ENG 1318/27/2013

“In getting my books, I have been always solicitous of an ample margin; this not so much through any love of the thing in itself, however agreeable, as for the facility it affords me of pencilling suggested thoughts, agreements, and differences of opinion, or brief critical comments in general.”

-Edgar Allan Poe

Annotating a Text

• Improves comprehension & understanding• Allows for easy location of information• -“The difference between passive and active

reading is like the difference between hearing and listening. You can hear what someone says without listening to the words, and you can read words passively without actively engaging in understanding in what they mean” (The Write Stuff 23).

Annotation Guidelines Have a CONVERSATION with the text. Talk back to it.

Take your time as you begin a new text. Ask yourself many questions as you begin:

Are there any fallacies in the text? How does this relate to your everyday experience? What formula will help me solve this problem?

Try to make a quick note on the top of each page indicating the most important point there.

Ask questions (essential to active reading). Use question marks. Be alert to what puzzles you. Good readers do not zip along without stopping to monitor their

comprehension. They stop to think and to note what they don’t understand.

Write down questions you would like to discuss. Your annotations must include comments as evidence of thinking.

Annotation Guidelines Create your own code / symbols, cont.

Mark main idea supporting details key terms cause and effect explanations(Now brainstorm key concepts with your table)

Underline/highlight – CAUTION: Use this sparingly. Underline/highlight only a few words. Never underline an entire passage.

At the end of each chapter, bullet-point the key events as a summary or write a short summary.

How to use Annotations to Study• How can you study based on this system? 1. Cover the text. 2. Read your annotations. Ask yourself the

following questions: • Do my annotations make sense? • Do I understand the concepts identified? 3. If not, uncover the text and reread only the key

material. Do not reread the entire section. 4. In essence, you want to talk yourself through the entire chapter/text and actively learn the material.

Turning Reading into Writing

• Read thoughtfully and critically• Follow your question through the text• React to the whole reading• Hypothesize and analyze• Visualize the text (charts, graphs,

drawings, images, etc)• Read and reread the assignment

Sources

• http://writingcenter.unc.edu/handouts/reading-to-write/

• Adaptation by Sharon Fulmer, Tiffany Holmes, & Laura Hayes

The Academy of Irving, Texas, 2008