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Transcript - Marking and Annotating the Text

Marking and annotating the text is an active reading strategy that enhances comprehension by encouraging critical thinking and interaction with the text. Key components include numbering paragraphs, circling key terms, underlining relevant information, identifying the gist, and writing questions. This process culminates in a concise summary of the reading selection, aiding in discussion and writing assignments.

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2 views2 pages

Transcript - Marking and Annotating the Text

Marking and annotating the text is an active reading strategy that enhances comprehension by encouraging critical thinking and interaction with the text. Key components include numbering paragraphs, circling key terms, underlining relevant information, identifying the gist, and writing questions. This process culminates in a concise summary of the reading selection, aiding in discussion and writing assignments.

Uploaded by

silaspaul549
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© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Marking and Annotating the Text

Marking and annotating the text is an active reading strategy that requires students to
think critically as they read. This procedure provides tools for understanding complex
and rigorous texts. It is a fundamental strategy that requires you to isolate text to which
you can refer later for use in discussions and writing assignments. Five components
are foundational to this strategy:
1. Numbering the paragraphs
2. Circling key terms
3. Underlining information relevant to the reading purpose
4. Identifying the gist of the reading selection
5. Writing questions about the content of the selection
These five steps provide the process of writing commentary, notes, and questions on a
text to aid in comprehension. A reader who annotates is actively involved in the reading
process, for this activity becomes a form of dialogue between the reader and the text.
Marking the Text
It is always a good idea to begin a reading task with an “essential question” in mind.
This question is often provided by the instructor to guide students as they read and
prompt them to interact with the text. Students should also consider why the text is
being read in order to compose an essential question in the event that the instructor
does not provide it. Write this “essential question” just before the first paragraph of the
text.
Before you read, take a moment to number the paragraphs in the section you are about
to read. Start with the number one and continue numbering sequentially until you reach
the end of the text or reading assignment. Paragraph numbers will act as a reference
so you can easily refer to a specific section of the text.
As you read, circle key terms, cited sources, and other essential words, phrases, and
numbers.
Underline the author’s claim and/or other information relevant to the reading purpose.
While reading informational texts, focus on identifying information relevant to the
reading task. This might include:

 Central claims
 Evidence
 Details relating to a theology, philosophy, or ideology
 Facts about a person, place, think, or idea
 Descriptions of a person, place, thing, or idea
 Cause and effect relationships
Annotating the Text
As you read and mark each paragraph or “chunk” of the text, consider the gist of what
you have read and questions you have about what you have read or questions you
know your instructor will ask about the content of the text. Write a word or phrase in the
right margin indicating the gist or summary of the paragraph or “chunk”. Write questions
about the content of the paragraph in the left margin. Include any further notes in the
margins that will help you process what you have read. The answers to questions you
have written in the left margin should be marked in the text unless they are lingering
questions you have after reading the paragraph or “chunk”. If the answers to these
lingering questions do not appear in the successive paragraphs of the text, you should
bring them up for discussion in class.
After you have annotated all paragraphs or “chunks” of the text, write a short summary
of the content of the piece in the margin or in your notes. This summary should not
exceed three to five lines, and it should summarize the content of the reading selection
and include no personal reflection or commentary. The summary is typically written
after reading, marking, and annotating an entire reading selection/assignment and is not
inserted after the first chunk of a reading selection as has been done for the purpose of
illustrating the entire process in this presentation.
Repeat the first four steps of the process for each paragraph/chunk of a reading
selection, and compose the summary after you have completed the reading process
and reviewed the marks and annotations you made as you read.
If you have additional marking and/or annotating steps or adaptations of the steps
provided in this presentation, continue to use them if they help you read critically and
interact with what you are reading. For additional resources on marking and annotating
a text, refer to “Section 6” of AVID Postsecondary Strategies for Success and
“Section 1” of AVID Postsecondary Academic Reading and Writing Guide. Both texts
are readily available in the First-Year Experience Office on campus.

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