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How to Annotate Texts

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Annotation Fundamentals

How to start annotating , how to annotate digital texts, how to annotate a textbook, how to annotate a scholarly article or book, how to annotate literature, how to annotate images, videos, and performances, additional resources for teachers.

Writing in your books can make you smarter. Or, at least (according to education experts), annotation–an umbrella term for underlining, highlighting, circling, and, most importantly, leaving comments in the margins–helps students to remember and comprehend what they read. Annotation is like a conversation between reader and text. Proper annotation allows students to record their own opinions and reactions, which can serve as the inspiration for research questions and theses. So, whether you're reading a novel, poem, news article, or science textbook, taking notes along the way can give you an advantage in preparing for tests or writing essays. This guide contains resources that explain the benefits of annotating texts, provide annotation tools, and suggest approaches for diverse kinds of texts; the last section includes lesson plans and exercises for teachers.

Why annotate? As the resources below explain, annotation allows students to emphasize connections to material covered elsewhere in the text (or in other texts), material covered previously in the course, or material covered in lectures and discussion. In other words, proper annotation is an organizing tool and a time saver. The links in this section will introduce you to the theory, practice, and purpose of annotation. 

How to Mark a Book, by Mortimer Adler

This famous, charming essay lays out the case for marking up books, and provides practical suggestions at the end including underlining, highlighting, circling key words, using vertical lines to mark shifts in tone/subject, numbering points in an argument, and keeping track of questions that occur to you as you read. 

How Annotation Reshapes Student Thinking (TeacherHUB)

In this article, a high school teacher discusses the importance of annotation and how annotation encourages more effective critical thinking.

The Future of Annotation (Journal of Business and Technical Communication)

This scholarly article summarizes research on the benefits of annotation in the classroom and in business. It also discusses how technology and digital texts might affect the future of annotation. 

Annotating to Deepen Understanding (Texas Education Agency)

This website provides another introduction to annotation (designed for 11th graders). It includes a helpful section that teaches students how to annotate reading comprehension passages on tests.

Once you understand what annotation is, you're ready to begin. But what tools do you need? How do you prepare? The resources linked in this section list strategies and techniques you can use to start annotating. 

What is Annotating? (Charleston County School District)

This resource gives an overview of annotation styles, including useful shorthands and symbols. This is a good place for a student who has never annotated before to begin.

How to Annotate Text While Reading (YouTube)

This video tutorial (appropriate for grades 6–10) explains the basic ins and outs of annotation and gives examples of the type of information students should be looking for.

Annotation Practices: Reading a Play-text vs. Watching Film (U Calgary)

This blog post, written by a student, talks about how the goals and approaches of annotation might change depending on the type of text or performance being observed. 

Annotating Texts with Sticky Notes (Lyndhurst Schools)

Sometimes students are asked to annotate books they don't own or can't write in for other reasons. This resource provides some strategies for using sticky notes instead.

Teaching Students to Close Read...When You Can't Mark the Text (Performing in Education)

Here, a sixth grade teacher demonstrates the strategies she uses for getting her students to annotate with sticky notes. This resource includes a link to the teacher's free Annotation Bookmark (via Teachers Pay Teachers).

Digital texts can present a special challenge when it comes to annotation; emerging research suggests that many students struggle to critically read and retain information from digital texts. However, proper annotation can solve the problem. This section contains links to the most highly-utilized platforms for electronic annotation.

Evernote is one of the two big players in the "digital annotation apps" game. In addition to allowing users to annotate digital documents, the service (for a fee) allows users to group multiple formats (PDF, webpages, scanned hand-written notes) into separate notebooks, create voice recordings, and sync across all sorts of devices. 

OneNote is Evernote's main competitor. Reviews suggest that OneNote allows for more freedom for digital note-taking than Evernote, but that it is slightly more awkward to import and annotate a PDF, especially on certain platforms. However, OneNote's free version is slightly more feature-filled, and OneNote allows you to link your notes to time stamps on an audio recording.

Diigo is a basic browser extension that allows a user to annotate webpages. Diigo also offers a Screenshot app that allows for direct saving to Google Drive.

While the creators of Hypothesis like to focus on their app's social dimension, students are more likely to be interested in the private highlighting and annotating functions of this program.

Foxit PDF Reader

Foxit is one of the leading PDF readers. Though the full suite must be purchased, Foxit offers a number of annotation and highlighting tools for free.

Nitro PDF Reader

This is another well-reviewed, free PDF reader that includes annotation and highlighting. Annotation, text editing, and other tools are included in the free version.

Goodreader is a very popular Mac-only app that includes annotation and editing tools for PDFs, Word documents, Powerpoint, and other formats.

Although textbooks have vocabulary lists, summaries, and other features to emphasize important material, annotation can allow students to process information and discover their own connections. This section links to guides and video tutorials that introduce you to textbook annotation. 

Annotating Textbooks (Niagara University)

This PDF provides a basic introduction as well as strategies including focusing on main ideas, working by section or chapter, annotating in your own words, and turning section headings into questions.

