Annotation
Students will…
1. Understand what it means to
annotate a text
2. Understand the importance and use of
annotation
What is annotation?
As an ACTIVE READER you should always be
asking questions in your mind about the text.
Annotation is a way to answer, and KEEP
TRACK of, those questions as you read.
What is the point of annotating?
 Annotations make it EASY TO FIND IMPORTANT
INFORMATION quickly when you look back and
review a text.
 They help you FAMILIARIZE YOURSELF with both
the content and organization of what you read.
 They provide a way to begin THINKING ABOUT
WHAT YOU ARE READING through comments,
questions, associations, or other reactions that
occur to you as you read.
What does good annotation look like?
A well-annotated text will accomplish all of the
following:
– clearly IDENTIFY where in the text IMPORTANT
IDEAS and INFORMATION are located
– express the MAIN IDEAS of a text
– TRACE the development of IDEAS/ARGUMENTS
throughout a text
– Keep track of the reader’s (that’s you) THOUGHTS
and REACTIONS
T.A.P.S.
A Good Place To Start
If you’re having trouble figuring out how to
begin annotation, remember TAPS…
•
•
•
•
Topic: What is the topic of the text?
Audience: To whom is the message directed?
Purpose: What is the writer’s goal?
Speaker: What can be inferred (assumed) about
the speaker’s attitude toward the topic or the
audience?
What is the process?
1. Read through the text once
2. Circle unfamiliar vocabulary
3. Define any unfamiliar words
Then…
4. Highlight/Underline
• Highlighting is a good way of picking out
SPECIFIC PARTS of a text that you may WANT
TO CITE OR QUOTE.
• Highlighting is a useful way of marking parts of
a text that you want to MAKE NOTES ABOUT.
• It’s a good idea to highlight the key WORDS
OR PHRASES of a text.
CAUTION!
Over-reliance on Highlighting is unwise
Be careful that you are not highlighting
more information than necessary. This
is why it is important to read through
the text one time before picking up
your highlighter!
5. Paraphrase/Summary of Main
Ideas
• It is not enough to just locate important ideas
• You must be able to CAPTURE THEIR
MEANING.
• Paraphrasing is a way showing your
UNDERSTANDING of these ideas.
• It’s also excellent PREPARATION FOR ANY
WRITING you may have to do based on your
reading.
Paraphrasing Continued…
• You should be making a series of brief NOTES
in the margins beside important ideas
• This gives you a handy SUMMARY right on the
pages of the text itself
• (Note: to do this, you should condense a
sentence or paragraph into a few words – this
will demonstrate your understanding of the
text)
6. Outlining
• This is a “REVERSE” outline of sorts.
• Rather than creating an outline ahead of
writing, you’re going to make an outline of the
piece of writing you are READING.
• To do this, explain in one sentence (or less)
what the FUNCTION of each paragraph is.
The Author is…
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Summarizing a topic/argument/etc.
Introducing an idea
Adding explanation
Giving examples
Providing facts/evidence
Expanding the idea
Considering an opposing view
Dismissing an opposing view
Stating a conclusion
7. Comments/Responses
• Go beyond UNDERSTANDING a text’s
MEANING and actually respond to it
• What is your REACTION?
– Agreement or disagreement?
– Questions?
– Connection to ideas from other texts, class
discussions, etc?
– Related personal experience?
Step #1: Read through one
time
Step # 2: Identify unfamiliar
vocabulary
Step #3: Define unfamiliar
vocabulary
Upcoming NewSouth 'Huck Finn' Eliminate The
'N' Word
By: Marc Schultz, Publishers Weekly
Politically
Correct
Too PC?
Mark Twain's Adventures of Huckleberry Finn
is a classic by most any measure. T.S. Eliot
called it a masterpiece, and Ernest Hemingway
pronounced it the source of "all modern
American literature." Yet, for decades, it has
been disappearing from grade school curricula
across the country, relegated to optional
Down-graded
reading lists, or banned outright, appearing
again and again on lists of the nation's most
challenged books, and all for its repeated use of
Unusually
a single, singularly offensive word.
Step #4: Hi-light key words/ideas
Step #5: Paraphrase
Step #6: Outline
Step #7: Comment
Upcoming NewSouth 'Huck Finn' Eliminate The
'N' Word
Why too
PC? Will
author
answer this
question?
Good quote!
Why did
Huck start
all modern
Am. Lit?
Not being
taught. Also
challenged,
optional or
banned
By: Marc Schultz, Publishers Weekly
Introduction – The author is
introducing the controversy
Too PC?
Mark Twain's Adventures of Huckleberry Finn is a
classic by most any measure T.S. Eliot called it a
masterpiece, and Ernest Hemingway pronounced it
the source of "all modern American literature." Yet,
for decades, it has been disappearing from grade
school curricula across the country, relegated to
optional reading lists, or banned outright,
appearing again and again on lists of the nation's
most challenged books, and all for its repeated use
of a single, singularly offensive word.
Why “singularly”? What
makes this an unusually
offensive word?
KEY: Outlining Paraphrasing Comments
The main reason Huck is
a problem.
Your Turn!
To Recap…
Step 1: Read
Step 2: Unfamiliar words/terms
Step 3: Define words
Step 4: Hi-light
Step 5: Paraphrase
Step 6: Outline
Step 7: Comment