1. How To Take Effective Notes
Annotating Texts
How To Take Effective Notes

2. Good Reading Background
Most reading is skimmed
When you need to learn, reading requires close attention
Good reading is hard work
Good reading makes good writing
Adapted from The Bedford Reader and The Little, Brown Reader
Adaptation by Laura Hayes

3. Annotations: An Overview
No one “right” way to annotate (take notes) as you read
General principles for good annotating to keep in mind
Write marginal notes in the text
Taking notes is not just summarizing!! Ask questions and write comments
Close reading takes time
Taking time as you read will save you time and anxiety later as you discuss & write about the text

4. Previewing: Before You Annotate
Find a quiet place with no distractions (this means no music, cell phone, or TV)
Look at the title
Usually includes author’s subject or method
Who is the author?
What you already know helps you guess something about the writing
If biographical sketch is provided, read it
Adapted from The Bedford Reader and The Little, Brown Reader
Adaptation by Laura Hayes

5. Previewing: Before You Annotate
In what was it published?
Would you be more likely to believe “Living Mermaids: An Amazing Discovery” if it were published in Scientific American or The National Enquirer?
Indicates for whom it was written
When was it published?
If it’s about mermaids, will you find it more reliable if written in 1988 or 1788?
Adapted from The Bedford Reader and The Little, Brown Reader
Adaptation by Laura Hayes

6. Annotation Guidelines
Read with a pen or pencil in hand.
Helps you focus and stay alert.
Create your own code / symbols & be CONSISTENT with your system.
Abbreviate using things such as brackets, stars, exclamation points
Keep a list of characters & their key traits
A good place: inside cover of the book
Add brief notes to your lists as you read
Look for patterns
What ideas do you see repeated?
What connections can you draw between different concepts?

7. Annotation Guidelines
Create your own code / symbols, cont.
Mark
main idea
supporting details
key terms
cause and effect
explanations
(Now brainstorm key concepts with your table)
Underline/highlight – CAUTION: Use this sparingly.
Underline/highlight only a few words.
Never underline an entire passage.
At the end of each chapter, bullet-point the key events as a summary or write a short summary.

8. Annotating Techniques: SYMBOLS
Putting circles, boxes, triangles, or clouds around words or phrases.
Connecting ideas with lines and/or arrows.
Using abbreviations or symbols.
Exclamation points (!)
Stars (*)
Asterisks (***)
Question marks (?)
Numbers (Lists, Steps, etc.)

9. Annotation Guidelines
Have a CONVERSATION with the text. Talk back to it.
Take your time as you begin a new text.
Ask yourself many questions as you begin:
Are there any fallacies in the text?
How does this relate to your everyday experience?
What formula will help me solve this problem?
Try to make a quick note on the top of each page indicating the most important point there.
Ask questions (essential to active reading).
Use question marks.
Be alert to what puzzles you.
Good readers do not zip along without stopping to monitor their comprehension. They stop to think and to note what they don’t understand.
Write down questions you would like to discuss.
Your annotations must include comments as evidence of thinking.

10. Annotation Guidelines
Of course, you should always pay attention to VOCABULARY.
A strong vocabulary comes from reading, not from memorizing lists.
Your text includes many words that will be new to you.
Mark these words.
Try to determine meaning from the context.
If you are really puzzled by a word, look it up.
slope
hypothesis
socioeconomic
ramifications

11. Columbine Annotations
How does your annotating look?
Do you think you over/under annotated?
What changes will you be making to your annotating style?