#how to annotate

[sandramiksaauthor]

How to Annotate Texts and Books for University (12 Ways)

[myhoneststudyblr]

i received an ask from @sunset-study asking me how to annotate texts so i thought i would do a post giving some of my tips! as an English literature student, i spend a lot of my time doing annotations on loads of different types of texts so i think i have some good advice that i can give. i hope that you will find this helpful and if you have any other questions, please feel free to send me an ask!

disclaimer: these are my personal tips and experiences and i’m sure that there are many more that are relevant. i have tried to do a little bit of research to get some other ideas which hopefully will make this a useful post but as always i appreciate others adding their opinions and advice in the comments!

[Estimated Reading Time: 7 minutes]

What is covered:

General Tips

Things to look for

Specific Tips for Annotating Novels

Specific Tips for Annotating Plays

Specific Tips for Annotating Poetry

Other resources

General Tips

don't just highlight. this is very passive and often you will not really be taking in what is important. 

pencils are great for annotating. if you are anything like me, when you are annotating, you often are doing it as the thoughts come into your mind so a pencil allows you some leeway to erase and refine ideas. also when you are writing in a book, i personally do not have enough confidence to write in pen.

don’t annotate extensively the first time you read. often on a first read, you don't see the recurring imagery or features because you don't have the whole context so don't annotate deeply the first time you read something. that said, it can often be good to jot some questions in the margins that you have because these can be useful to remind you of your thoughts when you reread. 

think of some symbols to indicate important or interesting parts. for example, if it is a dramatic section, i will box it off and put a big exclamation mark. or if something is confusing or unclear, use a question mark. i tend to put a star for a section that is important. you could think of symbols for humour, foreshadowing, particular themes or characters etc.

actually respond to the text. this seems like an obvious one but a lot of the time, because we are taught in schools all these fancy techniques, when we see one of them in a text we just highlight them and note that its a metaphor or simile or foreshadowing. what you should try to do is explain - briefly - why that is important and its effect. also if you have any personal reaction to it, note that down as well because this can be really helpful when writing essays because it shows that you’ve actually engaged with the text. 

practice, practice, practice. annotation is a skill and honestly it can be quite difficult because you need to often read between the lines and summarise, while also analysing. so take some time to focus on this skill and create your own method and shorthand.

Things to look for:

structure. are the paragraphs long? is sentence varied or does it remain quite consistent? are there any repeated words or phrases? what is the overall shape of the text? where does the narrative start? does the focus shift anywhere? 

language. what are the literary devices used in the text? if so, what is their effect? has the author used a particular semantic field? are there any usual words? are there repeated words? are there any individual words that stand out to you? what are the connotations of these words? are there any words that you don’t know? if so, what do they mean? is there any unusual syntax? 

characterisation and voice. who is speaking in the text? if it is third person, how ‘close’ or ‘distant’ are we to the character? can we trust the character? are they an unreliable narrator? what are their key features? do any of these features link to key themes? if so, where is that shown in the text? is the author using a particular voice in order to get a specific reaction?

themes. what themes is the author exploring? where does the author explore these themes? are particular opinions (either by a character or perhaps the implied opinion of the author) expressed on the themes? are there any words or phrases that link closely to this theme?

Specific Tips for Annotating Novels

SUMMARISE REGULARLY

a novel is often long and there is a lot of stuff to cover throughout it so it is really important to keep making sure that you understand what is going on. summarising will also help you when revising.

for example, after each chapter quickly summarise the key points in a few sentences - which characters were important, did the plot move forward in any important ways, what themes were explored.

you could either do this on a post it note or if you have space on the last page of the chapter. make sure that it is not too long. a few sentences is absolutely fine.

KEEP A LIST OF CHARACTERS 

characters are obviously very important in a novel so make sure you know who’s who and where they come into the book. you could write the list of characters or a little character map on the inside cover of the book, which you can refer to if necessary.

COLOUR CODE

i personally don't colour code that often when annotating. i usually only do it in important scenes and moments where there is a lot going on and things can get very confusing. that said, colour coding can be particularly useful to keep track of themes in the novel.

there are many different ways that you can do this. for example you could have a particular highlighter colour for each theme. you could also put coloured sticky tabs on the page so you can quickly find the themes throughout the novel. 

