Reading, Highlighting, Annotating, and Responding:

Everything you need to know about annotating informational texts.

Strategies for higher understanding of fiction and non-fiction texts.

Overviewing– When you read nonfiction, use overviewing, a

form of skimming and scanning the text before reading. Focus on the following to overview the text:

 

Activating prior knowledge Noting characteristics of text length and

structure Noting important headings and subheadings Determining what to read and in what order Determining what to pay careful attention to

Class Activity: Overviewing

• Take two or three minutes to overview the article I have given you. Check off the overviewing techniques as you look it over, thinking about what is important. Write your top three at the top of your page.

• When I say to, turn to your group/partner and tell him/her the three most important things about this article. Then listen to and write down your partner’s three if they are different from your own.

Highlighting

To effectively highlight text, readers need to: read the text, think about it make conscious decisions about what you need to

remember and learn.

You can’t possibly remember everything. You need to sort important information from less important details. You need to pick out the main ideas and notice supporting details, and you need to let go of unimportant information.

• The following guidelines can be used for highlighting: Look carefully at the first and last line of each

paragraph. Important information is often contained there.

Highlight only necessary words and phrases, not entire paragraphs.

Don’t get thrown off by interesting details. Although they are fascinating, they often obscure important information.

Make notes in the margin to emphasize a pertinent highlighted word or phrase.

Highlighting

Highlighting

Clues to tell you what is important:

When a word is italicized, a paragraph begins with a boldface heading, or the text says “Most important, …” readers need to stop and take notice.

Titles headings, framed text, and captions help focus readers as they sort important information from less important details.

A photograph and caption sometimes synthesize the most important information on the page, rendering a complete reading of the text unnecessary.

Clues to tell you what is important:

Illustrations and photographs Illustrations play a prominent role in nonfiction to enhance reading comprehension. Nonfiction trade books and magazines brim with colorful photographs that capture readers and carry them deeper into meaning.

Graphics Diagrams, cut-aways, cross-sections, overlays, distribution maps, word bubbles, tables, graphs, and charts graphically inform nonfiction readers of important information.

Text organizers like the index, preface, table of contents, glossary, and appendix.

Clues to tell you what is important:

Nonfiction features are user-friendly. The following features are just some to pay close attention to:

 Fonts and effects such as titles, headings, boldface print, color print, italics, bullets, captions, and labels, signal importance in text.

Cue words and phrases Nonfiction writing often includes text cues that signal importance. Signal words, like stop signs, warn readers to halt and pay attention Writers choose phrases such as for examples, for instance, in fact, in conclusion, most important, but, therefore, on the other hand, and such as so that readers will take note.

Class Activity: Highlighting

• On your own: carefully read the entire article that I have given you. As you read, think about text clues that tell you what parts of the article are important. Highlight some of the most important ideas in each paragraph.

Class Activity: Highlighting

1. With a partner: trade your highlighter with a person sitting near you who has a highlighter of a different color.

2. Talking to your partner, have him or her tell you what he or she highlighted.

3. In his or her marker, highlight what he or she highlighted on your paper in the new color (unless you already had that highlighted).

Metacognitive MarkersMI Main Idea—What is the

essential argument of the piece? What is it the writer/speaker is saying? There should only be one MI. At the end of the text, summarize the MI in your own words.

KD Key Details—These are pieces of evidence given in the text that support the main idea. Facts, statistics, quotes from an authority on the subject, etc. In the margins, discuss how this KD supports the MI.

IV Important Vocab—These are words that are pertinent to the topic. You might also label words of which you do not previously know the meaning. Define these words in the margins.

RW Repeated Words/Ideas—These are ideas/words that show up over and over. In the margins, discuss why these repeated words are important to this piece.

?? I have a question—Are you confused by something? Does the text leave you questioning? Do you need more explanation? Label the parts of the text that you need to discuss further.

!! I am intrigued—Did something strike you as interesting? Did you have an “ah-ha” moment? Did something surprise you? Label parts of the text that you found intriguing.

