Analyzing Text 1

Analyzing Academic Text

Crystal Zavala

ITL 520: Academic Language & Literacy

April 14, 2019

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Levels of Reading

There three different levels of reading that English speakers are characterized by. There is

basic, proficient and advanced. Students who are at a basic reading level are able to locate

information, identify statements central to the main idea, indicate simple inferences. These

students should also be able to identify word meaning and give support to the main idea.

Students that are at a proficient reading level can summarize the main idea, make and support

inferences, and connect different parts of text. Students at this level can also analyze text features

and fully support judgments made about the text. The last reading level students can be at is

advanced. Students at this level can connect within and across text, evaluate supporting evidence,

evaluate text structure and the author’s choices made in the article, and also evaluate rhetorical

devices.

Academic Texts

The first academic text that is in my content area, which is English, that I will use an

Edgar Allan Poe’s short story called “The Masque of the Red Death”. This item of text will be

used in the high school level at the sophomore grade. This is a short story that is about four and a

half pages that tells a story of a party being held in a grand mansion during the time of the plague

called the “Red Death”. This prince holds a party in his mansion and locks in himself and many

of his rich friends to have a wonderful time while the rest of the city is in chaos with so many

people dying but little does the prince know a mystery person is there to spread the red death.

The narrator of this story is an unnamed person who over looks everything that is going

on. They are not present in the story itself, they are just reading out. The audience for this story

would be the people of higher class or for people who sees themselves are better than others. The
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reason for that is because the lesson of this story is that hiding away while others suffer can come

back to bite you in the butt.

The second academic text I will use is Shakespeare’s Sonnet 18. This article of text will

also be taught in the high school level for sophomores. This sonnet is one of Shakespeare’s most

known sonnets. Many people may not have heard the entirety of the sonnet but they have heard

parts of it, especially the first line. It is about love for another.

The narrator of this item of text is Shakespeare. The audience for this is Shakespeare’s

love, since it is a love poem. The main point of this sonnet is the use of language and figurative

speech to present a person’s love to another.

Content Academic Text Challenges

TEXT TYPES

ACADEMIC TEXT 1 ACADEMIC TEXT 2

LEVELS OF
_“The Masque of the Red Death”_ __Shakespeare’s Sonnet 18__
READING
Challenges
 The meaning of the different Challenges
colored rooms at the party.  The use of old English
BELOW BASIC  The underlying message of  Interpret the use of
LEVEL “karma” for the prince. figurative language

 Evaluate some of the

 Can find the main idea of
the story.
BASIC LEVEL
 Can find the main idea.
 Understand the meaning of
figurative language.
 Analyze the metaphors
used.
 Can find the main idea.
 Can interpret a good
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PROFICIENT LEVEL color usage. amount of the use of old

English.
 Will be able to analyze the
figurative language
 An easy read.
 Find the main idea.
 Understand old English
ADVANCED LEVEL  Find the purpose of the
 Analyze the use of
story.
figurative language.
 Find ethos, pathos, and
logos.

Reflection

With my current level of understanding that many of my students will have varying levels

of reading levels that will become present, especially in an English classroom. Since this subject

area my students will have to analyze many different forms of text and then write about it. What

I have learned this week is that I will need to take certain steps to make sure that my students

who have low reading levels are still supported in their ability to understand the content at the

same level as my proficient readers. I also need to create enough challenge for my advanced

readers that doesn’t cause my below basic readers to feel overwhelmed.