English Professor how-to

How to Teach Close Reading of a Poem

Close reading builds analysis skills.

Updated By the Career Education Institute Curriculum Team
Quick answer

Close reading builds analysis skills. In short: read; mark; ask, then complete the remaining steps below.

Step by step

  1. Read aloud twice.

  2. Mark words that stand out.

  3. Ask what changes.

  4. Look at form and sound.

  5. Connect details to meaning.

  6. Write a claim.

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Composition · Close reading · Thesis · Canon · Literary theory · Rhetorical situation: see the full english professor glossary.

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