Inferencing, Theme & Point of View

EXTRACT: Lukas stared at the envelope for a long time before he picked it up. His name was written in his mother's handwriting — the looping letters he had not seen for three years. His hands were steady but his heart was not. What can you infer about Lukas's relationship with his mother? Cite the evidence.

What emotions do you think Lukas is feeling? How do you know?

From whose point of view is this passage told? How does this affect what information we receive?

Book title and author:

Theme statement (a full sentence that expresses the big idea — not just a single word):

Evidence 1 from the text:

Evidence 2 from the text:

SCENE DESCRIPTION: The kitchen table was set for three — three glasses of juice, three plates of half-eaten toast. A child's coat hung by the door but no other coats. School bags sat in the hallway. On the bench, a phone was lit up with seventeen missed calls, all from the same number. 1. What can you infer about who lives in this house?

2. What can you infer has happened recently? What clues support this?

3. What mood or atmosphere does the description create? How does the author create it without stating it directly?

ORIGINAL (third person limited — from Mia's point of view): Mia watched her brother eat the last slice of cake. He did not even look up. She felt her jaw tighten, though she said nothing. Nobody ever noticed when she was angry — that was the problem. Rewrite from the brother's first person point of view:

What information does the original version give that your rewrite cannot? What new information does your rewrite give?

SHORT TEXT: For twenty years, she had kept the letter in the bottom of her jewellery box, sealed. She had told herself she would open it when she was ready — but ready never came. On the morning of her fortieth birthday, she sat alone at the kitchen table, poured herself a cup of tea, and finally broke the seal. Whatever it said, she decided, she could face it now. What is the theme of this text? Write a theme statement (a full sentence, not a single word):

What evidence from the text supports your theme statement?

From what point of view is this text told? What do we know and not know because of this?

PASSAGE: Ella had won every race that season — and hated it. Winning was easy; it was the silence afterwards that killed her. Her coach celebrated, her parents beamed, her teammates clapped. Nobody asked her how she felt. She stood on the podium and smiled and smiled and smiled, until her face ached with the effort. Summary (what happens):

Inference (what the text implies but does not state):

Theme statement (the big idea this text explores):

Original scene (2-3 sentence summary):

Original point of view:

Retelling from a different perspective:

How does the new perspective change what the reader knows or feels?

PASSAGE: The lights in the old man's house had been off for a week. His newspaper was still on the step. The neighbour had knocked twice — no answer. She stood at the gate, unsure whether to call someone. Text clue 1:

Inference 1 (based on clue 1):

Further inference (based on inference 1 and additional clues):

What emotion does the author create and how?

Text 1 (title and author):

Text 2 (title and author):

Shared theme (expressed as a full sentence):

How does Text 1 explore this theme?

How does Text 2 explore this theme?

How are the two explorations of the theme different?

PASSAGE: She had been careful. She had memorised every exit. She had planned it for months — the day she would finally leave. But now, standing at the door with her bag in her hand, she found her feet would not move. Write your inference paragraph:

Three things I am showing (but NOT telling) — for your reference only:

My passage:

Title and source of the article:

Who is the author and what is their position or background?

What point of view does the author express?

What language choices reveal their perspective? (Quote at least two examples)

How does the author's perspective affect the information they include or exclude?

'Always tell the truth.' — Moral or theme? Explain:

'Silence can be a form of complicity.' — Moral or theme? Explain:

'Never judge a book by its cover.' — Moral or theme? Explain:

'Identity is shaped by the communities we belong to and the ones we are excluded from.' — Moral or theme? Explain:

Text title and author:

My literary analysis paragraph (use PEEL structure):

My passage:

Inferencing question 1 + model answer:

Inferencing question 2 + model answer:

Inferencing question 3 + model answer:

PASSAGE (first person narrator): I never did anything wrong. Not once. I was always polite, always fair, always the first to offer help. If people did not like me, that was their problem. It had nothing to do with anything I did or said. The way I see it, if others had simply been more reasonable, none of it would have happened. I have no regrets. Evidence that this narrator may be unreliable:

What might the reader be able to infer despite what the narrator claims?

What technique is the author using and what effect does it create?

Novel title and author:

Theme (expressed as a full sentence):

How is the theme introduced at the beginning?

How does the theme develop or become complicated in the middle?

How is the theme resolved or left open-ended at the end?

My theme-based book review:

SETTING DESCRIPTION: The waiting room had plastic chairs bolted to the floor. A television in the corner played the same loop of cheerful morning news. The coffee machine had an 'Out of Order' sign that looked permanent. A child drew pictures on a notepad while her mother stared at nothing in particular. What type of place might this be? What clues support your inference?

What can you infer about the emotional experience of the people in this room? What details support this?

How does the author create a mood without explicitly describing feelings?

Text title:

The symbol I identified:

How does the symbol appear and develop in the text?

How does the symbol connect to the theme?

Why might the author have chosen this symbol rather than stating the theme directly?

The surface argument (what they are saying):

The real underlying issue (what it is really about):

My scene:

Text title and author:

Point of view used:

Why I think the author made this choice:

How the story would change if told from a different point of view:

Text title and author:

My thesis statement (how does the author use point of view to develop a theme?):

My essay:

Non-fiction text (title, type, source):

Theme 1 (full sentence):

Evidence and analysis for Theme 1:

Theme 2 (full sentence):

Evidence and analysis for Theme 2:

PASSAGE: He had kept the key for thirty years in a drawer he rarely opened. He was not sure, on most days, what it unlocked — perhaps a door that no longer existed, perhaps a box long since lost. But throwing it away had never seemed possible. Some things, he had decided, are not for throwing away. You carry them instead, and you learn to call the weight something other than grief. My close reading analysis:

Text 1 title and author:

Text 2 title and author:

Common theme (full sentence):

Thesis statement (how do the texts approach this theme similarly or differently?):

My comparative essay:

Text title, author and chapter/section:

1. My inference (with evidence):

2. My theme statement (with evidence):

3. My analysis of point of view and its effect:

Character name and text:

My inference-based character study:

My personal literary essay:

Text title and author:

Question 1 (inference-based):

Question 2 (theme-based):

Question 3 (point of view-based):

Model answer for Question ___ (choose one):

Which of the three skills — inferencing, theme, or point of view — do you find most challenging? How have you improved?

What has changed about the way you read since starting this worksheet?

Name a text you want to re-read with your new analytical skills. What do you expect to notice that you missed the first time?

My Literary Thinking Guide: