How to annotate while you read

WHY do we annotate our texts?

There are many benefits, but the three most important are:

1)It forces you to think critically, which is often the goal of reading. It gives you the tools you need to expand your literary thinking to become more critical.

2)You can record your thought process while reading the selection, preventing the necessity of re-reading the selection. This saves time.

3)You will be making comments in the margins and marking important parts; this allows you to find answers to questions quickly and provide textual evidence for your answers.

As you work with your text, consider all of the ways you can connect with what you are reading. You want to connect your reading to your past reading, your life, and the world around you. For some people, this comes very naturally; for others, more guidance is needed. Here are some suggestions that will help you with your annotations.

  • Always try to find the author’s purpose. Mark spots that contribute to his purpose.
  • Note the questions you have while reading, and answer them if you can. Look for questions of your own; don’t just rely on teacher-provided questions. Make the text your own.
  • Define words and slang (denotation and connotation). Use context clues to find the meaning of them.
  • Make the words real with examples from your experiences (text-to-life connection).
  • Explore why the author would have used a particular word or phrase (intensity, beauty, etc.).
  • Make text-to-text connections:
  • Make connections to other parts of the same text. Use specific quotes or page/paragraph numbers.
  • Make connections to other texts you have read or seen, including:
  • movies
  • comic books/graphic novels
  • news events
  • other books, stories, plays, or poems
  • songs
  • Make text-to-life connections:
  • Make meaningful connections to your life experiences.
  • Make connections to current events.
  • Draw a picture when a visual connection is appropriate.
  • Re-write, paraphrase, or summarize a particularly difficult passage or moment.
  • Describe a new perspective you may now have.
  • Explain the historical context or traditions or social customs that are used in the passage.
  • Offer an analysis or interpretation of what is happening in the text.
  • Point out and discuss literary techniques that the author is using. Note figurative language and devices as you see them – and remember to think about HOW these devices impact the meaning of the text.

Important ideas to remember:

  • Look for questions in the text, not just the answers.
  • When you annotate, you want to record your thought process while reading the selection.
  • Authors do everything on purpose. They choose words carefully, and they structure their works intentionally.
  • Close reading and adding your annotations is being careful and going slowly. Make sure that you are taking time to interact with the text. Be sure that you are noticing meaning, not just identifying literary devices.

Questioning

If you noticed, some of the annotation suggestions included questions.

Unfortunately, when we read, we often ask ourselves very shallow questions. Examples of shallow questions could include ideas like:

  • Who is the main character?
  • What is happening in the story?
  • What is the main character doing?
  • What is the conflict?
  • How is the main character reacting to the conflict?
  • Is the author biased or neutral?

These are 3rd grade questions. We want to be asking 11th grade questions.

We want to think critically. The question on our tests in the classroom – and on the Milestone – will be critical questions. The annotation process drives us to think critically. It also allows you to visually see what is most important within a text.

These are critical reading questions:

  • What is the author’s purpose for writing this text?
  • How well does the text do what it is intended to do?
  • What is the main idea, subject, or topic being addressed? Is there a deeper-than-meets-the-eye issue here?
  • What ideas can be discovered in a text?
  • What is understood about the text?
  • What do the academic vocabulary and terminology mean?
    What is the evidence?
  • What is accepted, known, and proven to be accurate, true, valid, and useful?
  • What are the exceptions?
  • What are the causes or reasons?
  • What is the claim or conclusion?

Here are some critical thinking questions:

  • How does the evidence support the intent of the text?
  • How are the ideas, subjects, and topics addressed?
  • Are claims and conclusions based upon fact or opinion?
  • How does the academic vocabulary and terminology support the tone, effect, and meaning of the text?
  • How does the evidence support the claim or conclusion made in the text?
  • What impact do the exceptions have on the overall intent, meaning, or message of the text?
  • What is the effect, impact, or result?

If you strive to ask yourselves these questions while you read, and if you attempt to ask and answer these while you annotate, you will be definitely perform better on tests, quizzes, and any time you are asked to answer these questions.