Annotation+-+Next+Level

Annotation **Annotation ** **Next Level **

**INQUIRY:** mark areas that you question; we’ll address these questions in class discussion. **Write questions in the margin** – When you don’t understand something write the question in the margin as a reminder to settle the question.

**SYNTHESIS:** draw connections between the text and other texts (fiction, nonfiction, other disciplines, films, your own experience, etc.). **Add your or other author’s perspectives in the margins** – Other authors have surely written on the same subject. What do they say? Do they agree with this author? If not, what do they say. Add these ideas in the margins.

**REFERENCE:** circle, highlight, or underscore the author’s thesis, the major claims in the text, or any other interesting information or terminology* in the text. **Write the passage topic in the margin as a reminder** – Just a word or two. This may help you find important quotations as you return to the text to write your papers. **Add cross-reference notes to other works on the same topic** – Use the author’s name and a shortened version of the other book’s title.

**SUMMARY:** add your own summary after the last paragraph, restate the author’s argument in your own words, especially complex ideas that may be unclear. Summary condenses long passages by listing the main ideas. That simple exercise will crystallize your thinking on the topic. **If you can’t write it, you don’t understand it.**

**ANALYSIS:** examine the rhetorical effectiveness of the text, identifying the purpose, audience, persona, major claims, and use of appeals.

**EVALUATION:** make a judgment about the logic, clarity, or validity of the argument. Note whether the text contradicts itself, whether you “buy” the argument, etc. You may also cite evidence that complicates or corroborates the argument.