Developed in 2007, this document examines textual analysis and text complexity through the lens of the North Carolina English I EOC.

1. WHY IS TEXTUAL ANALYSIS IMPORTANT?
The guiding mission of the North Carolina State Board of Education is that every public
school student will graduate from high school, globally competitive for work and post-
secondary education and prepared for life in the 21st century. Textual analysis explicitly
supports this mission and develops several of the key elements of 21st century learning.
• Core subjects knowledge is supported and enhanced by textual analysis in
English Language Arts and other courses.
• 21st century content such as civic literacy relies on textual analysis; citizens must
be able to understand the purpose, audience and context of documents in order
to make sound decisions.
• Learning and thinking skills, including critical thinking and informational literacy
skills, reflect aspects of textual analysis skills.
Essential for student success, textual analysis is often included on assessments.
Sometimes called close reading, critical reading, or explication of text, textual analysis
comprises a significant portion of the English I End-of-Course test and appears on
national assessments such as the SAT, the ACT, Advanced Placement exams, and
International Baccalaureate tests.
WHAT IS TEXTUAL ANALYSIS?
Textual analysis involves students’ understanding of three basic elements of a print or
non-print text:
• Meaning: The first element, meaning, essentially refers to students’ ability to
comprehend the ideas of a text. Key aspects of comprehension are vocabulary
and fluency, the speed and ease with which a student reads a text.
• Author’s Craft: The second element, author’s craft, deals with students’ analysis
of the choices that authors make in communicating their ideas. Author’s craft
may involve use of figurative language, diction, dialect, point of view, etc.
• Communication Environment: The final element concerns students’ analysis of
ways in which authors use different strategies and approaches for specific
purposes, audiences, and contexts. According to the NC English Language Arts
Standard Course of Study, “A communication environment includes the
following: a message sender, a message, a message receiver, and a social setting
with relevant subject matter.To become proficient and skillful users of language,
students should understand and demonstrate control of these elements of
communication and employ language for different purposes, to different
audiences, and in different contexts (why, to whom, and in what situations).”The
NC English Language Arts Standard Course of Study for middle and high schools
includes five communication environments: expressive, informational/expository,
argumentative, critical, and literary.
HIGH SCHOOL ENGLISH
LANGUAGE ARTS
FOCUS ON TEXTUAL
ANALYSISThe sample questions on the inside fold would be appropriate on multiple-choice,
constructed response or performance-based assessments.They represent only a small
number of possibilities within each category. Individual items or questions will be more
or less difficult depending on student prior knowledge as well as the relationships
between the task and text. For example, “describing” is often seen as a relatively simple
task; in order to select a word that best describes the tone of an unfamiliar selection,
however, the student must first analyze the selection to understand the tone and then
determine which word best fits his analysis. Furthermore, a student will be able to
determine the tone more easily if the text includes several explicit terms and references,
such as describing the day as “dark and gloomy” and having the character talk about
how miserable his life is. If, however, the context clues are more subtle, the same task
requires more analysis and becomes more difficult.
Of course, the difficulty of the text will also affect student performance. Factors related
to text difficulty include accessibility (student prior knowledge) and complexity. ACT
defines text complexity as a function of several different aspects:
• Relationships: Interactions among ideas or characters in the text are subtle,
involved, or deeply embedded.
• Richness: The text possesses a sizable amount of highly sophisticated information
conveyed through data or literary devices.
• Structure: The text is organized in ways that are elaborate and sometimes
unconventional.
• Style: The author’s tone and use of language are often intricate.
• Vocabulary: The author’s choice of words is demanding and highly context dependent.
• Purpose: The author’s intent in writing the text is implicit and sometimes ambiguous.
Source: “Reading Between the Lines: What the ACT Reveals About College Readiness in Reading,”
http://www.act.org/path/policy/pdf/reading_report.pdf#search=%22Reading%20Between%20the%20Lines%20ACT%22
It is important that students have the opportunity to read texts with a variety of levels of
complexity. Extensive reading, which generally involves student-selected and less complex
texts, allows students to develop more fluency and comfort, encouraging students to
develop a love of reading. Intensive reading of more complex texts involves careful deep
study, developing students’ analysis skills. Students should become aware of different
reading strategies and have experience matching them to different types of text.
This document is designed to enhance English teachers’ understanding of textual analysis,
especially as it relates to both classroom assessment and standardized testing on the
English I End-of-CourseTest.
TASK AND TEXT DIFFICULTY
NCDPI Resources
(Available from http://www.ncpublicschools.org/curriculum/languagearts/secondary/ )
In the Right Direction: High School English Language Arts Teacher Handbook
Written by North Carolina English Language Arts teachers, this handbook has been developed to
highlight both the integration of activities within the classroom and the use of sound instructional
practices.
• Volume I: Planning and Unit Samples
Volume I addresses yearly planning guides and unit development.Teacher-designed units and
planning guides offer models for the integration of goals and the addressing of student needs.
The appendix includes a list of works commonly taught in NC ELA classes.
