Annotating the Text

Rationales for Annotation:

 Reading is thinking. Demonstrate your thinking though aesthetic and efferent reading via annotation evidence.
 Annotating is a core, preferred practice for making meaning from text.

Description of Annotation:
Annotation is a key component of close reading. Since we will annotate texts throughout the course, you need to develop a system that
works for you within the following guidelines. Effective annotating is both economical and consistent. The techniques are almost
limitless. Use any combination of the following:
o Make brief comments in the margins. Use any white space available – inside cover, blank portion at beginning or end of
chapters, etc. REMINDER: If you have checked out a novel, use Post-It Notes on pages instead of marking in the text.
o Make brief comments between or within lines of the text. Do not be afraid to mark within the text itself.
o Circle or put boxes, triangles, or clouds around words or phrases.
o Use abbreviations or symbols – brackets, stars, exclamation points, question marks, numbers, etc.
o Connect words, phrases, ideas, circles, or boxes with lines or arrows.
o Underline or highlight concepts. Always combine with another method such as comment. Never underline or highlight an entire
passage. Doing so takes too much time and loses effectiveness. If you wish to mark an entire paragraph or passage, draw a line
down the margin or use brackets. CAUTION: Use this method sparingly. Underline or highlight only a few words.
o Create your own code. Example: You could use ! for an epiphany or ? next to a question you raise.

Methods of Annotation:
o At the top of the page or on a post-it, mark the important plot events. Every page will not necessarily be marked.
o Be sure to figure out any unfamiliar words through context or by using a dictionary. You can circle the unfamiliar word and
write the definitions in the text for yourself.
o Highlight and mark for yourself any conflicts that occur with the main character (protagonist). Note your ideas about these
conflicts in the text (who / what is involved, attempts to resolve conflicts, etc).
o Highlight and mark for yourself words and phrases that help describe the personality of characters. Note your ideas about the
characters right in the text (personality, motivation, fears / dreams, etc).
o Highlight and mark for yourself any symbolism, and note your ideas in the text as to what abstract ideas or concepts these
tangible objects may represent.
o Don’t mark too much. If you mark everything, nothing will stand out.
o Once you are completely finished the book and annotating, create a list of possible themes, then pick the three most important
thematic statements that your book addresses. Write those themes on an inside cover or any blank pages of your book AND
find supporting evidence from the text to support your ideas. Mark those supporting passages with post-its.
o Example themes:
1. A just individual has obligations toward society.
2. A just society has obligations it owes to an individual.
3. Society must contend with the dichotomies presented by freedom and equality.
4. An individual can experience redemption through _____.
5. The accumulation of money and power leads to a loss of spirituality.

Format of Text Annotation:

For the sake of standardization of annotating for class and for grading purposes, your book notes should follow this format:
o Inside Front Cover Character list with small space for character summary and for page references for key scenes, moments of
character development, etc.
o Inside Back Cover Themes, allusions, images, motifs, key scenes, plot line, epiphanies, etc. List and add page references and / or
notes as you read.
o Bottom and Side Page Margins Interpretive notes, questions, and / or remarks that refer to meaning of the page. Markings or
notes to tie in with information on the inside back cover.
o Top Margins Plot notes – a quick few words or phrases that summarize what happens here (useful for quick location of
passages in discussion and for writing assignments).
o Additional Markings underlining – done while or after reading to help locate passages for discussion, essays, or questions
brackets – done while or after reading to highlight key speeches, descriptions, etc, that are too long to underline easily.
 Annotating the Text
More Thoughts on Close Reading: What should you annotate? Again, the possibilities are limitless. Keep in mind the reasons we
annotate. Your annotations must include comments. Remember that the purpose is to indicate evidence of thinking.

o Have a conversation with the text. Talk back to it.

o Ask questions (essential to active reading).
o Comment on the actions or development of a character. Does the character change? Why? How? The result?
o Comment on lines / quotations you think are especially significant, powerful, or meaningful.
o Express agreement or disagreement.
o Summarize key events. Make predictions.
o Connect ideas to each other or to other texts.
o Note if you experience an epiphany.
o Note anything you would like to discuss in class or do not understand.
o Note how the author uses language.
 effects of word choice (diction) or sentence structure or type (syntax)
 point of view / effect
 repetition of words, phrases, actions, events, patterns
 narrative pace / time / order of sequence of events
 irony
 contrasts / contradictions / juxtapositions / shifts
 allusions
 any other figure of speech or literary device
 reliability of narrator
 motifs or cluster ideas
 tone / mood
 imagery
 themes
 setting / historical period
 symbols

Final Considerations: The most common complaint about annotating is that it slows down your reading. Yes, it does. That’s the point. If
annotating as you read annoys you, read a chapter, then go back and annotate. Reading a text a second time is preferable anyway.

Approach the works with an open mind. Let the literature inspire you and stretch your imagination.

The outside reading assignment must be read and annotated before class begins. It is perfectly okay to add to your markings after you
finish the book and are working on an essay, but the bulk of the job should be done in conjunction with your reading for class
preparations.

