Close reading

Close reading means really looking closely at a piece of writing, like a book or a poem. You do this by slowly going through each sentence and thinking carefully about what it means and how it fits into the whole work. When you're close reading you are paying attention to every tiny detail and asking yourself questions like why did the writer use these words? or how did this character change throughout the story? If you're close reading a poem, for example, you might also look closely at the images and sounds in the poem and ask questions like what does this metaphor mean? or why does the poet repeat this sound at the end of each line? Close reading can help you get more out of the things you read, so that you can better understand the writer's ideas and feelings.