Close Reading & Annotating a Text

Close Reading Develops an understanding of a text that is based first on the words themselves and then on the large ideas those words suggest. Start with the small details Think about them Discover how they affect the text’s larger meaning When you write about a close reading Start with the larger meaning you’ve discovered and use the small details – the language itself – to support your interpretation.

Close Reading: What To Look For The interaction among subject, speaker, and audience. Your response to the context and purpose of the interactions. The writer’s style: diction, syntax, language, tone, point of view; use of imagery, figurative language. Ask yourself: What effect is the writer striving for? How does this effect serve the purpose of his/her writing?

A well-annotated text will… 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. Introduce a few of the reader’s thoughts and reactions.

Highlighting/Underlining Mark parts of text that you want to make a note about. Pick out specific language that you may want to cite or quote in a piece of writing.

Paraphrase/Summarize Main Ideas Brief notes in the margins beside important ideas. Solidifies your understanding of text. Provides useful summary to refer to for writing.

Descriptive Outline Shows organization of a piece of writing: where ideas are introduced, developed, and where turns occur. Focuses on function of individual paragraphs or sections of text: Introducing an idea Adding explanation Giving examples Providing factual evidence Considering an opposing view Dismissing a contrary view

Descriptive Outline (cont.) Note rhetorical devices: Diction Figurative Language Syntax Tone Contrast Imagery Aristotelian appeals Interaction between text, audience, and speaker

Comments/Responses Note your reactions to text: agreement/disagreement, questions, related personal experience, connection to ideas from other texts, class discussions, etc. Responses can later turn into topics for writing.