• Volume II: Activity Plans
This volume includes sample plans for activities in each course.The activities are neither
comprehensive nor prescriptive; they are intended to offer suggestions for approaches to the
teaching and learning standards.
• Volume III: Approaches to Teaching Grammar and Language Usage
This volume contains an overview of research on effective instruction of grammar and
language usage, a step-by-step outline of teaching grammar and language usage within the
context of student writing, and a selection of activity plans targeting some of the most common
concerns in teaching grammar and language usage.
What to Look for in a Secondary ELA Classroom
This brochure provides a brief overview of the roles and responsibilities of teachers and students in
a secondary English Language Arts classroom.The interactive, student-centered classrooms
described in the brochure reflect research in effective teaching and learning.
Guidelines for Teaching Middle and High School Students to Read and Write Well
booklet (Center on English Learning and Achievement)
http://cela.albany.edu/publication/brochure/guidelines.pdf
These guidelines draw upon a series of research reports and case studies that share findings based on research.
Improving Literary Understanding Through Classroom Conversation booklet
(Center on English Learning and Achievement) http://cela.albany.edu/env.pdf
Effective literature instruction develops reading, writing, thinking, and other literacy skills. Drawing on
research and including real classroom examples, this booklet can also be used with the Annenberg/CPB
professional development series Envisioning Literature (http://www.learner.org/resources/series139.html ).
Reading Next: A Vision for Action and Research in Middle and High School Literacy,
a report to Carnegie Corporation of New York
http://www.all4ed.org/publications/ReadingNext/
This booklet outlines 15 key elements of an effective literacy intervention and calls for an investment in
the literacy of middle and high school students today.
Reading Between the Lines: What the ACT Reveals About College Readiness in Reading
http://www.act.org/path/policy/pdf/reading_report.pdf#search=%22Reading%20Between%20the%20Lines%20ACT%22
This report calls for major changes in high school reading standards and instruction.The document
supports the need for all students to have substantial experience with complex texts and includes a
model of text complexity and sample texts at various levels of difficulty.
Tools for Providing Feedback in Reading: A Reading Assessment Handbook for All
Teachers in Grades 3-12 (SERVE) http://www.serve.org/_downloads/REL/Assessment/handbk.pdf
This reading assessment handbook is a resource for any teacher wanting to expand his or her use of
assessment methods. It provides easy-to-use assessment methods as a starting point for understanding
students as readers.
CONTACT INFORMATION
Middle and Secondary English Language Arts, (919) 807-3837
NC DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC INSTRUCTION
June St. Clair Atkinson, Ed.D., State Superintendent
301 N. Wilmington Street :: Raleigh, North Carolina 27601-2825
In compliance with federal law, NC Public Schools administers all state-operated educational programs, employment
activities and admissions without discrimination because of race, religion, national or ethnic origin, color, age, military
service, disability, or gender, except where exemption is appropriate and allowed by law.
Visit us on the Web:: www.ncpublicschools.org
RESOURCES
Degree of Text Complexity
Aspect of Text Uncomplicated More Challenging Complex
Relationships Basic, straightforward Sometimes Implicit Subtle, involved,
deeply embedded
Richness Minimal/limited Moderate/ more Sizable/highly
detailed sophisticated
Structure Simple, conventional More involved Elaborate,
sometimes
unconventional
Style Plain, accessible Richer, less plain Often intricate
Vocabulary Familiar Some difficult, context- Demanding, highly
dependent words context dependent
Purpose Clear Conveyed with some Implicit, some
subtlety times ambiguous

2. Students employ textual analysis skills with all of their reading tasks in high school.Teachers should evaluate and monitor development in textual
analysis skills through a variety of instructional contexts, not just in multiple-choice assessments. When students write about and discuss texts in class,
teachers can determine where students have difficulty and plan instructional supports as necessary. Additionally, as students address more complex or
unfamiliar texts, teachers will need to modify instruction.
Literature circles, Socratic seminars, classroom read-alouds, double-entry journal responses, and open-ended writing tasks are just a few of the contexts
in which teachers can collect evidence on student performance in textual analysis.The chart below offers some indicators (what teachers might find)
students may have difficulty with elements of textual analysis and some strategies (what teachers might do) to target those difficulties. Remember these
elements and strategies work together simultaneously, not separately; teachers will find several of the strategies effective for all three elements.
UNDERSTANDING TEXTUAL ANALYSIS
IN THE CLASSROOM
Sample Questions Indicators of Difficulty Modified Instructional Plans
• Model comprehension and vocabulary
in context strategies.
• Stress reading as problem-solving. Ask
students to reflect upon and analyze
what they found confusing and what
they did to make meaning.
• Access and/or build rich and complete
background knowledge prior to and
during reading.
• Allow students to partner read.
• Allow students to talk about the text as
they are reading.
• Use lots of retell – like dramatization or
written retell – for follow-up activities.
• Pre-teach important vocabulary words.
• Read small portions of text and have
students discuss immediately.
• Allow lots of choice. Students are more
interested in texts they choose and may
be more willing to engage in strategies
that will help them make meaning.
