Annotating a text

What is Annotation Annotation is the active reading of a text Requires Highlighting key details Writing notes in the margin Questions (Q) Connections (C) Predictions (P) Inferences (I) Summaries (S) Literary Device (L) Genre-specific Elements (E)

Questions (Q) Highlight moments in the text that make you ask: Why How Then write your question in the margin. Example from “Black Boy:” “She went into the house and I waited, terrified, wondering what she was about. Presently she returned with more money and another note; she also had a long stick.” Q-Knowing as we do that the family is poor, why might the mother be willing to risk losing the money rather than going to the store herself?

Connections (C) Connections are places that remind you of: Something you’ve experienced personally Another book or story you have read Something happening in the world today or in history Example from “Mericans:” “The awful grandmother makes me kneel and fold my hands.” C-I attended a Catholic university and this reminds me of the first mass service I ever went to. My Catholic friends were patient with me, but never before had I needed to get on my knees to talk to God.

Predictions (P) Part way through your reading, you should ask yourself, what will happen next? Highlight that moment Write your prediction in the margin Example from “The Most Dangerous Game:” “I suppose the first three shots I heard was when the hunter flushed his quarry and wounded it. The last shot was when he trailed it here and finished it.” P-I predict that Rainsford is going to discover that the quarry is actually a person and that the owner of the island is a ruthless killer who hunts men for sport.

Inferences (I) Inferences are made when the text does not say something outright. It’s known as reading between the lines Example from “By Any Other Name:” “Premila didn’t even look at her. She stood with her feet planted firmly apart and her shoulders rigid, and addressed herself directly to me. “Get up,” she said. “We’re going home.” I-As this is test day, I can infer that there was something offensive regarding Premila’s test. Given what the story has told me so far, her anger probably arises from some sort of racial tension between British people and Indians.

Summaries (S) When you reach the end of a paragraph or passage where you have highlighted a lot of information, you should include a summary. Example from “From Behind the Veil:” “We cannot be certain what it was that made this youth know that the girl was interested in him, and whether his first overture to her came in the course of one of his habitual overtures, which he made to any girl. Whatever it was, he went up to the girl boldly on that first day, and sidled up to her, greeted her, and saw her turning round to look at him cautiously before hurrying on her way.” (S)-Ihsan and Siham see each other in the street and are attracted to one another by some unseen force.

Literary Device Literary devices are instances of figurative language, such as: Personification Metaphor Simile Onomatopoeia Example from “Black Boy:” “Now I began to wake up at night to find hunger standing at my bedside.” L-This is an example of personification that adds to the heightened sense of hunger being the grim haunting figure that demands attention.

Genre-Specific Element (E) Genres are poetry, drama, short story, etc. Genre-specific elements are literary devices used in that style of writing. For instance, poetry uses rhyme, short stories use dialogue Example from “The Most Dangerous Game:” “After the debacle in Russia I left the country, for it was imprudent for an officer of the czar to stay there. Many noble Russians lost everything. I, luckily, had invested heavily in American securities, so I shall never have to open a tearoom in Monte Carlo or drive a taxi in Paris.” E-Zaroff’s obvious disdain for his fellow Russian aristocrats reveals a startling lack of sympathy and extreme arrogance.