Annotations
Stealing Craft
Annotation:
• An annotation is a note that is made while
reading any form of text. This may be as
simple as underlining or highlighting passages.
Purpose
• Recognize “moves” an author makes and steal
them.
Content
• Write a one page annotation, double spaced,
printed.
– Paragraph #1: Reference text and author
– Paragraph #2: Highlight the author’s technique
– Paragraph #3: Demonstrate how you can use it in
your own writing
•
Content
Write a one page annotation, double spaced,
printed.
– Paragraph #1: Reference text and author: In the
novel, When the Emperor Was Divine, by Julie
Otsuka, she uses dream sequences by a child in order
to show he has an active imagination to make the
reader experience what the character is going
through.
– Paragraph #2: Highlight the author’s technique:
(Quote the dream)
– Paragraph #3: Demonstrate how you can use it in
your own writing: I can use this technique in my own
writing to get into a child’s point of
view/mind/perspective. For instance, “
•
Content
Write a one page annotation, double spaced,
printed.
– Paragraph #1: Reference text and author: In the novel
When the Emperor Was Divine, by Julie Otsuka, she
uses second person point of view in order to get into
the boy’s consciousness and make the reader feel
trapped, just like him.
– Paragraph #2: Highlight the author’s technique:
(Quote the passage)
– Paragraph #3: Demonstrate how you can use it in
your own writing: I can use this in my own writing by
giving the reader insight of the character’s inner life,
“You say mean things. You shouldn’t speak that way.
You tell too many stories about Thomas, who is just a
train.”
Content
• What technique is the author using to show the man is on drugs?
– Paragraph #1: In the short story, “Car Crash While Hitchhiking”
by Denis Johnson, he gives us the impression of a drug addict by
having his imagery jump, from scene to scene using elipses.
– Paragraph #2: “A salesman who shared his liquor and steered
while sleeping…A Cherokee filled with bourbon…A VW no more
than a bubble of hashish fumes, captained by a college
student…”
– Paragraph #3: I can these quick cut imagery in my own writing
by jumping from image to image and using elipses to add a
sense of derrangement. For example:
– “Kevin Salas walked in wearing t-ball uniform handing me 6
periods of destiny…potato chips crushed beneath the palms of a
Tongan monster…the floating dinosaur with dreads on his
gluteus…the resting skulls atop desks dreaming of unicorns
trapped in pudding, hiding their ear lobes…”
Topics for annotation:
1.Language
• Diction
• Sentence structure (syntax: short or long sentence…why?)
– Parataxis: Short, simple sentences without conjunctions or subordinating clauses.
– Hypotaxis: One clause subordinates all of the others, often with many modifiers
• Rhetoric
2.Image
• How image communicates beyond words
3.Irony (verbal, situational, dramatic)
4.Point of view (1st, 2nd, 3rd)
• How POV is manipulated by writer (unreliable etc.)
• How omniscient 3rd person POV works
Topics for annotation:
5.
Personification
• How a writer makes inanimate objects come to life in order to convey a
mood.
6.
Setting
• How the author’s description of setting influences mood, or character
• How diction/personification/imagery are used in setting
7.
Character
• What choices does the author make in creating character?
– Physical gestures
– Physical descriptions
– Internal life
• Archetypes
– How do archetypes influence story? Are they cheesy? Are they useful?
8.
Dialogue
• What patterns of dialogue exist on the page?
• Are characters actually speaking to each other or evading each other?
• How does dialogue advance plot? How does it release information?
Topics for annotation:
9.
Allusions
• How does a writer use allusions to bring in new themes and moods into
story? (Especially biblical allusions.)
10. Ideology
• How does a writer convey his/her philosophical views on the events in the
story?
• Is it intrusive and heavy handed? Or does the ideology of the author
adulterate the story?
11. Figurative Language
• Metaphor (extended vs short)
• Similes
12. Plot
• What is plot?
• How does plot influence character, and vice versa?
• Are there “pre-made” plots? If so, should you use them? Why?
• How does time influence plot, and vice versa?
Topics for annotation:
13. Any other brilliant observation you make on writer’s choices.
Group Work
1.
2.
Identify struggles you are having with your writing.
Write an annotation on this struggle.
For example: I have difficulties with story beginnings.
I have difficulties with dialogue.
I have difficulties with controlling point of view.
Group Work
In groups of 2, write an annotation on the dog scene of “When the Emperor
Was Divine” (page 11). Focus on the following items:
–
–
–
–
Imagery
Situational Irony (“Play dead”)
Sensory details
How she controlled distance in 3rd person POV
• Using the phrase “She thought.”
