Useful Phrases For Analysing Texts
Useful phrases for analysing texts
In general: “bedient sich adäquater Mittel der LESERLEITUNG”
= Vor-, Quer- und Rückverweise, e.g.:
In the following, I’m going to … [= tell your readers what you are about to do]
As I said before / in the beginning … (etc.)
I will enlarge upon this later / in the next paragraph … (etc.)
Concluding one can say / In brief / To put it in a nutshell / From all this follows that … (etc.)
Make it easy for readers of your text to follow your argumentation!
Task 1:
The text at hand / the given text is [an extract/excerpt from] … [a short story/speech/newspaper article/novel/poem a.s.o.] written by […] [and published in (the New York Times etc.) on [date] / in [year]. It is about / deals with / treats of / describes / is concerned with / presents … [topic = general topic, no details!].
The general/essential/main idea expressed is …
The [author/writer/speaker/poet] starts off by [+ gerund, e.g. stating that …].
He/She goes on by [+ gerund]…
He/She speaks about / discusses / gives his (her) opinion on … / expresses his (her) view concerning … / holds the view that … / comments on … / presents the thesis that … / draws (come) to the conclusion that …
Use the present tense; don’t quote; use neutral language, i.e. don’t evaluate; use your own words / paraphrase.
Task 2:
In the following, I’m going to … [say what you are about to do, e.g. … characterise Molly while putting special emphasis on the reasons for her behaviour in this excerpt… cf. task!]
When analysing the structure of a text:
The text/story/speech can be divided into / is divided into / falls into / is composed of / contains / consists of […] parts / paragraphs / chapters / sections.
The first / […] / last part / paragraph / sentence constitutes / gives us / comprises the introduction / central problem / principal part / solution.
In the first / […] / last part the author varies the theme / changes the topic / goes into detail / passes from … to …
When characterising:
In general: “bedient sich adäquater Mittel der LESERLEITUNG”
= Vor-, Quer- und Rückverweise, e.g.:
In the following, I’m going to … [= tell your readers what you are about to do]
As I said before / in the beginning … (etc.)
I will enlarge upon this later / in the next paragraph … (etc.)
Concluding one can say / In brief / To put it in a nutshell / From all this follows that … (etc.)
Make it easy for readers of your text to follow your argumentation!
Task 1:
The text at hand / the given text is [an extract/excerpt from] … [a short story/speech/newspaper article/novel/poem a.s.o.] written by […] [and published in (the New York Times etc.) on [date] / in [year]. It is about / deals with / treats of / describes / is concerned with / presents … [topic = general topic, no details!].
The general/essential/main idea expressed is …
The [author/writer/speaker/poet] starts off by [+ gerund, e.g. stating that …].
He/She goes on by [+ gerund]…
He/She speaks about / discusses / gives his (her) opinion on … / expresses his (her) view concerning … / holds the view that … / comments on … / presents the thesis that … / draws (come) to the conclusion that …
Use the present tense; don’t quote; use neutral language, i.e. don’t evaluate; use your own words / paraphrase.
Task 2:
In the following, I’m going to … [say what you are about to do, e.g. … characterise Molly while putting special emphasis on the reasons for her behaviour in this excerpt… cf. task!]
When analysing the structure of a text:
The text/story/speech can be divided into / is divided into / falls into / is composed of / contains / consists of […] parts / paragraphs / chapters / sections.
The first / […] / last part / paragraph / sentence constitutes / gives us / comprises the introduction / central problem / principal part / solution.
In the first / […] / last part the author varies the theme / changes the topic / goes into detail / passes from … to …
When characterising: