Close reading is a traceable climb: evidence, textual choice, mechanism, inference and significance.
Faglig kvalitetssikret av lærere og toppstudenter · Følger læreplanen (LK20) · Sist oppdatert 2026-09-14
Learning goal
Move from exact textual evidence to a larger interpretation without skipping the mechanism or inference step.
How to read this model
- Start with an exact detail.
- Identify the textual pattern or choice.
- Explain what that choice does in context.
- State the inference it supports.
- Connect the inference to the larger argument.
Steps in the model
- 1 · Evidence – The door is locked three times before the visitor arrives.
- 2 · Choice – Repetition foregrounds the act of securing the boundary.
- 3 · Mechanism – The repeated action delays entry and makes the boundary unusually visible.
- 4 · Inference – The scene frames safety and exclusion as competing needs.
- 5 · Significance – The boundary can support a wider reading about belonging and control.
Explanation
The strongest analytical claims expose the bridge between evidence and interpretation.
Reader-effect language should stay proportionate: the text may foreground, delay, contrast or position attention without guaranteeing one emotion.
Examples
- Weak jump: ‘The locked door symbolizes isolation.’
- Stronger: track repetition, placement and consequence before assigning symbolic meaning.
For the exam
After every quotation, write the missing how/why sentence before moving to theme.