The Art of Annotating The Pathway to Analytical Reading

What does “annotate” mean? Annotation is a method of writing down your ideas of a text: To trace your reading (setting purpose, asking questions, connecting, summarizing, inferring) To develop your understanding of literary analysis (plot, figurative, thematic)

Comment on a specific image Make a general comment about an entire line or whole quotation Mention literary devices/elements Just discuss “words” or “images” Mention authorial intent/ or at least try to speculate authorial intention Just mention your own opinion about the text

Connect what you are reading to… How does this relate to something else I’ve read? How does this relate to me? How does this relate to something around me — family, community, etc?

Ask QUESTIONS About the characters About the plot and how the author will unfold the narrative to you About information you don’t understand

Writers often give you hints or clues that help you "read between the lines." These clues give you a deeper understanding. When you infer, you go beyond the surface details to see other meanings that the details suggest or imply (not stated). When the meanings of words are not stated clearly in the context of the text, they may be implied - that is, suggested or hinted at. When meanings are implied, you may infer them.

Evaluate and Judge What is the author ‘s thematic purpose? What ideas does the writer present that you agree with? Disagree with? How relevant are these ideas to you? What previous ideas of yours has this work changed or amplified?

Good annotations will have a balance of written ideas of: Your own thoughts, connections and ideas With Your understanding of the author’s ideas and intentions

What Can I Annotate About? My reactions/connections to the text Questions I have Predictions/Inferences Judge a character’s actions, motives, feelings Summarize

Only Gatsby, the man who gives his name to this book, was exempt from my reaction— Gatsby—who represented everything for which I have an unaffected scorn. Text to SELF: I’ve met people who seem to be part of a group of people you hate but then turn out to be likable for some reason Text to World: celebrities often become representative of the rich, spoiled, American Dream even if they do not characterize the rest of the “celebrity world” Reader Connections

How To Mark a Book by Mortimer J. Adler 1. Underlining: of major points, of important or forceful statements. 2. Vertical lines at the margin: to emphasize a statement already underlined. 3. Star, asterisk, or other doo-dad at the margin: to be used sparingly, to emphasize the ten or twenty most important statements in the book. 4. Numbers in the margin: to indicate the sequence of points the author makes in developing a single argument. 5. Numbers of other pages in the margin: to indicate where else in the book the author made points relevant to the point marked 6. Circling of key words or phrases. 7. Writing in the margin, or at the top or bottom of the page: recording questions (and perhaps answers) which a passage raised in your mind; reducing a complicated discussion to a simple statement; recording the sequence of major points right through the books. I use the end-papers at the back of the book to make a personal index of the author's points in the order of their appearance.