A Simple Guide to Text Annotation (Catawba College)

The simple, practical strategies laid out in this step-by-step guide will help students learn how to break down chapters in their textbooks using main ideas, definitions, lists, summaries, and potential test questions.

Annotating (Mercer Community College)

This packet, an excerpt from a literature textbook, provides a short exercise and some examples of how to do textbook annotation, including using shorthand and symbols.

Reading Your Healthcare Textbook: Annotation (Saddleback College)

This powerpoint contains a number of helpful suggestions, especially for students who are new to annotation. It emphasizes limited highlighting, lots of student writing, and using key words to find the most important information in a textbook. Despite the title, it is useful to a student in any discipline.

Annotating a Textbook (Excelsior College OWL)

This video (with included transcript) discusses how to use textbook features like boxes and sidebars to help guide annotation. It's an extremely helpful, detailed discussion of how textbooks are organized.

Because scholarly articles and books have complex arguments and often depend on technical vocabulary, they present particular challenges for an annotating student. The resources in this section help students get to the heart of scholarly texts in order to annotate and, by extension, understand the reading.

Annotating a Text (Hunter College)

This resource is designed for college students and shows how to annotate a scholarly article using highlighting, paraphrase, a descriptive outline, and a two-margin approach. It ends with a sample passage marked up using the strategies provided. 

Guide to Annotating the Scholarly Article (ReadWriteThink.org)

This is an effective introduction to annotating scholarly articles across all disciplines. This resource encourages students to break down how the article uses primary and secondary sources and to annotate the types of arguments and persuasive strategies (synthesis, analysis, compare/contrast).

How to Highlight and Annotate Your Research Articles (CHHS Media Center)

This video, developed by a high school media specialist, provides an effective beginner-level introduction to annotating research articles. 

How to Read a Scholarly Book (AndrewJacobs.org)

In this essay, a college professor lets readers in on the secrets of scholarly monographs. Though he does not discuss annotation, he explains how to find a scholarly book's thesis, methodology, and often even a brief literature review in the introduction. This is a key place for students to focus when creating annotations. 

A 5-step Approach to Reading Scholarly Literature and Taking Notes (Heather Young Leslie)

This resource, written by a professor of anthropology, is an even more comprehensive and detailed guide to reading scholarly literature. Combining the annotation techniques above with the reading strategy here allows students to process scholarly book efficiently. 

Annotation is also an important part of close reading works of literature. Annotating helps students recognize symbolism, double meanings, and other literary devices. These resources provide additional guidelines on annotating literature.

AP English Language Annotation Guide (YouTube)

In this ~10 minute video, an AP Language teacher provides tips and suggestions for using annotations to point out rhetorical strategies and other important information.

Annotating Text Lesson (YouTube)

In this video tutorial, an English teacher shows how she uses the white board to guide students through annotation and close reading. This resource uses an in-depth example to model annotation step-by-step.

Close Reading a Text and Avoiding Pitfalls (Purdue OWL)

This resources demonstrates how annotation is a central part of a solid close reading strategy; it also lists common mistakes to avoid in the annotation process.

AP Literature Assignment: Annotating Literature (Mount Notre Dame H.S.)

This brief assignment sheet contains suggestions for what to annotate in a novel, including building connections between parts of the book, among multiple books you are reading/have read, and between the book and your own experience. It also includes samples of quality annotations.

AP Handout: Annotation Guide (Covington Catholic H.S.)

This annotation guide shows how to keep track of symbolism, figurative language, and other devices in a novel using a highlighter, a pencil, and every part of a book (including the front and back covers).

In addition to written resources, it's possible to annotate visual "texts" like theatrical performances, movies, sculptures, and paintings. Taking notes on visual texts allows students to recall details after viewing a resource which, unlike a book, can't be re-read or re-visited ( for example, a play that has finished its run, or an art exhibition that is far away). These resources draw attention to the special questions and techniques that students should use when dealing with visual texts.

How to Take Notes on Videos (U of Southern California)

This resource is a good place to start for a student who has never had to take notes on film before. It briefly outlines three general approaches to note-taking on a film. 

How to Analyze a Movie, Step-by-Step (San Diego Film Festival)

This detailed guide provides lots of tips for film criticism and analysis. It contains a list of specific questions to ask with respect to plot, character development, direction, musical score, cinematography, special effects, and more. 

How to "Read" a Film (UPenn)

This resource provides an academic perspective on the art of annotating and analyzing a film. Like other resources, it provides students a checklist of things to watch out for as they watch the film.

Art Annotation Guide (Gosford Hill School)

This resource focuses on how to annotate a piece of art with respect to its formal elements like line, tone, mood, and composition. It contains a number of helpful questions and relevant examples. 

Photography Annotation (Arts at Trinity)

This resource is designed specifically for photography students. Like some of the other resources on this list, it primarily focuses on formal elements, but also shows students how to integrate the specific technical vocabulary of modern photography. This resource also contains a number of helpful sample annotations.

