Setting up expectations about the theme of the text

Good reading texts can introduce interesting topics, stimulating discussion and exciting imaginative responses, in this way involving the reader’s transitions in the development of text. The system of themes builds up a textual environment like presentation of states-of-affairs and covering processes, activities, relationships, participants, attendant circumstances, ascribed attributes, which are properly organized through simultaneous use of two complementary principles: constituency structure in which a larger meaning unit is directly made up of smaller units; cohesive structure or “texture”, in which chains of semantic relationships unite units scattered through the text, creating semantic continuity across segmental boundaries within a text on the basis of logical cohesion (because of logical consistency: similarity and contrast, reason and result, condition and effect, process and circumstances of its occurrence, etc.), temporal cohesion (parts are grouped by when they are processed), communicational cohesion (because parts operate for the same communicative purpose), sequential cohesion (when the output from one segment is the input to another), functional cohesion (when parts contribute to a single well-defined purpose.

To do thematic analysis properly you need to be familiar with both the subjectmatter content of the text and with the semantics of at least basic lexical and grammatical relations at the level of textual segments. More commonly and very importantly, a thematic pattern may be repeated and varied at different levels of abstraction: not just chains of individual lexical items but chains of whole thematic formations can interact. Normally, the themes or main concerns, emerge through the details of the narration, images and symbols, the narrative tone and stance; words, phrases, sentences are tools that bring home to the reader the potential range of possible interpretable topics. The matter of concern is what issues are being addressed in the text and what ideas form the focus of the author’s interest.

The key topical points must be included into the analysis that will enable the reader to check that they are relevant and represent a logical natural progression while maintaining overall thematic balance. In order to comprehend the theme, it is required to examine closely what the author is implying, i.e. the meaning beyond the action. When looking at thematic structure, you might look for conflicts, ambiguities, uncertainties, tensions, key relationships, as these give clear guides to the direction of meanings in the text. Transmission of information can be subtle: authors use a variety of methods to convey the meaning of their works. The purpose is to bring to light this meaning and the paths taken to create it.

In the end, text is fully understood and appreciated to the extent that the nature and interrelations of its parts are perceived, and that understanding will take the form of insight into the theme of the work in question.

Follow up tasks:

1. Make up generalizations about possible thematic points in a text.

2. Tell difference between constituency structure and cohesive structure.

3. Think of types of cohesion.

4. How is thematic content manifested in a text?

5. What is required to do in order to comprehend the theme?

Reading strategies:

- Scan the text for particular bits of information with no necessity to read every word; sweep your eyes across the page slowly and smoothly, working your way down the extract from the top left, picking up information as you go.

- Skim the text for the general impression or idea of the information, starting with the first couple of sentences and moving along until the last one; note that the first sentence is usually the topical one.

- Remember, the introduction (first paragraph) contains the main idea or topic of the entire passage; it states the writer’s opinion.

- Read the conclusion (last paragraph) directly after looking at the introduction, as it often summarizes the main points of the passage.

- Examine the layout of each paragraph before you read the passage.

- Make sure that you understand the topic of each of the paragraphs in the passage by searching for topic sentences.

- Search the passage fortopic signpost keywords/phrases.

- Choose the keyword/phrase from the question and locate it in the passage.

- Look closely around keywords for further matching items to obtain the answer you require; if necessary read the preceding and succeeding sentences.

- Learn to miss/omit irrelevant information in no relation to the theme of the text.

Study skills:

- recognize topic sentences;

- identify the main points and summarize them by skimming;

- identify sequence of events in logical order;

- locate and understand specific information;

- make inferences as to the theme;

- understand relations between the parts of a text through lexical/grammatical cohesion devices;

- locate relevant details to the theme by scanning.

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