The Art of Annotating
What is Annotating? Annotating is marking the pages with notes to show active reading.
What Does A Paper with Annotations Look Like? clearly identifies the important information in the text express the main ideas of a text introduces the reader’s thoughts and reactions to the text
Steps to Annotation Step #1: Skim the article using these symbols as you read: (+) agree, (-) disagree, (*) important (!) surprising, (?) wondering, (v) vocabulary
Step #2 Number the paragraphs. Read the article carefully and make notes in the margins. Notes should include: Comments that show that you understand the article Questions you have that show what you are wondering about as you read. Mark any new vocabulary that you did not know or understand
Other Things to Consider When You Are Annotating Underline key words and phrases Summarize a topic/argument/etc. Introduce an idea Giving examples and make connections
Step #3 Complete a final quick read noting anything you may have missed during the first two reads. You can make any additional annotations in the margin at this time.
When to Use CROP QV What is CROP QV? C Connections R Response/Reaction O Opinion P Prediction Q Questions V Visualization
CROP QV does not work with all texts. If it does not work, use the parts that will work. Always make notes on the text or in the margins to help you understand what you are reading. Use a dictionary to define words you do not understand.