Text-immanent interpretation of school texts
The type of interpretation that takes place in school is usually called a textual interpretation. You can do this in six steps.
The six steps of the text-immanent interpretation
When you interpret texts in school, you usually follow a pattern that consists of six individual steps. This type of text interpretation is also inherent in the text interpretation called.
- First of all, you need an introduction. In an introduction you give an overview of who wrote the text, when it was published, what the text is about and what the text could address. This introduction should not be longer than two sentences.
- Now comes the Table of contents. The second step of a text-immanent interpretation is the table of contents. Enter the content in your own words, in a more concise, clear manner language again. Concentrate on the main storyline and not on specific details.
- Write an interpretation hypothesis. In this part of the interpretation inherent in the text, you formulate a sentence in which your Outline your understanding of the text, how you will interpret it and what the aim of your interpretation is could look. Make sure to keep it short, about one to three sentences should usually suffice.
- Analyze the shape of the text. The formal analysis in the text-immanent interpretation is used for this. Here you analyze the form of the text, the choice of words, different forms of sentence structure and linguistic images such as metaphors or comparisons. This formal analysis occurs especially when interpreting poems or articles.
- This step is followed by the actual interpretation inherent in the text. This means that the text is interpreted according to the interpretation hypothesis. To do this, it is important to look for specific text passages that support the interpretation and also to indicate them in the form of quotations or cross-references. It is helpful if you mark these passages in the text. The naming of rhetorical stylistic devices and what they could mean is also part of this step.
- Summarize your argument again. The conclusion of an interpretation inherent in the text is formed by the summary or conclusion Conclusion). Here you evaluate your hypothesis again in a summarized form. This confirms your interpretation again.
Building an interpretation - that's how it works
"Please interpret this text." Oh dear, how do you do that again? Should you be in the ...
Another thing you should keep in mind when analyzing the text is that the information about your interpretation comes from the text itself and not from external sources.