• Reads word-for-word
• Attends only to beginning of words
• Gives weak retell
• Reads orally too quickly
• Omits entire phrases without
recognizing or self-correcting
• Disrupts meaning by substituting
pronouns
• Confuses words that look similar
• Is unaware that words and phrases
mean different things in different
contexts
• May use only a tedious sound-out
strategy when running into difficulty
• Has trouble predicting/confirming
Comprehend Meaning Within Passage
(1.03, 2.01, 3.04, 4.03, 5.03)
• What can a reader infer about Joe’s
feeling about Jane and Sue in
paragraph 4?
• When the narrator says, “I’m
stuffed,” what does she mean?
• What best describesTom’s
relationship with his brother before
the accident?
• How does the teacher reveal her
impatience with the students?
Use Context Clues to Discern Meaning of
Unfamiliar Words (6.01)
• In paragraph 6, what does erudition
mean?
• Based on the context of paragraphs
1 and 2, what does veracity mean?
• Model questioning and analysis
strategies with complex texts.
• Identify literary devices and stylistic
techniques within studied texts and
discuss their impact on the work.
• Model higher-order thinking for the
students by sharing your thoughts and
ideas in a think-aloud.
• Teach students to evaluate information,
characters, the author’s style, etc.
• Use graphic organizers to help students
see and understand relationships.
• Reads to gain minimal information
and/or correct answer
• Has trouble inferring
• Has difficulty discussing author’s use of
literary device
• Has trouble discussing characters –
motivation, values, basis for decisions,
and relationships with other characters
• May have trouble with point of view
Analyze Relationship of a Part of the
Work to the Work as a Whole (4.02)
• The author’s tone produces what
overall effect(s)?
• How does the quotation provide an
effective ending to the selection?
• What is the effect of the use of
analogies throughout the selection?
• What does the poet suggest about
his subject by using the title In
and Beyond?
Understand Effect of Discrete Literary
Element Within Context of Text (5.01)
• What characteristic is highlighted by
the author’s use of personification in
the first paragraph?
• What makes “my love is like a
rose” an effective simile?
• What does the road symbolize?
• What effect is achieved through the use
of words such as downy and hush?
Comprehend Meaning of Overall Passage
(1.03, 2.01, 3.04, 4.03, 5.03)
• What is the main idea of this selection?
• Which of the following best
expresses the writer’s overall
opinion of the topic?
• What is the theme of this selection?
• What is the main purpose of this
selection?
• Before reading text, discuss with
students the purpose for reading, the
type of text to be read, and
adjustments they need to make.
• Ask students to examine the
assumptions of the author or type of
text and examine their own personal
assumptions about what they read.
• Stress reading as problem-solving. Ask
students to identify the purpose,
audience and context of the text and
discuss how the author hoped to
address the readers’ concerns or
questions.
• Create chart of different types of texts
and discuss elements of each type.
• Ask students to read texts from
different environments throughout the
course rather than only in isolation (i.e.
all short stories in one quarter, all non-
fiction in another).
• Read texts of different types related to the
same theme and compare and contrast
their elements and the effects of each.
• Approaches different types of texts
without differentiating expectations or
strategies
• Reads without considering purpose or
importance of specific texts
• Begins reading without consideration
of text – just dives in
• Ignores information from textual
features (such as headings,
introductory /informational material,
illustrations, and captions)
• Appears unaware that
o Authors have specific intentions
and, as readers, they are capable of
determining them.
o Authors make specific and
deliberate choices about what type
of text they create.
o Authors, including scientists and
other authorities, have points of
view that are often implicitly rather
than explicitly embedded in text.
o Because something appears in print
does not mean (a) it must be fiction
or (b) it must be true.
o Readers have the right to disagree
with or question author’s opinion –
but should have reasons for
disagreeing.
Analyze Elements of Communication
Environment
Expressive (1.03)
• How does the author create a
sense of voice?
• What details are used to create a
sense of setting?
• Which words does the author use
to emphasize his attitude toward
his childhood?
Informational (2.01)
• Which information best supports
the main point of this selection?
• What additional instructions could
be included to help the reader?
• What kind of graphic would help
clarify the information in the article?
Argumentative (3.04)
• Which statement is an example of
the author’s bias?
• How does the author develop
support for his position?
• What does the author accomplish by
including the paragraph on differing
perspectives of the problem?
Critical (4.03)
• Why is the writer critical of Jones’
poetry?
• What does the writer appear to
appreciate most about the sculpture?
• According to the reviewer, what
best explains why Romeo and
Juliet can be seen as a comedy?
Literary (5.03)
• Which best describes similarity in
themes between the two selections?
• What word best describes the tone
of the selection?
• What effect does the author achieve
with the imagery in lines 5 - 8?
COMMUNICATIONENVIRONMENTAUTHOR’SCRAFTMEANING
Source: Adapted from Tools for Providing Feedback in Reading (SERVE) http://www.serve.org/_downloads/REL/Assessment/handbk.pdf