ANNOTATING MATERIAL

WHAT IS ANNOTATING?

Annotating a text is a way to augment your understanding. It is a fairly pliable skill and therefore difficult to instruct students in. Look for us to reiterate these methods often.

Some things to remember:

• Reading for school is different than reading for pleasure.

• Always read with a purpose.

• Reading is not a solitary activity. Annotating is a way of engaging in a conversation with the author.

“I am not solitary whilst I read and write, though nobody is with me.”

-Ralph Waldo Emerson

METHODS OF ANNOTATING DIFFER. Depending on what you are reading, what and how you Annotate will differ.

Poetry: This is most like having a conversation with the author. • Underline words to lookup

(definitions)• Circle odd grammatical

structures. • Write notes in the

margins:• Questions for the

author: “do you mean…”

• Statements you either agree or disagree with: “no way…”

• Things you notice about a poem that fits an assignment: “Alliteration” “rhyming…”

Fiction: Have a purpose and things to look for. • Know what the parts of a

story are for and know what part you are in, underline appropriate details.

• Ask questions make comments to the author and/or characters: “He doesn’t like you…”

• Focus on characters and details about them.• Look for reasons they

are doing what they are doing.

Non-Fiction: (Textbook Reading)Skim first to get the layout• Underline the main idea

of each section or paragraph (topic sentences).• Underline supporting

details. (Things that make the main ideas true)

• Box definitions.• Jot down summaries of

key ideas or paragraphs in the margins. (Short hand)

THINGS TO REMEMBER…

• Less is more. Underlining everything is the same as underlining nothing.

• Highlighters are not the best for this. Read with a pen or pencil in hand.

• Reading is not a solitary activity, it is a conversation with the author of the text think of it this way.

• Annotate whatever you can in school, the action of doing this will help you to remember the information.