RULES OF NOTICE
Annotating Texts
Using the Rules of Notice to guide
you, annotate a passage from your
book. It should be at least 20 lines
long. Mr. Nauss usually chooses
this.
Copy the passage carefully into
your notebook using your pen –
double-spaced. I will copy one for
you when I can 
Annotate the Passage
Rules of
Notice
Reading is
Thinking
What are you
thinking when you
read this passage?
Questions,
connections,
definitions,
visualizations,
statements, etc…
Reading
and
Viewing
Elements of
Fiction
What is
important
about this
passage?
Why this
passage is
“something
to be
noticed”?
What does this
passage show
you about the
setting, plot,
characters,
theme, literary
devices, etc…
What to Include…
Can you put “annotating” in your own
words?
Passage from your book – why important?
Reflection:
– What realization or deeper understanding
about your book did you come to from
doing your close reading?
– Thinking of this passage, and of your
book as a hold, answer the following
question: How does this story help you
to make sense of the world?
Level 1- External from your brain
Titles, Beginnings, Endings
Repetition
Comparison/Contrast
Font Size
Unexpected Events
Character Response
Visuals – Graphic depictions
Level 2 – Your Personal Thinking
1st read thoughts and impressions
Questions
Connections
Predictions
Inferences (including cause/effect)
Patterns and Motifs
Level 3 (Def-Con 3!) Highest Alert
Level – Brain must be ready!!
Notice story structure and elements of
fiction
Conflict and complications
Character (development and Characteristics
Rising Action (plot development)
Climax
Author Technique
Figurative Language (especially poetry) (Ex.
Irony, symbolism, foreshadowing, metaphor)
Overall “function” of the passage itself. What if it
were “cut out” of the larger text. Would it
matter?
Materials Needed for the Job!
1. Highlighter (varied colours if
possible
2. Pens (varied colours if possible)
3. Pencil
4. Coloured pencil – yes they really
work!
5. Other??? Can you think of any
that will not cover text in a negative
way?? Bring them!!
So how do we do this?
Underline, star, highlight, box, circle
whatever words, phrases, or
sentences that catch your attention.
Write brief comments in the margins
What sorts of things do we look
for again? (table style)
Alliteration
oxymoron
Allusion
paradox
Ambiguity
parallel
construction
Archetypes
pattern
Assonance
personification
characterization prose
denotation/con rhetorical
notation
question
diction
rhyme
epic poetry
setting
Euphemism
simile
first person
point of view
soliloquy
Are there more? Yes!!
Foreshadowing
stream of
consciousness
free verse
style-formal, informal
hyperbole
symbolism
Imagery
synesthesia
interior monologue syntax
irony-dramatic,
verbal, situational
third person limited
lyric poetry
third person
omniscient
metaphor
time shifts
meter repetition
tone
narrative poetry
tragedy
naturalistic detail
understatement
onomatopoeia
Why oh Why?????
Annotating makes you think carefully
about what you are reading. Reading is
thinking!! You are “extending” this
thinking by making notes
Annotating can help you make decisions
about what is important
It is a great tool for writing about
literature, for example, commentaries,
essays, short answers, paragraph
responses, etc.
What does it Look Like?
Any questions?
This should be stressed all the way
through high school
You should employ it at all times
wherever possible.
You will not only look smarter but
your mark should reflect this work
you do.