1. Annotating A Text The how and why of “Reading with a Pen”

2. Anno-what? an·no·tate [an-uh-teyt] verb, -tat·ed, -tat·ing. verb (used with object) 1. to supply with critical or explanatory notes; comment upon in notes: to annotate the works of Shakespeare. verb (used without object) 2. to make notes. (www.Dictionary.com)

3. Annotating Know How Assignments, the HSPA, SATs and other test often ask you to “evaluate,” “analyze,” “infer,” or “interpret” some article or other reading. This is called “critical thinking.” Understanding exactly what these terms mean can help you as you plan a paper, complete a reading assignment or a class presentation.

4. –When evaluating, you decide whether something is good, bad, accurate, misleading, worth buying, worth seeing, and so on. –When interpreting, you express—in your own words— the meaning of something you’ve just read. You might interpret a very long poem, for example, by stating in a few short sentences your understanding of what the poem means or says –When inferring, you pick up a meaning that is not specifically stated or written out. For instance, if you read: “This dog that I am taking care of is big, smelly, dirty, noisy, and has chewed up my best shoes,” then you can infer that the writer does not like taking care of the dog, even though this is not specifically written. “Inferring” means about the same as “reading between the lines.”

5. Close Reading When annotating properly, you are performing a function called “close reading.” Close reading is the careful, sustained interpretation of a brief passage of text. Reading in this way places great emphasis on the particular over the general, paying close attention to individual words, syntax, and the order in which sentences and ideas unfold as they are read.

6. Life Skill Annotation is a skill that you will be expected to know for your future high school English classes, and ALL college courses, so start developing a system that works for you. Effective annotating is both economical and consistent and the techniques are almost limitless.

7. Getting Started – HOW TO Make brief comments in the margins. Use any white space available - inside cover, random blank pages Make brief comments between or within lines of the text. Do not be afraid to mark within the text itself. Circle or put boxes, triangles, or clouds around words or phrases. Use abbreviations or symbols - brackets, stars, exclamation points, question marks, numbers, etc. Connect words, phrases, ideas, circles, boxes, etc. with lines or arrows.

8. Create your own code…Maybe using colors works best for you. Use post-it notes only if you have exhausted all available space (unlikely)…or if you do not own the text. DO NOT – Underline or Highlight – unless you HAVE no other choice.

9. The WHAT to Annotate Your thoughts, feelings, and reactions to the text Comment on something that: intrigues, impresses, amuses, shocks, puzzles, disturbs, repulses, aggravates, etc. Have a conversation with the text. Talk back to it. Express agreement or disagreement. Questions you may have

10. Mark character names (I highlight, in blue, the name of the character the first time it is mentioned) Comment on the actions or development of a character. Does the character change? Why? How? The result? Comment on lines/sections/quotations you think are especially significant, powerful, or meaningful. Summarize key events. Make predictions. Note any unfamiliar words. I usually write the definition in the margin to help me remember it. Connect ideas to each other or to other texts. Note if you experience an epiphany. Note anything you would like to discuss or do not understand.

11. Note how the author uses language. Note the significance if you can. Note the use and effect of word choice (diction) or sentence structure or type (syntax) Note the point of view and its effect Note the narrator and the reliability of narrator Note the repetition of words, phrases, actions, events Note any patterns or cluster ideas Note the narrative pace / time / order of sequence of events Note the tone and mood Note any irony (situational, verbal, dramatic) Note the use of imagery

12. Note any contrasts / contradictions / juxtapositions / shifts Note themes Note allusions Note symbols Note figurative language (simile, metaphor, personification, kenning, etc.) Note the setting / historical period Summary Techniques (write the key events of the chapter at the end - this makes referencing later much easier.) Note any other figurative language or literary device

13. What’s next: We will model annotating a text together You will work cooperatively to annotate a text You will work independently to annotate a text