Analysing texts: Useful functions (Redemittel)

What sort of text is it?

• *sort of texts: narration, description, advertisement, report, brochure, instruction manual, conversation, dialogue, discussion, interview, song, poem, cartoon, photograph, letter, comic, story, fairy tale, short story

What does the text tell us?

The 2) tells the (3) about 1)

reports on (1)

deals with (1)  

• (1) the question wh.., the problem of ....ing, the statement that.., the idea that , the vision of..., the situation of ..., the advantages and disadvantages of ..., the conflict / the comparison / the relationship between ... and ...., 
• (2) narrator, author, advertiser, reporter, persons, interviewer, song writer, poet, cartoonist, photographer, letter writer, story-teller, 
• 3) the reader, the listener, us, the viewer, 

Where and when does the action take place?

• places: (4) at a school, in Sydney, in Australia, 
• time: (5) in the morning of a bright day, in July, in 1999, 
• atmosphere: in an atmosphere of (6) peacefulness, calmness, in an unfriendly / friendly / tense / hostile atmosphere, in the .. world of 

Who are the main / minor characters?

X is a person who seems to me to be ...

There are some details in the text which show that X is (7)

In line ... he/she says/reacts in a (5) way.

His/her feelings/reasons/ motives are (8)

I don't find X likeable because...

I don't think X is very convincing because...

His/her behaviour seems to change in the course of the story. The story might have ended differently if X..

Into how many parts can the text be divided? 

Find a heading to each paragraph.

Is there a development (beginning, climax, turning point, ending) ?

The first part is about...

The turning point / the climax is reached when 

The happy ending is (isn't) surprising because....

I find the plot of the story (8)

The story is told from ........'s point of view.

The story shows some positive/ negative aspects of ......

(8) great, interesting, exciting, terrific, sad, awful, funny, simple, realistic, far-fetched, absurd,

What are the main points?
What's the problem? 
Which solution is suggested or formulated?

The main points are..... In line .... it says for example that..

The beginning / climax/ ending is (isn't) surprising (at all).

Some questions can't be answered for example why ......

What do you think about the text? Give reasons.: 

Which impressions do you have? Give quotations.

What's your view of the matter?

My first impression was that ......., but later ....

In my opinion the *is right when he/she says that .....

So all in all I liked/enjoyed the * because it gave me the idea that I could see the (11) in the same way./So all in all I disliked the * because I would feel, act differently.

(11) the question, the problem of ....ing, the statement that.., the idea that ..., the vision of..., the situation of ..., the advantages and disadvantages of ..., the solution to the conflict the relationship between .. and ....