Specific Tips for Annotating Plays

This is mostly the same for novels so take all of the tips above and apply them to the play you are studying with two main - VERY IMPORTANT - additions:

NOTE THE DRAMATIC FUNCTION

a play is written to be performed and this has a huge impact on the text, because it can affect how we interpret a particular character, theme or scene. 

so it is SO SO important that you remember that it is being performed and think about the different ways that it could be acted and how the audience could respond to it. 

on that note, remember that every performance, actor and audience is different so try to think of ALL the ways it could be played and how our interpretation could differ

PAY ATTENTION TO STAGE DIRECTIONS

this is a related point to the one above. my GCSE English teacher used to go on about this all. the. time. because it is so easy to overlook them and not consider them a real part of the text. BUT they are such a key part because they can give hints to performance as well as the atmosphere which might otherwise be difficult to discern just by reading the dialogue. they can also be good ways to demonstrate character traits

Specific Tips for Annotating Poetry

NOTE GENERAL FEATURES (STRUCTURE, RHYMING, METER, CONTEXT, THEMES, ETC.) SOMEWHERE SEPARATE 

poems are obviously much shorter than plays and novels so they are often packed full of interesting language points to annotate. therefore if you try to add in all of this other stuff in your annotations using arrows, it is likely that it is going to get very full and confusing. 

therefore, i would suggest only directly annotating language features for the poem and writing your notes on the more general features of the poem elsewhere - for example on a post-it note, or if there is a bunch of white-space under the poem. then it is easy to find and refer to but won't mix with your annotations and make it confusing so that you feel that you need to rewrite more notes on the whole poem 

if there is a particular word or phrase that is important for the above features (for example, links significantly with the context or has unusual - and therefore probably significant - meter) you can notes this on the text using arrows but keep it specific and short. you can expand on it in more depth in your general notes

IDENTIFY THE TONE AND MOOD OF THE POEM

this is good to identify because it can help you focus on the language that is important and helps you to interpret the meaning. 

THINK ABOUT THE SOUND OF THE POEM

poems are usually meant to be lyrical and rhythmic in some way and read aloud. so think about how these words sound when you read it (are they harsh or soft) and consider the rhythm that the poet creates through punctuation. it could be helpful to consider a poem like the lyrics of a song and imagine what it would sound like if it were set to music 

rhyming is an important part of this and you could note - just for your own reference - the rhyme scheme (if there is one) using letters at the end of the line. but again, referring back to tip one of this section, talk about the rhyme scheme in greater depth elsewhere so as not to clutter your notes 

Other Resources

there are so many resources that you can find on the internet about annotation but here are just a couple that i thought were useful:

Annotation Guide Produced for AP Language Students

BBC Bitesize GCSE Revision Page on Annotating Texts

General How to Annotate Guide (Note: this is not just for literature but also for textbooks but has some great tips)

Annotating Poetry Guide

[littlesoapsud]

Does anyone have any tips for annotating Shakespeare or just annotating in general? I never really got a grasp on how to annotate properly and since this is my first semester as an English major I’m trying to get all the help I can get. Especially since I have to read As You Like it in one week oh my god please help me

[112866213]

How to Annotate A Text

How To Annotate A Text: Be sure to have a paper copy of this handout in your portfolio! 

1. Pre Reading Activity: Making Predictions and Asking Questions: Read only the title/subtitles, author, publication date/place, and the first and last paragraphs only then answer the following questions:

What do you think this article will be about?

What will be its purpose: to persuade, to inform, or to entertain? Why?

Can you determine if this is a reliable source? How/Why?

Any other insights?

2. Annotating The Text: as you read, complete the following steps:

Underline and label main ideas or thesis

Put a star ★ next to support (evidence/citations/examples) for the main idea or thesis

Identify and label uses of ethos (credibility/character), pathos (emotion), and logos (logic)

Identify and label ideas/concepts/parts you agree with: put a plus sign + in the margins and explain why you agree

Identify and label ideas/concepts/parts you disagree with: put a minus sign - in the margins and explain why you disagree

Write questions you have or connections to other texts/events/concepts in the margins

3. Post Reading Activity: Summarizing and Responding

Explain the author’s argument/thesis in one sentence.

