had lisped so charmingly, had stormed so wildly, and all her wit and her bearing and her temper came from them, and not from the sluggish English, or the cold Scotch; but more profoundly, she ruminated the other problem, of rich and poor, and the things she saw with her own eyes, weekly, daily, here or in London, when she visited this widow, or that struggling wife in person with a bag on her arm, and a note-book and pencil with which she wrote down in columns carefully ruled for the purpose wages and spendings, employment and unemployment, in the hope that thus she would cease to be a private woman whose charity was half a sop to her own indignation, half a relief to her own curiosity, and become what with her untrained mind she greatly admired, an investigator, elucidating the social problem. (Woolf, 1927/1989, pp. 8–9)
The complexities of this passage are enormous. On first reading, one notices rather readily the content, which describes the main character and her internal thoughts—first about her children, then the issue of her own social acceptance, and finally the larger social issues of the time. But that is not what is vital in this passage. Woolf’s ability to present layer upon layer of ideas folded one within another, represented through complex sentences that enfold clauses within clauses, challenges the reader and thus represents the complexity of the main character. One cannot ignore the quality of this writing; few writers can emulate it. While such a passage would be a challenge to even the most diligent high school seniors, it is something teachers should occasionally expose their students to so they can appreciate what good writing is. Such writing does not primarily entertain; it is artistically exquisite.
There are several methods for teachers to assess a text’s reading level and complexity level to match the needs of students. Reading level is a good starting point, and many textbook publishers provide this information in their catalogs and on their websites. Teachers can also establish the reading level of a text by typing (or copying and pasting) a segment of text into Microsoft Word. Microsoft Word, with its Spelling and Grammar tool, can help teachers assess many readability factors and help teachers judge whether a text is appropriate for their students. The following applies to Word 2016, but similar settings are available in most previous versions of the program. In Windows, start by accessing your File menu and then clicking Options. Under the section When Correcting for Spelling and Grammar, be sure to select Show Readability Statistics. Once in the document, click on the Review menu and click Spelling and Grammar. On a Mac, start by accessing Preferences. In the Spelling and Grammar section, select Show Readability Statistics. Then, in the Tools menu, click Spelling and Grammar. At the end of the spelling and grammar check, Word will display the Flesch-Kincaid level of the highlighted text. Another easy way to check a text’s reading level is with the website Readable.io (https://readable.io). Here you can type or copy and paste a section of text into the website and receive information about its reading level through several methods, including Flesch-Kincaid.
Text complexity is much more challenging to determine. Lexile or ATOS measurements can provide good estimates of text complexity, though they may not address all possible interpretations of a text. Thus, the best advice for teachers is to use their best judgment given the goals of the close reading session and their own experience with the text. If the text is at an appropriate reading level, teachers should determine whether the text provides students a rich experience in using authorial devices (we will discuss this more later) and presenting ideas. Making this determination is not an exact science, but a teacher’s experience of teaching a text is the best determinant of whether the text is at the correct level of complexity. If you are new to the content you’re teaching, seek out the advice of teachers who have taught the same texts for years.
Type of Text
Most academic standards (including the CCSS) look at texts in two categories: (1) literary and (2) informational. This distinction in the standards suggests a fundamental difference between these two kinds of texts. The reason for this distinction is to promote the teaching of informational texts in public school classrooms (Common Core State Standards Initiative, n.d.). This is a vitally important effort because standards-defined informational text is the most common form of text students encounter throughout their lives. That being said, the dichotomy between literary and informational texts is a false one.
Many people typically think of literature as works of creative writing, often fiction or poetry that evoke an emotional response from the reader. Literary texts use characterization, plot, and figurative language to great effect. Rhetoric, the art of persuasion, is the basis for informational text. That statement may be surprising, but any text presents a rhetorical stance, an inherent argument for the reader. For example, a text may appear to do nothing but inform, stating a series of facts. However, selecting those facts, choosing their presentation in a particular sequence, and selecting any textual structures presents an argument in favor of the information, and a careful reader can see them in that manner. When students analytically read an informational text, this can reveal authorial choices related to the author’s purpose and occasion, each of which are related to the creation of an argument and a reaction in the mind of the reader. Rhetoric is essentially the skill of argumentation, or the ability to use an appeal to build a strong and convincing argument. Already one can see the separate concepts and terminology typically associated with each category of texts. However, if one backs away from the dichotomy of informational and literary and sees a text as a text only, then one can perceive more commonality between these two categories. For example, what literary critics call figurative language (simply put, the ability to say one thing and mean at least two things) is really a rhetorical figure, a method used both in literary and informational texts. To illustrate, Robert Burns (1794) begins his famous poem with, “My love is like a red, red rose.” This is figurative language, specifically a simile, in which two dissimilar things—(1) his love and (2) a rose—are compared using the word like. Although literary critics call such devices figurative language, the larger category to which figurative language belongs is the category of rhetorical figures, and writers of argument make effective use of such structures. Many aspects of literary texts have their counterparts in informational texts. For example, there is much commonality, if not a one-to-one correspondence, between the basic elements of setting in a literary text and occasion in an informational one. For this reason, consider simplifying instruction in these areas, and when possible, approach teaching both the literary and informational elements together. That way, students can see these connections and apply similar techniques to both literary and informational texts immediately.
This may oppose the traditional approach of genre-based units (a unit on the short story and then a later unit on informational text in an English language arts classroom, or a narrative story in one unit and an essay in another unit in a physical education classroom). However, teaching the application of rhetorical elements to both kinds of texts reveals a new form of intertextual instruction, where students might read a short story on a topic and then an essay on the same general topic within a few days.
The advantage is that teachers can focus less on genre and more on text complexity as students develop close reading skills. Thus, a class can start with approachable, grade-level short stories, poems, and essays and then proceed to much more challenging texts without getting caught up in the type (genre) of text. This is more efficient in developing student skills and is wholly appropriate when the focus is on developing students’ close reading and interpretive skills.
This same approach can apply in content areas other than English language arts. For example, a social studies teacher examining the historical period in 18th century England might have students examine a satirical work of prose, such as Jonathan Swift’s (1729/1996) A Modest Proposal, as a text supporting the Irish rebellion against English landlords, as well as some of the satirical poetry on the same subject. In the same way, a science teacher might have students read an essay on environmental issues, and then turn to the more elegant prose of, for example, conservationist Rachel Carson, understanding that her work is still an informational text but filled with effective literary devices.
To be clear, we cannot teach the skill of close reading of informational text solely by providing