If you find annotating while you read to be annoying and awkward, do it after you read. Go back after a chapter or assignment and then
mark it carefully. You should be reading assignments twice anyway, so this isn’t any less efficient than marking as you read and then
rereading the material.

Note: All marginalia (comments in the margin) may be written on Post-It Note squares placed on appropriate
pages in lieu of writing on the text itself.

“Memory is the residue of thought.” Daniel T. Willingham

 Annotating the Text

Annotation Rubric

5
o Text is marked throughout.
o Words and phrases are marked, and commentary and notations appear in the margins that indicate
a response to the words and phrases marked. (RL.4, RI.4)
o Marginalia (comments in the margin) reflect application of literary terms, questioning, summarizing,
and analysis. (RL.6, RI. 2)
o Annotations accurately identify purpose and themes of the work. (RL.6, RI. 2, RI.6)
o Reader has identified unfamiliar vocabulary and attempted to define those words. (RL.4, RI.4)
o I.d.’s patterns of events, characters’ actions/ interactions & themes over course of plot. (RL.3, RL.5)
o Analyzes connections between different parts of text(sentences, paragraphs, chapters, scenes,
stanzas) and how parts reflect aspects of author’s P.O.V. (Tone, Mood, Voice, Style.) (RI.5, RI.6)

4
o Text is marked throughout.
o Longer passages (entire sentences/entire paragraphs) are the primary element annotated.
o Commentary and notations in margins appear less frequently or do not respond directly to the
passage annotated. Marginalia may be primarily summary or paraphrased statement with some
attempt at analysis.
o Annotations may not accurately identify purpose or themes of text.
o Reader may have identified unfamiliar vocabulary but did not attempt to define the words.

3
o Text is not consistently marked throughout.
o Random passages appear to be marked; passages selected often have no real significance.
o Annotated passages may be very long or very short.
o Annotations include little/no marginalia or marginalia that is characterized by plot level questions
or simplistic summary.
o Annotations include little/no attempt to identify themes/purpose of text.
o Annotations include little/no recognition of unfamiliar vocabulary.
o Annotations do not reflect careful reading of the text; annotations do not reflect interaction
between the reader and the text.

2
Annotated text is not submitted on time.
 Annotating the Text
AERO Standards Addressed in this Rubric:
CRAFT AND STRUCTURE
RL.4 Interpret words and phrases as they are used in a text, including
determining technical, connotative, and figurative meanings, and
analyze how specific word choices shape meaning or tone.
RL.5 Analyze the structure of texts, including how specific sentences,
paragraphs, and larger portions of the text (e.g., a section, chapter,
scene, or stanza) relate to each other and the whole.
RL.6 Assess how point of view or purpose shapes the content and
style of a text.
RI.2 Determine central ideas or themes of a text and analyze their
development; summarize the key supporting details and ideas.
RI.3 Analyze how and why individuals, events, and ideas develop and
interact over the course of a text.
RI.4 Interpret words and phrases as they are used in a text, including
determining technical, connotative, and figurative meanings, and
analyze how specific word choices shape meaning or tone.
RI.5 Analyze the structure of texts, including how specific sentences,
paragraphs, and larger portions of the text (e.g., a section, chapter,
scene, or stanza) relate to each other and the whole.
RI.6 Assess how point of view or purpose shapes the content and style
of a text.
a. Determine the meaning of words and phrases as they are used in
the text, including figurative and connotative meanings (DOK 1,
2,3)
b. Analyze the impact of specific word choices on meaning and
tone, including words with multiple meanings or language that is
particularly fresh, engaging, or beautiful. (Include Shakespeare as
well as other authors.) (DOK 1, 2,3)
a. Analyze how an author’s choices concerning how to structure specific
parts of a text (e.g., the choice of where to begin or end a story, the
choice to provide a comedic or tragic resolution) contribute to its overall
structure and meaning as well as its aesthetic impact. (DOK 3,4)
a. Analyze a case in which grasping point of view requires
distinguishing what is directly stated in a text from what is really meant
(e.g., satire, sarcasm, irony, or understatement). (DOK 3,4
a. Determine two or more central ideas of a text and analyze their
development over the course of the text, including how they interact and
build on one another to produce a complex account. (DOK 2,3,4)
a. Analyze a complex set of ideas or sequence of events and explain
how specific individuals, ideas, or events interact and develop over the
course of the text. (DOK 2,3)
a. Determine the meaning of words and phrases as they are used in a
text, including figurative, connotative, and technical meanings; analyze
how an author uses and refines the meaning of a key term or terms over
the course of a text (e.g., how Madison defines faction in Federalist No.
10). (DOK 1,2,3)
a. Analyze and evaluate the effectiveness of the structure an author uses
in his or her exposition or argument, including whether the structure
makes points clear, convincing, and engaging. (DOK 2,3,4
a. Determine an author’s point of view or purpose in a text in which the
rhetoric is particularly effective, analyzing how style and content
contribute to the power, persuasiveness, or beauty of the text. (DOK
2,3,4)