12/12 12. Writing About Literature and Synthesis Free Online FlashCards

What is the progression from observation to literary argument?

Close reading moves from observation to pattern to interpretation, then to an arguable claim about why the pattern matters.

What formula connects technique, effect, and interpretation?

The text uses [specific technique] to [create an effect], suggesting that [interpretive claim].

What should a writer annotate on a second reading?

On a second reading, annotate details that are important, unusual, repeated, or contradictory, adding brief marginal questions and observations.

What must literary analysis explain besides a text’s subject?

Analysis explains both what a text says and how its formal choices shape that meaning.

Which features are especially important in poetry close reading?

Examine diction, denotation and connotation, imagery, metaphor, sound, line and stanza breaks, speaker, and structure.

Which features should fiction analysis examine?

Study narrative perspective, reliability, characterization, setting, plot, pacing, motifs, and irony.

Which features are central to drama analysis?

Analyze dialogue, monologue, stage directions, dramatic irony, blocking, space, conflict, and pacing.

What should analysis of literary nonfiction examine?

Examine the speaker, audience, purpose, ethos, organization, rhetorical appeals, imagery, and omissions.

What five-part sequence structures an evidence-based paragraph?

Claim, context, evidence, analysis, and connection.

What makes a comparative thesis analytical?

A strong comparative thesis identifies a meaningful basis of comparison, explains a significant difference or similarity, and advances an interpretation.

What are three ways to organize comparative evidence?

Block structure discusses each work separately; point-by-point structure discusses both works under each analytical point; form-to-meaning structure moves from technique to interpretation.

How can transitions clarify relationships between works?

Use transitions such as “likewise” for similarity, “however” for difference, “although” for qualification, and “therefore” for consequence.