Cambridge English Language and Literature for the IB Diploma

Worksheet 2.1: Chapter 2 close reading using The Big 5

Practising close reading
Chapter 2 of the coursebook emphasises the skill of close reading that needs to be practised in all the
texts you will read, and especially the unseen passages examined in Paper 1. This worksheet gives
you the opportunity to practise a strategy for effective close reading.
You might ask, why is close reading important for Paper 1 in particular? There are several reasons
to consider:

Paper 1 is, by definition, unseen until the exam begins; therefore, you cannot prepare in
advance for the actual content of these texts.
The time available for Paper 1 is limited: with just 90 minutes for SL and 120 minutes for HL,
your close reading must be efficient and confident.
Paper 1 represents the infinite possibilities we encounter outside the classroom or the course:
unseen texts are everywhere, from media reports to music videos and professional
documents. Our world is filled with texts that we need to read closely, for work and leisure.

Applying The Big 5 to a popular text

On page 35 of the coursebook, there is a helpful table listing the analytical tools called The Big 5,
with accompanying questions for each (abbreviated here). Below is a brief example to demonstrate
how this table can be applied to one particular text, in this case William Shakespeares The Tragedy of
Romeo and Juliet:

Analytical tools The Big 5

Audience and purpose

Content and theme

Questions
Author?

William Shakespeare

Audience?

Elizabethan England

Why written?

to entertain theater-goers; to challenge

preconceptions of love

About?

fateful love between the youth of

feuding households

Meaning?
Tone and mood

Answers for The Tragedy of Romeo

and Juliet

Tone?
Effect?

they stumble that run fast (Act 2,

scene 3)
serious, perhaps to complement the
courtly comedies
somber, contemplative

Stylistic devices

Language devices?

a Chorus frames the plot; lyrical

word play throughout

Structure

Genre?

drama, tragedy

Conventions?

five acts spanning fast action

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Cambridge English Language and Literature for the IB Diploma

You should note that the answers provided here are fragmentary. When carrying out your own
analysis, you may want to use a more formal style and include precise references. For example, an
Internet resource like www . folger.edu might supply greater detail about the purpose(s) for which the
text was originally written; a source such as www.virtualsalt.com may provide some insight into
stylistic devices or structural conventions in this case specific to Elizabethan drama.

The Big 5 practice exercise

Before encountering the various texts provided in the coursebook, think of a favourite book from your
own past reading. Childrens books count for this exercise, too! Dr Suess, for example, writes
wonderful literature for children and their parents in such books as The Lorax, Hobart Hatches an
Egg, The Grinch Who Stole Christmas and others.
T his is not an unseen text, nor a text that you originally read with such questions in mind, but try
out the questions in The Big 5 with your own chosen text. As in the example above, your answers
can be in the form of brief notes or full and more formal.

Analytical tools The Big 5

Audience and purpose

Questions

Answers for your chosen text

Author?
Audience?
Why written?

Content and theme

About?

Meaning?

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Cambridge English Language and Literature for the IB Diploma

Tone and mood

Tone?

Effect?

Stylistic devices

Language devices?

Structure

Genre?

Conventions?

Flip classroom
Have you ever heard of a flip classroom? This concept is growing popular, with students taking on
the role of the teacher in teaching a skill or concept to their fellow students.
Now that youve completed the table of The Big 5 analytical tools using a text you know well, teach
that text to a group of your classmates.
You might read an extract or two (or the whole text, if it is short for example, a poem) and ask
questions to your audience about their own first responses to the text. You might try out new
adjectives to describe the tone and mood, and ask your audience for alternatives.
You should try to practise The Big 5 as often as you can when you:

take notes on new, previously unseen texts

discuss texts you have already read.

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