Transcript Annotating Literature

Annotating Literature
A Guide to Active Reading
BEFORE YOU READ…
PREVIEW THE TEXT
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What do you think the title has
to do with the text?
Who is the author?
What time period was the piece
written in?
How is the text structured?
Are you given any visuals?
NEXT…
CONSIDER YOUR PURPOSE
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Why are you reading and how
will you use the text?
Do you need a basic
understanding?
Are you looking just for the main
ideas?
Do you need detailed
comprehension of the book?
Will you need a complete
analysis?
ANNOTATING OBJECTIVES…
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To identify the author’s most
important points.
To recognize how they fit
together.
To note how you respond to
them.
WHEN YOU ANNOTATE…
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Underline and highlight
passages.
Make written notes in the
margins of texts to identify the
most important ideas, the main
examples or details, and the
things that trigger your own
reactions.
Devise a notation system.
“WHAT WILL I
BE REQUIRED
TO ANNOTATE
IN ANIMAL
FARM?
Character
Information
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Introduction to character
(meeting him or her)
Changes in attitudes or beliefs
Connections to the Russian
Revolution
Anything else that strikes your
attention
Literary Devices
 Simile/metaphor—
comparisons
 Irony (situational, verbal,
dramatic)
 Theme—life lesson
learned
 Etc.
Vocabulary
 Words
that you are not
familiar with
 Helps with the
understanding of the
novel
 Use the dictionary!!
At the end of each
chapter…
 Summarize
what you
have read
 2-3 sentences stating the
main points of the chapter
 What do you think you
should remember?
KEEP IN MIND…
 The
more precise your
marks are and the more
focused your notes and
reactions, the easier it will
be to draw material from
the text into your own
writing.
SO, BE SELECTIVE…
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The unfortunate tendency is to
underline (or highlight) too much
of a text. DON’T DO THIS! A
good reader will mark sparingly,
keeping the focus on the truly
important elements of a writer’s
ideas and his or her own
reactions.
MOST IMPORTANTLY…
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Don’t let this scare you!
Everything you say is useful!