• The diction or language of the woman
REMEMBER THE FOLLOWING ITEMS:
– Reference text and author
– Highlight the author’s technique
– Demonstrate how you can use it in your own writing
Group Work
REMEMBER THE FOLLOWING ITEMS:
Paragraph #1: Reference text and author
Paragraph #2: Highlight the author’s technique
“The imagery reveals…”
“The setting gives the effect of…”
“The tone of this part is…”
“The character(s) feel(s)…”
“This is ironic because…”
“An interesting metaphor or symbol is”
“The detail seems effective/out of place/important because…”
“An interesting word/phrase/sentence/thought is…”
“The author emphasizes________ in order to…”
Or you may start with something else you feel is appropriate
Paragraph #3: Demonstrate how you can use it in your own
writing
Group Work
REMEMBER THE FOLLOWING ITEMS:
Paragraph #1: Reference text and author
“In the novel/short story/poem, ‘___________’ by
(Writer’s name), he/she uses _______________ to
_____________.”
In the short story, “Why the Sky Turns Red When the Sun
Goes Down” by Ryan Hardy, he uses sensory details to
evoke worry and tension from the story.
Group Work
Paragraph #2: Highlight the author’s technique
Ryan Hardy uses sensory details to create a sense of
tension and worry as shown below:
“His neck has twisted around so far that his chin seemed to
rest at the shallow valley between his shoulder blades. His right
arm has come off completely and…”
Group Work
Paragraph #3: Demonstrate how you can use it in your
own writing:
“I can use this in my own writing by___________. For
example, _________________.”
I can use this in my own writing by using sensory details
in my house in Miami, “I heard the drops of rain
exploding off the window and leaving long, viscous
streaks, like a stream of lost apologies.”
Group Work
Trade annotations with another group. Write a scene or a poem using the
other group’s annotation topic. You may ask the other group to clarify
anything unclear in the annotation.
Group Work
Prepare a lesson for the class on any topic that deals with writing.
It can be on content or process.
Group Work
1.
2.
–
Be in groups of 4
Choose the following roles for your group members:
Group leader: You will make sure everyone is doing the same
workload
–
2 Researchers: Will find examples of your topic
–
Facilitator: Makes everyone work together, doing all jobs.
3.
4.
Choose a topic to teach by the end of the period.
You can make a video, or use a powerpoint, or use anything you want. Be
creative.
Group Work
1.
Find at least two passages, from books, poems and movies to highlight
your topic.
2.
Mr. Kim will show some clips and read some passages based on your work.
Group Work
1. By the end of the class, break out your lesson
in 5-10 minute chunks. The entire lesson
should be from 15-20 minutes.
Example:
5 Mins: Tap into background knowledge-ask class
what they know about subject.
10 Minutes: Ppt presentation
5 Minutes: questions at end of class.
Class
1. Assign precise roles for each group member. You will not get
credit for, “John will do the power point.”
2. Assign deadlines.
3. Turn in this list by the end of the period.
Example:
John will create the powerpoint slides 1-3, reviewing what Mr.
Kim already taught us. The slides will have one movie clip of a
character acting unexpectedly, paradoxically. He will finish these
by tomorrow.
Kelly will create slides 4-7, introducing new material Mr. Kim had
not gone over. Slide 4 will be an outline of new terms and
definitions. Slide 5 will be a scenario, a scene in which John and
Kelly will act out in front of the class to highlight their point. He
Class Rubric
1. Engagement:
Can not just stand in front of the class, everyone
must be involved (speakers), High-low energy
mix, good talk vs. boredom, calling on people,
get the students attention, make it fun, reward
for answer, don’t say “umm”, involve the
audience, interesting presentation, don’t be
boring, ask for opinions, out of their seat
Class Rubric
Expertise in topic:
Not having to rely only on the slides, ask class
then correct, be able to answer students
questions, don’t hesitate, give direct answers not
“ask your friend”, be prepared
Rank each value, 1 being the highest, 9 being the
lowest, in your idea of success/fulfillment.
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
Education
Happiness
Money
Power
Family
Personality
Hard work
Leadership
Faith
Penguin
Write a scene, taking the penguin’s point of view.
Use sensory details, perhaps gestures and
triangular conflicts between family members to
get the penguin on its way to the mountains.
I’m tired of this shit. I can’t stand y’all meeping
in my space, waddling like a bunch of telitubbies
on drugs.
Penguin
It’s been 2 years since my mother hen went out to sea and never returned. I
was a downy chick, the molt of my feathers the color of mud. I had just been
able to eat fish after weeks of milk. I saw the shiny black back of my mother
waddling away that sunny afternoon, and when I woke up an hour later, she
had not returned. The family nested beside me had given me extra pieces of
herring for a couple of days, but soon, I realized my mother wasn’t coming
back.
Most of the molt had fallen away, and my own downy feathers had
appeared. I slid on my belly and pushed forward using my feet to get to the
edge of the iceberg. This is where most of us dove into the waters below. The
sea that day was the color of metal, rippled at spots, and icebergs drifted past,
some cracking, and I imagine my mother maybe on one of those icebergs,
waving at me. I dove into the waters, and as I pumped my wings underwater, I
felt as if I were choking, the water leaking into my beak. It was purple all
around, and my orange feet pulsed with the cold. I flapped until I emerged to
the surface, almost shooting into the air. The wind whipped all around me. I
was alone. I eventually got the hang of swimming: all you had to do was let
the currents carry you, flap, and it was like gliding in the sky.
I reached the shores and stared out at the sea and sky. Such space, and I
was here, without my mother. All that space—and where could she be?