Close Reading

Close reading, also known as close textual analysis, investigates the relationship between the internal workings of discourse in order to discover what makes a particular text function persuasively. A text is an artifact that stimulates meaning. To infer about such meanings, one needs to conduct a close reading. Close reading may be related to the hermeneutical triangle since three important traits are examined: the rhetor, or author, of the text; the audience(s); and the message itself. Close reading attempts to reveal the detailed, often concealed, tools that give a particular text stylistic consistency and rhetorical effect. By conducting a close reading analysis, hidden themes may surface that have been overlooked or underestimated. In the United States, close reading has been linked to the ...

  • Loading...
locked icon

Sign in to access this content

Get a 30 day FREE TRIAL

  • Watch videos from a variety of sources bringing classroom topics to life
  • Read modern, diverse business cases
  • Explore hundreds of books and reference titles