{"id":335,"date":"2016-06-14T04:43:59","date_gmt":"2016-06-14T04:43:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/courses.lumenlearning.com\/waymaker-level3-english\/?post_type=chapter&p=335"},"modified":"2017-04-30T19:06:35","modified_gmt":"2017-04-30T19:06:35","slug":"text-how-to-annotate","status":"publish","type":"chapter","link":"https:\/\/courses.lumenlearning.com\/suny-engcomp1-wmopen\/chapter\/text-how-to-annotate\/","title":{"raw":"How to Annotate","rendered":"How to Annotate"},"content":{"raw":"

\"LookingAn active\u00a0reading strategy for articles or textbooks is annotation<\/strong>. Think for a moment about what that word means. It means to add notes (an-NOTE-tate) to text that you are reading, to offer explanation, comments or opinions to the author's words. Annotation takes practice, and the better you are at it, the better you will be at reading complicated articles.<\/span><\/p>\r\n\r\n

Where to Make Notes<\/h2>\r\n

First, determine how you will annotate the text you are about to read.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\n

If it is a printed article, you may be able to just write in the margins. A colored pen might make it easier to see than black or even blue.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\n

If it is an article posted on the web, you could also you Diigo<\/span><\/a>, which is a highlighting and annotating tool that you can use on the website and even share your notes with your instructor.\u00a0Other note-taking plug-ins for web browsers might serve a similar function.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\n

If it is a textbook that you do not own (or wish to sell back), use post it notes to annotate in the margins. <\/span><\/p>\r\n

You can also use a notebook to keep written commentary as you read in any platform, digital or print. If you do this, be sure to leave enough information about the specific text you're responding to that you can find it later if you need to. (Make notes about page number, which paragraph it is, or even short quotes to help you locate the passage again.)<\/span><\/p>\r\n\r\n

What Notes to Make<\/h2>\r\n

Now you will annotate the document by adding your own words, phrases, and summaries to the written text. For the following examples, the article \"Guinea Worm Facts<\/span><\/a>\" was used.<\/span><\/p>\r\n\r\n

    \r\n \t
  1. Scan the document you are annotating. Some obvious clues will be apparent before you read it, such as titles or headers for sections. Read the first paragraph. Somewhere in the first\u00a0(or possibly the second) paragraph should be a BIG IDEA about what the article is going to be about. In the margins, near the top, write down the big idea of the article in your own words. This shouldn't be more than a phrase or a sentence.\u00a0This big idea is likely the article's thesis.<\/span><\/li>\r\n \t
  2. Underline topic sentences<\/span><\/span> or phrases<\/span> that express the main idea for that paragraph or section. You should never underline more than 5 words, though for large paragraphs or blocks of text, you can use brackets. (Underlining long stretches gets messy, and makes it hard to review the text later.) Write in the margin next to what you've\u00a0underlined a summary of the paragraph or the idea being expressed.<\/span><\/li>\r\n \t
  3. Connect related ideas by drawing arrows from one idea to another. Annotate those arrows with a phrase about how they are connected.\"Two<\/li>\r\n \t
  4. If you encounter an idea, word, or phrase you don't understand, circle it and put a question mark in the margin that indicates an area of confusion. Write your\u00a0question in the margin.\r\n