Annotating Texts

Annotating a Text

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Techniques for close reading of texts that will help you understand and think deeper about the language that you are reading.

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What kind of reader are you?

​Do you attack the book and read it quickly?

​Or do you munch it s.....l.....o.....w....l....y and read one line at a time?

Poll

What kind of reader are you?

• Attack the book and read it quickly

• Munch on it slowly and read one line at a time

Does it matter how we read?

• The skills that we will be reviewing today will help us ALL as we read a nonfiction text.

• ​These tools can be used in any of your classes when reading a nonfiction article, text book, etc.

• ​It will help you to break down ideas that at first may seem complicated and difficult to understand.

• ​SO LET'S BEGIN!!!!

What is annotating?

• Annotating is when a reader directly interacts with a text.

• It is often referred to as close reading and involves highlighting central ideas in a text with notes written in the margins.

• We annotate to understand key points in a text including the central idea!

• It also allows us to think through a text making connections from one portion to the next!

Multiple Choice

All of the following are true about annotating except...

• It involves highlighting or underlining key details in the text.

• You write notes in the margins based on what you highlight.

• It helps you to better understand the text.

• It is just meant for the teacher to see you are reading and there is no purpose for the student.

Key Steps to Annotating a Text:

1. Survey

   1. ​Look for title and subheadings

2. Skim

   1. Chunk the text​

3. ​Read

   1. ​Underline and Circle

   2. ​Writing key ideas in the Margins

Surveying a Text

1. On your first read through of the text, you want to:

   1. Number the stanzas, lines, sections, or paragraphs in the left hand margin (this will allow you to cite and refer to the text)

   2. Look at the title and author

   3. Look for subheadings: Do they suggest anything about the text?

   4. Look for any summary or abstract that may give you a general idea of what the text is about.

Poll

Have you ever surveyed a text to find out some ideas via the title and subheadings as to what the text will be about?

• Yes

• No

Open Ended

What information would you be able to find when you survey a text that can help you better understand what you are reading?

Skimming a Text:

1. ​On the second read through of the text, you want to:

   1. ​Chunk the text by drawing a horizontal line in between each section (this helps to make the reading more manageable in smaller sections).

   2. Read the first few sentences of the paragraphs.

   3. Identify the thesis statement (central idea) and highlight it.

   4. Highlight the main point in each paragraph.

What Chunking Looks Like:

Multiple Choice

True or False: When you skim a text, you should be able to find the thesis statement (central point) of the article.

• True

• False

Open Ended

What is chunking? Why does chunking help a reader better understand a text while reading?

Reading a Text:

1. ​On your third time reading through a text, you want to:

   1. ​Circle the words that you do not know

   2. ​Underline words or sentences that support the thesis statement/central idea and key terms or phrases found in the text

   3. ​On the LEFT margin: Summarize each chunk in 10 words or less for what the author is expressing.

Reading a Text:

​​On the RIGHT margin, you will be thinking deeper about the text:

1. Analyze the meaning behind the language

2. Make connections in the story or personal experiences.

3. ​Ask questions (If you not sure what the author means or maybe you have a question that relates to what it is discussed then write it down).

Multiple Choice

True or False: When you read the text you do not have to highlight or write any notes.

• True

• False

Open Ended

What kind of information do you write in the left margin? What kind of information do you write in the right margin?

Helpful Tips When You Annotate

• Use different color highlighters for the thesis statement and supporting details.

• You can use shorthand symbols such as (? for question), (! for surprise or especially important point).

• Notes in margins should be short and to the point --- NOT COMPLETE SENTENCES!

Through your annotation, you underline key pieces of text and begin to think about their importance to the story or article.

The text that you underline often will be used as textual evidence to support claims that you make about the text in writing.

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​Connecting Annotation to Writing

Anytime you:
1. Paraphrase Text
2. Quote the Text (writing the language exactly as you see it in the text)
3. Or write any ideas that are not your original thought
then you need to cite where you found the information.

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MLA In-text Citations:

When you quote information from a text you are writing the words exactly as they are written by the author.

This is called quoting because you write quotation marks around the language that you have written from the text to show that it is not your own words.

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MLA In-text Citations:

Proper MLA in-text citation looks as follows:
1. "Quote" (Author's Last Name pg #).
Example: "Imagine a piece of bread" (Atwood 1).
Citation introducing the author before the quote:
1. Author describes, "quote" (pg#).
Example: To start the story Atwood tells the reader to, "Imagine a piece of bread" (1).

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MLA In-text Citations:

Multiple Choice

True or False: Annotation makes writing analysis of a story easier.

• True

• False

Multiple Choice

True or False: MLA in-text citations are not important for writing.

• True

• False

Multiple Choice

Which of the following shows the correct format for an MLA in-text citation?

• "Quote." (Author's First Name pg#).

• "Quote." (Author's Last Name pg#)

• "Quote" (Author's First Name pg#).

• "Quote" (Author's Last Name pg#).

Poll

Do you think you are ready to practice annotating and citing a text?

• Yes! I am very confident with annotating.

• I am pretty sure I can figure out what to annotate in a text.

• I am a bit hesitant on annotating a text.

• I have so many questions about annotating.