Survey Unit Four
Annotation Guide for Historical Speeches about Race, Rights and Society
Annotation is for:
 Remembering what the author said
 Noticing how the author supported claims
 Noting unfamiliar or confusing words or phrases
 Connecting the reading to your own knowledge and/or experience
 Reacting to the author’s argument
For this reading, annotate with the following symbols and instructions. Note—annotation for
understanding goes in the LEFT margin and annotation for processing the information goes in the
RIGHT margin as explained below:
 MI: Main Idea
o Find the main idea of each section or paragraph, underline it and write “(mi)” in the LEFT
margin, followed by a paraphrase (write in your own words) of the idea.
 E: Evidence
o Find evidence to support each main idea you find. Highlight the evidence. Write an “E” in the
LEFT margin.
 ?: Questions
o Use a question mark to show what you don’t understand or need help on.
 Example 1: If you don’t know the meaning of a word, write a question mark in the
RIGHT margin. If you can find the word in the glossary, copy the meaning; use a
dictionary if the word is not in the glossary for your speech
 Example 2: If you are confused by an idea in the speech, note with a question mark and
ask for help
 !: Interesting Ideas
o Use an exclamation point in the RIGHT margin to show what is interesting or new to you. Write
a brief explanation of your reaction to that idea or information.
 X: I disagree
o Use an X in the RIGHT margin when you think the author’s claim is wrong or evidence is
unconvincing. Explain briefly why you think it is wrong.
After reading a section, use your annotations to review the content of the section. If you annotated well, you can
quickly see what the article or reading is about!