down maybe another dam. What would it be like to go through a dam?

There was no one to call for help. It hurt my bare feet too much to try to jump from rock to rock above the water. Of course, my sneaks were safely on the other side, where I couldn't reach them.

Body: Climax or turning point

With the creativity born of terror, I had an idea. I dug my fingers between some rocks and let the rest of me float. My feet and legs were pulled downstream, but I could hold on to the rocks.

I let go with one hand, moved it six inches closer to the bank, and got a new grip. Slowly, I did the same with the other hand.

Conclusion: Resolution

In forty-five minutes, I completed my sideways,horizontal, underwater rock climb and lay like a beached whale on the bank. After I tied my sneaks for the long I certainly wasn't going to run I looked back at the stream.

The water flow had dropped to its original level. Anyone could cross now.

Analyzing Informational Text: Topic-Aspect Structure

     Another common informational structure gives the reader a number of details about a topic. Most of the writing in your textbooks is organized this way. Let's call this structure the topic-aspect pattern. Here's an example.

  

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A Healthy Lawn

Introduction: The Topic

To start, think about your lawn's health as you think about your own health. Prevention of disease is as important as finding cures once things go wrong. The idea is to prevent problems from occurring so that you don't have to spend time and money treating them.

Body: Aspects of the Topic

A healthy lawn needs healthy soil, and you can make sure your soil has the right mix of soil types and the right levels of nutrients and acidity. Knowing your climate helps, too. Grass that likes the climate where you live will do better than grass meant for a different climate. Mowing to the right height and watering in proper amounts and at the right times will also help to promote a healthy lawn.

Conclusion: Applying the Information

Taking care of the environment begins in your own yard, and you don't have to be an expert. Just prevent problems and you'll have a healthy lawn.

Analyzing Text: Understanding Structure in Persuasive Text Opinion-Reason

      A persuasive text such as a newspaper editorial or critical analysis will also have an introduction, a body, and a conclusion. However, each part of a well-written persuasive piece will be aimed at convincing the reader. One of the most common forms of persuasive writing is the opinion piece or editorial, often organized in the opinion-reason pattern like the example: Year-Round School that follows.

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     Year-Round School? Are You Crazy?

Introduction: Statement of Opinion

The recent proposal to extend the school year to twelve months is a bad idea. It might be the worst idea I ever heard.

Body: Reason to support the idea (numbered)

Spreading short vacations through the year is not the same as having one long vacation in the summer. (1) The summer break is a real break, and we all need a break after ten intense months of schoolwork.

(2) Many high school students rely on summer jobs to make their spending money for the year. No employer is going to hire teenagers for two-week intervals, so students needing jobs will no longer be able to get them.

(3) Travel and recreation industries will be hurt by such a change. Amusement parks in the northern part of the country won't do much business in the winter. Hardly anyone wants to ride the roller coaster in February.

Conclusion: Recommendation for Action

Students, teachers, parents, and businesses have all adapted themselves to the ten-month school schedule weve had for more than one hundred years. Don't try to fix something that isn't broken. Leave the school schedule as it is.

Analyzing Text: Understanding Structure in Persuasive Texts Thesis-Proof

Another common persuasive pattern is used to draw conclusions, make an analysis, do an evaluation, or otherwise prove a point. The thesis-proof pattern sounds like it belongs in a courtroom, and you use it when you need to make a case for your ideas.

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Good Readers Win

Introduction: States a Thesis or point to prove

How important is being a good reader? A new research study on reading ability and school success shows that reading ability is a direct cause for success in school and beyond it.

Body: Evidence to prove the thesis

(1) The study shows that the students who scored in the top 10% in reading in second grade were also very likely to be in the top 10% in class rank when they were seniors.

(2) Because the study followed people from second grade through early employment, a period of 25 years, researchers discovered that reading level could also be tied to later income level. The people who were in the top third of the class as readers in second grade were also very likely to be in the top third of income levels 25 years later.

Conclusion: Significance or so what about the thesis or point proven

Parents of young children should take special note of the results of this study. If children with a head start in reading keep that advantage through school and employment, then helping your child develop as a reader takes on a new importance.

Analyzing Text: Understanding Structure in Literary Texts Fictional Narrative

     This part could be 2000 pages if we tried to do a very thorough job of teaching you to read and interpret literature of all types. The most we can do here is show you some examples of common structures in literature and point out some of the special language techniques you will come across.

     Earlier you read a personal account or true narrative. The parts of the narrative included background, conflict, climax, and resolution. Fictional or imaginative short stories and have the same parts. Here is a brief version of a familiar story. Notice that the fictional narrative does show you the complete controlling idea until the climax or resolution of the story.

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All That Glitters . . . .

Introduction: Background

King Midas loved gold. He loved everything about it: the color, the shine, the weight of it.

Body: Conflict

He couldn't get enough of it. Even though he was a king and was surrounded by golden objects, he always wanted more. He begged aloud for more.

One of the gods who observe human behavior got tired of listening to Midas and decided to teach him a lesson. He asked Midas, Would you like it if everything you touched turned to gold?

Without thinking, Midas said, Of course! As Midas was dancing around the palace, trying out his new power on everything in sight, his daughter came into the room to see what all the fuss was about. Midas ran up to her and showed her all the things he had turned to gold. In his joy, he hugged her.

Body: Climax

She immediately turned to gold. She froze into a beautiful golden statue. Midas, realizing that his greed had caused him to trade his daughter for a lump of gold, immediately begged the god's forgiveness. He begged the god to take away the power and restore his daughter.

Conclusion: Resolution

The god agreed to do if Midas would never again mention the word gold. Midas agreed, hugged his flesh-and-blood daughter, and had the word gold removed from all documents and dictionaries in the land.

Analyzing Text: Understanding Structure in Poetry

     Now, we move on to poetry. With poetry, there are forms such as haiku, limericks, ballads and songs, sonnets, odes, and many more. However, these forms don't often tell you the structure of the thinking within the poem. A poem could make a case or a recommendation (thesis-proof or opinion-reason), give information about a subject (topic-aspect), tell how to do something (how-to), or tell a story (narrative).

     What do you do when you're faced with a poem? Don't get lost in rhymes and stanzas (groups of lines). Read the poem and try to discover its purpose. Let's say the poem is about love, a popular subject. If the poem tells how someone fell in love, it is narrative. If it tells what love is like, it's informational. If it tells you love is wonderful or terrible, it's persuasive. If it tells you how to avoid falling in love, it's explanatory.

     Here is a poem, a haiku, with introduction, body, and conclusion in three lines.

Geese fly softly by.
Teachers talk on endlessly.
We hear only wings

     The first line gives one part of the setting and action, what is happening outside. The second line gives the inside setting and action. The last line tells you which setting and action are important to him or her: "We hear only wings".

      As a writer, you choose an organizing structure that will achieve your purpose with your audience. When you are reading and analyzing texts, you work in the opposite you identify the pattern to discover the writer's purpose. When you are writing responses to text-based tasks or prompts, you have to do both:

• analyze the task to see your purpose and then choose an organizing pattern;
• analyze the text to identify the pattern or structure and then discover the purpose.

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