Looking back through the archives, some posts turn out to be the first draft of ideas that stay with you.

Back in 2018, I was writing a weekly series called Forensic Fridays: microscopic close readings of exam texts, line by line, word by word. They weren’t simply annotations, although I wanted students to see that aspect, too – annotations aren’t the destination, but the bridge between reading and writing. 

They were an attempt to show the process: how close reading becomes an argument, and how an argument becomes a strong A-Level essay.

Here’s the link to the archive post.

Eight years later, that instinct still sits at the heart of what I do.

The format has changed. The colour-coding for annotations and model answers is definitely tidier. I’d probably explain a few things differently. But the underlying principle hasn’t moved an inch: every word matters, and every observation should earn its place in the interpretation. That’s still central to the model answers I write for students, and how I teach them close-reading..

But in retrospect, I can also see elements of my new The First 100 Words series, long before I knew it would exist. Especially when I wrote: 

‘you ought to be able to do this – and enjoy the process – for any text’. 

Challenge accepted!

Join the conversation: I’d be especially excited to hear from you if you have studied Edward II, or watched the superb Derek Jarman adaptation (1991)