Appropriate Annotation

When and where to annotate when reading and note taking

What Annotation IS:

• Questions about things you don’t understand, predictions, and things you’re trying to work out.
• Meaningful reactions short statements of strong feelings.
• Connections to historical, fictional, and personal context.
• Interpretations Going past the surface level and deriving more from the story.
• Summaries Rephrasing and compiling main themes and ideas of the text.
• Patterns Finding repeating connections and using them to predict foreshadowed plot and ideas.
• Words Noting new vocabulary and slang terms as well (potentially) as noting textual variants or errors.

What Annotation IS NOT:

• Notes Without Thoughts Be specific on why you left a highlight, underline, or emoji in your margins. You, or someone else might not understand why later on!
• One-Word Comments (Can sometimes be valid) Mostly not explanitory enough.
• Too Much of Anything A whole page of bright yellow gets you no where. Write in your margins, highlight sparingly, and use the key above to make an effecive system that works for you.

Adapted from this article on TeachHub.com