Assignment Length
500-750 words (organized into 2-3 paragraphs)
Format
MLA Style: 12-point font, double spaced, include a heading (with your first and last name, course title, and date) and an original title (not just ‘close reading write up’). Be sure to write in complete, error-free sentences and use paragraphs.
Prompt
How does Jamaica Kincaid’s use of language in “Girl” affect the story’s meaning? In order to answer this question, you should identify 3 interesting rhetorical devices that Kincaid uses in the story. Describe these devices in detail (you may quote the text to provide specific examples of the devices you chose to analyze, but you still need to describe how the language is functioning in the quotes. Don’t assume that the quotes speak for themselves. It’s up to you to explain the devices that you see operating in the quotes.) After you describe each device or interesting linguistic detail, then you should interpret how the device or detail contributes to the meaning of the story.
*In the bolded sentences, I am giving a detailed description of the rhetorical device (Kincaid’s use of semi-colons).
**In the underlined sentences, I am offering an interpretation of how the device contributes to the meaning of the story.
This sample paragraph is 196 words. You can see how if I wrote at this level of detail for 2 more devices (remember the prompt asks you to address 3 devices), then I would have a total of about 588 words, which would hit the target 500-750 word count for the assignment.
Please note: You do not need to write a formal introduction or conclusion, and you do not need to have a thesis statement. This is not a traditional essay but rather an exerciluvse in how to “close read.”