Annotation: Taking Notes on What You Read You should know that highlighting and underlining alone is

not annotation! Knowing that a passage is important is not the same as knowing WHY it is important

Annotating takes a long time. This will make you a slower reader, but a more conscientious one, and ultimately, a more sophisticated one. Ideally, you should evolve to the point that it is actually a little awkward for you to read without annotating!

Annotation: Taking Notes on What You Read A question I’m often asked by students is, “How much

annotating is enough?” This, to an English teacher, is like asking how long an essay needs to be. My answer is going to be the same, and sadly, just as vague and irritating: as much/as long as it needs to be. Admittedly, I’m most impressed by copious annotations in a text. But I am also interested in the quality, thought, and sophistication behind your annotations.

Also, you should know that I actually read your annotations, and your penmanship is quite important. If I can’t read what you write (and I’m pretty forgiving when it comes to handwriting) I get cranky.

Summarize/Paraphrase

This seems basic, but can actually be really helpful when you are going back through a text to remember and locate where something happened (like when you are writing an essay, for example). Jot down in the margins key words or phrases that simply summarize/paraphrase what just happened.

For those of you who are mathematically inclined, this type of annotation should make up only about 20% of your total annotating of a text. Summarizing and paraphrasing should not dominate your notes; rather, they should function to help you orient yourself as to the basic action of the plot.

Personal Reactions and Questions• Don’t underestimate the importance of this type of

engagement with a text. If something you read strikes you as funny, intense, confusing, enlightening, etc. feel free to honor those reactions and record them in the margins! Not only is this perfectly acceptable, but it indicates that you are paying attention, engaging with the text, and internalizing what you read.

• If you have a specific question about what you are reading, write that question down. Research it on your own or ask your teacher in class the next day.

Personal Reactions and Questionso If what you read reminds you of something else, whether

that be another text you’ve read, a movie you saw, something you heard once, a person you know, a personal situation, a memory, etc. honor that connection and record your reaction. This is just further evidence of your internalization of the text.

o Furthermore, connecting, comparing, contrasting texts is an important skill, and one that will be valuable to you in college, where your professors expect you to be able to do this and draw from your previous experience and knowledge.

Specific Notes on Non-Fiction– How does the writer present the argument and prove it?

– Think about the writer’s argument and tone and how these are achieved.

– Analyze the diction (word choice) and syntax (word order) used to express point of view.

– Look at sentence structure.

– Consider the writer’s purpose: to explain, to persuade, to describe, to entertain, to editorialize, etc and how he or she achieves this.

– Define any unknown terms.

– Be aware of rhetorical devices and examine their effectiveness.

– Also, consider any logical fallacies (bad logic or wrong thinking) in the author’s arguments. Be aware of and record your personal reactions and questions.

Preparing to Write the Response

1. Look through at what you highlighted and annotated. Underline two sentences, quotations, or ideas that you think are the most interesting parts of the article.

2. These will be your two quotations from the article. When you write your response, you will put these two ideas into quotation marks and make a parenthetical citation for each of them.

The writing assignment EVERY TIME:

• On a sheet of notebook paper, write a two -three-paragraph response to the article that includes correct citations (at least two quotes from the article)

• What ideas does the article offer about the text?

• How are the ideas presented• Your opinion on the topic discussed.

Sample Annotated

• Gilbert, Pam. “From Voice to Text: Reconsidering Writing and Reading in the English Classroom.” English Education 23.4 (1991): 195-211. Print.

• Gilbert provides some insight into the concept of “voice” in textual interpretation, and points to a need to move away from the search for voice in reading. Her reasons stem from a growing danger of “social and critical illiteracy,” which might be better dealt with through a move toward different textual under- standings. Gilbert suggests that theories of language as a social practice can be more useful in teaching. Her ideas seem to disagree with those who believe in a dominant voice in writing, but she presents an interesting perspective.

Sample Annotated