Summarize the support (citations/evidence/examples) for the thesis in one to three sentences.

Do you agree with the author’s argument? Why or why not? Be specific: explain  and cite details/examples from the text.  

[lotsofteaandcramming-blog]

HOW TO ANNOTATE [for english + literature classes]

below are my own tips and tricks on how to annotate text (fiction, literature, poetry, etc. not textbooks or non-fiction) (all links and resources are at the bottom of this post) enjoy :)

HOW SHOULD YOU ANNOTATE?

1. If you are given your own personal copy of a poem or novel for your class, it’s easiest to annotate on that copy as you read. 

2. If your book is a class copy you’re borrowing, you might be able to get away with lightly annotating in pencil and going back to erase it after you’ve written your annotations on separate notes.

3. You can also write on sticky notes and attach them to the pages where they are relevant. 

4. If none of these appeal to you, scribble everything you make note of as you read and write out neater notes after. 

Since I usually have to borrow copies of novels for my English class, I have two steps of annotating; I first read and scribble down everything that comes to mind. Then I’ll write out a more structured copy of my annotations.

This doesn’t apply to everyone, but since my teacher likes to have class discussions about the book/poem, I also leave a section in my notes for writing things talked about in these discussions.

THE TWELVE “TICS”

My English teacher taught me this trick and I always use it when annotating. TICS stands for the T’s, I’s, C’s and S’s of literary devices:

Tone - looking for clues in the speaker and general mood of the story/poem.

Title - not always necessary, but sometimes chapter titles or the main title of a poem/novel are ambiguous or relate to the theme.

Imagery - metaphors, similes, personification, etc.

Irony - kind of like title, it’s not always necessary but it’s still a good idea to look out for it.

Connotation - a meaning of a word that isn’t a literal definition but is implied or relates to it. for example the word mother implies love, kindness, childhood, etc.

Contrast - this is one of the main things to look out for and it can be applied to characters, setting, symbols, etc.

Character - another huge category to look out for; you can write down anything relating to character development, symbolism, conflict, etc.

Conflict - internal conflicts vs external conflict. usually more relevant in literature but can be applied to poetry.

Symbolism - for most, symbolism is the easiest to pick out and it ties in with theme and imagery.

Setting - another main topic. you can take note of symbolism, contrast, irony and imagery in the setting.

Syntax - the same thing as sentence fluency, usually more relevant in poetry but can be applied to literature.

Structure - how a novel or poem is structured by lines, paragraphs, chapters, beginning middle end, etc.

SUMMARIZING

I like to summarize each chapter of a novel on a large pad of to-do list sticky notes. This way it’s brief, it allows me to focus on the most important events, and I can keep it posted on my notes sheets from each chapter.

COLOUR CODING

I love using a colour system to add to my notes. The T’s, I’s, C’s and S’s in “TICS” are all coded a different colour, but you can decide on any colour scheme you want.

KEY QUOTES AND SYMBOLS

Most poems and novels have a downloadable PDF online. I always keep a PDF copy of the piece I’m annotating on my laptop so I can look up key phrases and words. 

If you have a Mac, whenever you open a PDF there’s a little search bar in the top right corner where you can type in key words or phrases and it will give you the pages they are on. I like to do this when I need to expand on a certain symbol or motif and I need some quotes related to it.

You can also email PDF files to your iPhone, iPad, etc. and open it in iBooks. You can actually annotate any text/book in iBooks by highlighting with different colours and writing small notes about the book.

RESOURCES

I LOVE this video on how to annotate by @studyign on studytube! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=muZcJXlfCWs

How to Annotate 3 Ways: http://a-vce-blog.tumblr.com/post/135418517521/3-ways-to-annotate-your-english-text

[solairecrossing]

halp

if anyone has any tips/experience on how to annotate fiction books (specially series of books) please share them with me bc I'm about to start what will probably be the most time-consuming thing I will ever do

[alreadyrestless]

How to Annotate: Lit Theory Essays

This comes with the usual caveat: these are just intended to be helpful suggestions, I am not an annotating expert, and y’all should do what works for you.

Upcoming posts are: my lit theory recommendations, summary of author/authority theories (Barthes, Foucault, Hermeneutics / Reader response)

Tell me what posts you want to see.