How to Annotate a Text
Annotate (v.) - add notes to (a text or diagram) give explanation or comment.
Use this guide for any type of text we encounter in Language Arts including fiction novels, short stories, drama,
nonfiction articles, poems, and more. Annotation is an active reading strategy that shows you (and me as your teacher)
that you are thinking about what you are reading and connecting with it in some way. It also creates moments of
discussion, helps you piece things together, and make sense of the ideas on the page.
 Define words or slang; make the words real with examples from your experiences; explore why the author
would have used a particular word or phrase.
 Make connections to other texts you have read or seen, including:
o Movies/TV shows
o Comic books/graphic novels
o News events/social media phenomena/viral sensations
o Other books, stories, plays, songs, or poems
 Draw a picture when appropriate.
 Re-write, paraphrase, or summarize a MAIN IDEA or a DIFFICULT PASSAGE
 Make meaningful connections to your own experience, to other parts of the text, or describe a new opinion
you have.
 Offer an analysis or interpretation of what is happening in the text. In other words, WHAT DOES THIS MEAN?
 Point out and discuss literary devices and techniques that the author is using.