Comment rédiger un commentaire de texte

Comment rédiger un commentaire de texte

First, number the lines of the text under study (1, 5, 10...) so that easy reference may be made in the commentary to words or passages.

I Preliminary work

1) Read the text two or three times. You will thus be able to understand the major ideas of the text, get the feel of it & appreciate the tone used.

2) Check the words that you do not know. In the case of economic notions, you'll have to explain them. Don't start commenting upon the text until you are sure you have understood all of it.

3) Make a summary of the text, paragraph by paragraph. Try and see whether there is one general theme or several, and whether several arguments are put forward to support one single idea.

4) You should bear in mind four main questions:         

                Who is speaking?

                Whom is the speaker/author addressing?

                What is the purpose of the text?

                How is the message conveyed?

Once all this is clear in your mind, you are ready to start organising your commentary.

II Text commentary

There are three parts in a commentary:

        - the introduction

        - the text proper

        - the conclusion

*Spend some time on preparing the introduction and conclusion. The introduction puts the text into context; the conclusion carries the debate further.

*Remember that a perfect commentary is one which not only sums up all the arguments in a clear way but clarifies and explains their meanings.

* Your task is two-fold:

-you are expected to clarify the meaning of difficult expressions, explain the different allusions, etc.

-but you are also expected to show the internal organisation of the text. What sort of vocabulary is used? Is the author subtle, polemical, rhetorical, diplomatic? This should be an easy task if you have done the preliminary examination of the text thoroughly.

1) Introduction

There are three main points:

-Nature and source of the document

Is it a speech, a newspaper article, a pamphlet?

Is the author biased? Can you rely on the information he gives?

- Context

Is the date a privileged moment? Has the text been caused by any particular event or idea? What do you know about the period under study?

-Author

Who is he/she? What do you know about the stand of the newspaper in which the article was published?

Only mention relevant facts about the author or the newspaper.

You may, at the end of your introduction, announce the outline (plan) that you will follow for your commentary.

2) Text proper

Try & reorganise the text into a coherent role. The text may be logical or emotional, factual or polemical. In any case you will find that there are different themes. It will be your task to follow the movement of the text or to pull together the different stands and speak of the different themes. What you choose to do will depend on the nature of the document.

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