Annotationwhat it is and how to do it

by Christine

Padberg - STLCC

Good readers know that it is nearly impossible to comprehend and retain larger amounts of text without staying very active in the reading process.

Whether reading paper-based text or digital text, one of the most effective ways to read actively is through annotation, which means marking and taking notes in a text in some way.

What is annotation?

There are two simple and important reasons that good readers annotate text:

1. Annotating helps readers comprehend and process text in the moment.

2. Annotating helps readers retain and remember information later.

Why should I annotate?

Why should I annotate? to indicate the author's most

important points

Why should I annotate? to indicate the author's most

important points to indicate supporting points

like examples, reasons, statistics, etc.

Why should I annotate? to indicate the author's most

important points to indicate supporting points

like examples, reasons, statistics, etc.

to draw connections between ideas

Why should I annotate? to indicate the author's most

important points to indicate supporting points

like examples, reasons, statistics, etc.

to draw connections between ideas

to mark important definitions and terminology

Why should I annotate? to indicate the author's most

important points to indicate supporting points

like examples, reasons, statistics, etc.

to draw connections between ideas

to mark important definitions and terminology

to indicate steps in a process

Why should I annotate? to indicate the author's most

important points to indicate supporting points

like examples, reasons, statistics, etc.

to draw connections between ideas

to mark important definitions and terminology

to indicate steps in a process to help review and remember

info when preparing for class discussions & tests

Why should I annotate? to indicate the author's most

important points to indicate supporting points

like examples, reasons, statistics, etc.

to draw connections between ideas

to mark important definitions and terminology

to indicate steps in a process to help review and remember

info when preparing for class discussions & tests

to "talk back” to the author with personal comments or reactions

Why should I annotate? to indicate the author's most

important points to indicate supporting points

like examples, reasons, statistics, etc.

to draw connections between ideas

to mark important definitions and terminology

to indicate steps in a process to help review and remember

info when preparing for class discussions & tests

to "talk back” to the author with personal comments or reactions

to indicate areas that need clarification

Here’s a page of text from a biology textbook.

Here’s a page of text from a biology textbook.

Let’s zoom in a bit to that area that’s been annotated…

Before reading or closely examining the paragraph, look only at how the words and phrases have been marked.

Just by observing what’s been annotated, can you identify what this paragraph is about? Can you identify some of the major details?

The “golden rule” of annotation is that what is important looks important.

The whole point of marking a text is to make the most important ideas stand out clearly.

Okay, now let’s examine some of the annotation choices this student made.

Boxes

Put boxes around topics and/or important words defined in a paragraph.

Boxes also work well to separate items that are being compared and contrasted.

Numbering

When the author presents details as a list, number them in the text. In this case, we can see that there are two characteristics shared by all cells.

Margin Notes

Use the margins to record the topic of the paragraph and/or definitions of unfamiliar words.

Color

Try using different colors to separate ideas within a paragraph. Here, the pink goes with prokaryotic and the yellow goes with eukaryotic.

Avoid using black ink for annotation.

Thick/Thin Highlighting

To differentiate between major and minor ideas, use both the thicker and the thinner edges of your highlighter.

Other

• use question marks near concepts that are unfamiliar

• draw arrows to connect ideas on a page that are related to each other

• develop your own symbol system that works and makes sense to you!

Don’t forget to mark charts & graphs!

The illustration labeled as Figure 1.3 provides very helpful supporting information. The brackets and arrow connect the text with the figure, and the color scheme is consistent in both.

Now what?

Use your annotations to help you paraphrase the overall main idea. (Paraphrasing is when you put the ideas into your own words.)

In this case, you might say:

All cells are enclosed by a membrane and use DNA for their genetic info. There are two basic kinds of cells: prokaryotic, which are simple (like bacteria), and eukaryotic, which have a nucleus and are subdivided into compartments called organelles.

There are many ways to annotate, and not one technique or style will work every time or with every text.

The most important thing is to read actively and devise an annotation system that helps you comprehend and recall important information.