How to Make Annotations
adapted by Marina Alburger
The new Common Core standards herald a shift in focus toward more integration of Informational Text into the elementary and secondary classroom. In so doing, the common core board hopes to align student skill with what will be expected of them in college, where the majority of the texts they will read will be informational in nature.
One important skill in the critically engaging with these texts is called “Annotations” and this article explains one adaptation of this practice that can be applied across the curriculum.
Students should first begin by noting the title and author of the piece. Then they will divide their paper into three columns that outline the text. In each column they will engage in a different aspect of critical analysis. Ideally annotation will happen directly on the paper that students are reading. If that text should not be marked up, instead students may use a piece of note paper divided into three columns as shown below.
The three columns are as follows:
One important skill in the critically engaging with these texts is called “Annotations” and this article explains one adaptation of this practice that can be applied across the curriculum.
Students should first begin by noting the title and author of the piece. Then they will divide their paper into three columns that outline the text. In each column they will engage in a different aspect of critical analysis. Ideally annotation will happen directly on the paper that students are reading. If that text should not be marked up, instead students may use a piece of note paper divided into three columns as shown below.
The three columns are as follows:
Summary(Left Margin of the text)
Students will summarize the main argument of the author during this passage. Ideally students should be doing this every time the topic changes (sometimes every paragraph, at least a few times a page) but this is dependent on how long the article is. |
HighlightThis is where the text of the article appears
Students will highlight keywords, supporting evidence for the authors main idea, and the authors expression of the topic or thesis for this portion of the article. If students are using a text that should not be marked up, they may copy sentences and phrases directly, making note of which page the quotation comes from. |
Question/ Comment(Right Margin of the text)
Students should engage in critically questions and commentary on the topic or effectiveness of the article. This should NOT be only personal connections to the text. Instead students should ask themselves about 1) the credibility of the author and the author’s claims 2) the effectiveness of the argument (is it convincing? Why or why not?) 3) The authors use of rhetorical devices and/ or logical fallacy in supporting their argument and how that affects their credibility. Questions should be open ended (i.e. not yes or no) and require elaboration to explain. They should be phrased using “How come,” “Why,” “What are the effects of”, “What are the benefits of,” etc etc. |
