Annotation
table of contents.
01 What is 02 why use
03 How to annotate
annotations annotations
04 Example 05 takeaways
What is annotations?
Annotations can be:
• A systematic summary of the text that you create within the
document
• A key tool for close reading that helps you uncover patterns,
notice important words, and identify main points
• An active learning strategy that improves comprehension and
retention of information
Why use annotations?
• Isolate and organize important material
• Identify key concepts
• Monitor your learning as you read
• Make exam prep effective and streamlined
• Can be more efficient than creating a separate set of reading
notes
• Your responses to the author’s writing and claims
Annotations can be used to
• provide reminders
• help a reader engage with the text
• add context
• offer further clarification
How to annotate?
1) Summarize key points in your own words
• Use headers and words in bold to guide you
• Look for main ideas, arguments, and points of evidence
• Notice how the text organizes itself. Chronological order? Idea trees? Etc.
How to annotate?
2) Circle key concepts and phrases
• What words would it be helpful to look-up at the end?
• What terms show up in lecture? When are different words used for similar
concepts? Why?
How to annotate?
3) Write a brief comments and questions
• Be as specific or broad as you would like—use these questions to activate
your thinking about the content.
4) Use abbreviations and symbols
• Try ? when you have a question or something you need to explore further
• Try ! When something is interesting, a connection, or otherwise worthy of
note
• Try * For anything that you might use as an example or evidence when you
use this information.
• Ask yourself what other system of symbols would make sense to you.
How to annotate?
5) Highlight/Underline
• Highlight or underline where needed but be mindful about it.
• Use comment and highlight features built into pdfs, online/digital
textbooks, or other apps and browser add-on
Example of reader’s annotations
Important takeaways
• Annotation is about increasing your engagement with a text
• Increased engagement, where you think about and process the
material then expand on your learning, is how you achieve
understanding in a subject
• As you annotate a text, ask yourself: how would I explain this to a
friend?
• Put things in your own words and draw connections to what you know
and wonder
Let’s try this using
your article
This is where you section ends. Duplicate this set of slides as many times you need to go over all your sections.
Thank you!
Do you have any questions?
Reference
Serrani, A., MA. (2022). Annotation examples simply explained
In YourDictionary. [Link]
Lumen Learning. (n.d.). How to write an annotation | English Composition
1. [Link]
UNC-Chapel Hill Learning Center. (2022, June 6). Annotating texts – Learning Center. Learning
Center. [Link]