This semester you will be required to annotate your reading. We will start by annotating articles. Here are some tips and videos if you are new to annotation or want to know more about it. 8 ANNOTATION TIPS How to annotate (takes notes on and engage with) text while reading 1. Circle any unfamiliar words. Then look them up, and write down the definition. (Hack: You can use dictionary.com - they even have an app). 2. Use question marks to indicate areas of uncertainty. 3. Use stars to indicate anything that seems important, such as themes, symbols, foreshadowing, etc. 4. Use exclamation points to indicate something dramatic, or a key turning point. 5. Write your notes in the margins or with Kami on a PDF (best method), on sticky-notes (decent method), or in a separate notebook (least favorable method). 6. Paraphrase (summarize) each chapter after you finish reading it. You only need a few sentences to do this. Write it down at the beginning or end of the chapter. 7. Write down any questions you have about the text – either questions you’re willing to wait to find out the answer to as you read further, or questions you want to bring up to your teacher in class the next day. 8. Use a color coded system if that type of thing appeals to you. (Colors! Yes!) For example, Ms. Naylor only uses two highlighter colors - blue and pink (pink is for things that are more important or that she definitely wants to use as a quote in a paper, etc. Blue is for important things or things she wants to read again later. You do not want to have to reread the entire book). You can use the Cognitive Strategies booklet (we used this in class):
Here is the shorter bookmark version of the Cognitive Strategies sentence starters. These strategies help you engage with a text and express your thoughts about it. This site has a TON of tips:
https://www.litcharts.com/how-to-guides/how-to-annotate-texts Finally, Here is a very quick and easy "cheat sheet" on how to do annotations: |
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September 2022
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