Annotating Literature A Guide to Active Reading Just like everything I say is important, everything you have to say about literature is USEFUL! BUT COACH PLEMONS!!! Why do we need to know this?? When am I ever going to use this in real life? Annotating does not only build up your ability to speak figuratively about literature but allows you insights into human nature and can actually teach you a lot about yourself. It also builds critical thinking skills and sharpens the mind (it’s like a big puzzle!!) No, your boss will never come to you and say “…” Does anyone want to practice psychology? Even if you don’t, working in just about any field requires you to be able to identify people’s character traits, your surroundings, etc… YOU DO THIS EVERY DAY!!!

BEFORE YOU READ… PREVIEW THE TEXT What do you think the title has to do with the text? Who is the author? What time period was the piece written in? How is the text structured? Are you given any visuals?

NEXT… CONSIDER YOUR PURPOSE Why are you reading and how will you use the text? Do you need a basic understanding? Are you looking just for the main ideas? Do you need detailed comprehension of the book? Will you need a complete analysis? Authors did not sit down and write with the mindset that some literary PHDs would criticize and analyze it years later. They wrote it to both inform and entertain their readers. They usually were opining on some thing, event, issue, etc…Writing was their way of expressing themselves and/or proving a point or discussing a critical issue to the time period.

ANNOTATING OBJECTIVES… To identify the author’s most important points. To recognize how they fit together. To note how you respond to them. We all get something different out of what we read, so it would be 100% unfair of me to require your annotations to mirror mine.

WHEN YOU ANNOTATE… Underline and highlight short passages. Make written notes in the margins of texts to identify the most important ideas, the main examples or details, and the things that trigger your own reactions. Devise a notation system. You’re not going to know everything yet. You annotate as you go. It would be very easy to read an entire story and then go back, but you’re exploring the text. You and the text should be like BFF, and this is where you’re getting to know one another. *But Miss McCoun, -I don’t know WHEN to annotate… LOOK FOR WHEN YOUR IDEAS, PERCEPTIONS, OR UNDERSTANDING CHANGES! VISUALIZE THE STORY!!! -Your first instincts are usually right on. If something tells you, “man, they sure have been talking about this one tree a lot.” THEN HEY…MAYBE THE TREE IS A SYMBOL! Examine front and back covers Read the title and any subtitles Examine any illustrations Examine the print Examine the way the text is set up As you do all this, make predictions… Write questions and/or comments in the margin. Mark confusing parts of the piece or sections that warrant a reread Read a few paragraphs at a time.

WHAT WILL I BE REQUIRED TO ANNOTATE?

Character Information Introduction to character (meeting him or her) Changes in attitudes or beliefs Connections to and impacts on other characters Anything else that strikes your attention

Literary Devices Simile/metaphor—comparisons Irony (situational, verbal, dramatic) Theme—life lesson learned Etc.

Vocabulary Words that you are not familiar with Helps with the understanding of the novel Use the dictionary!!

At the end of each chapter… Summarize what you have read 2-3 sentences stating the main points of the chapter What do you think you should remember?

KEEP IN MIND… The more precise your marks are and the more focused your notes and reactions are, the easier it will be to draw material from the text into your own writing.

SO, BE SELECTIVE… The unfortunate tendency is to underline (or highlight) too much of a text. DON’T DO THIS! A good reader will mark sparingly, keeping the focus on the truly important elements of a writer’s ideas and his or her own reactions.

MOST IMPORTANTLY… Don’t let this scare you! Everything you say is useful!