How to Review a Play (U of Wisconsin)

This resource from the University of Wisconsin Writing Center is designed to help students write a review of a play. It contains suggested questions for students to keep in mind as they watch a given production. This resource helps students think about staging, props, script alterations, and many other key elements of a performance.

This section contains links to lessons plans and exercises suitable for high school and college instructors.

Beyond the Yellow Highlighter: Teaching Annotation Skills to Improve Reading Comprehension (English Journal)

In this journal article, a high school teacher talks about her approach to teaching annotation. This article makes a clear distinction between annotation and mere highlighting.

Lesson Plan for Teaching Annotation, Grades 9–12 (readwritethink.org)

This lesson plan, published by the National Council of Teachers of English, contains four complete lessons that help introduce high school students to annotation.

Teaching Theme Using Close Reading (Performing in Education)

This lesson plan was developed by a middle school teacher, and is aligned to Common Core. The teacher presents her strategies and resources in comprehensive fashion.

Analyzing a Speech Using Annotation (UNC-TV/PBS Learning Media)

This complete lesson plan, which includes a guide for the teacher and relevant handouts for students, will prepare students to analyze both the written and presentation components of a speech. This lesson plan is best for students in 6th–10th grade.

Writing to Learn History: Annotation and Mini-Writes (teachinghistory.org)

This teaching guide, developed for high school History classes, provides handouts and suggested exercises that can help students become more comfortable with annotating historical sources.

Writing About Art (The College Board)

This Prezi presentation is useful to any teacher introducing students to the basics of annotating art. The presentation covers annotating for both formal elements and historical/cultural significance.

Film Study Worksheets (TeachWithMovies.org)

This resource contains links to a general film study worksheet, as well as specific worksheets for novel adaptations, historical films, documentaries, and more. These resources are appropriate for advanced middle school students and some high school students. 

Annotation Practice Worksheet (La Guardia Community College)

This worksheet has a sample text and instructions for students to annotate it. It is a useful resource for teachers who want to give their students a chance to practice, but don't have the time to select an appropriate piece of text. 

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Education , How To , University-College , Writing · August 17, 2021

How to Annotate a Text for University

This post may contain affiliate links, which means I’ll receive a commission if you purchase through my links, at no extra cost to you. Please read my  full disclosure  for more information.

Annotating a text, book, academic essay and/or article for university is an invaluable skill that I truly believe every student should learn. It can seem and be challenging at first. But once you start and find your style of annotating, reading and comprehending texts becomes much easier and yes, enjoyable.

In this post, I will walk you through on how to successfully annotate a text for university! 

You can watch the video instead :

What is ‘annotating’?

Annotating is the act of taking notes on a text (essay, article, book, etc.). Annotation is done through the acts of highlighting, underlining, as well as writing notes in the margin of a text.

Essentially, you add your own comments, thoughts, and notes on the text that you are reading.

Furthermore, annotating is also linked to the term of “close reading.”

Why annotate?

Annotating gives you extra insights and simultaneously unlocks further comprehension surrounding the text that you’re reading. 

This is largely due in part for the active reading and understanding of the text when you take the time to absorb and comment on the text. It’s the opposite passive and/or distracted, quick reading.

Instead, you are in conversation with the text. In this matter, the text becomes personal and intimate to you. In the future, you will remember more from it. And if not, you can always look through your annotations for the ideas you missed or have forgotten.  

Benefits of annotating

There are very many benefits of annotating. Many of the benefits are not solely academic related as many people – including myself – find annotating enjoyable, making the reading experience pleasurable and memorable. 

Here are some of the main benefits:

• You’re more engaged with your reading and therefore important details don’t pass you by
• It helps you find the main ideas, thoughts, and arguments of a text 
• You can find quotes and information much quicker when you need to recall them e.g., when you’re composing a response or an essay, or for other citing purposes; when you’re studying for a test or an exam, etc. 

How to annotate?

There are so so many ways to annotate. Eventually you will determine a style of annotation that suits you and is convenient to you. Also note that different books as well as different forms of texts might require different types of annotation for you. 

Here are some of the common ways of annotating:

1. You can record your emotional responses and thoughts as you read the text 

• I personally even write words like (Haha, Oh No, So sad, 😭, ❤️, Omg, WTF, etc.)
• Basically, write down your thoughts as they come up!

2. You can mark the changes and shifts of the text

• E.g., the story switches from a character to a narrator
• E.g., suddenly there is a poem or a letter inside a novel
• You get the causal relationships and you can connect the dots 
• You establish the different points and ideas the author is trying to make

3. Write notes in the margin or on sticky notes

• I used to write my commentary on sticky notes but I found that they might get lost
• You can also do that too: carry an extra notebook or online document for your annotations 

4. Make summaries of each chapter and/or section you read

• In which you illustrate the key points, main characters and ideas, as well as new definitions and/or concepts 

5. Circle or underline uncertain words or new vocabulary

• It not only enriches your reading experience, but also your learning as you gain further knowledge and comprehension of the materials you read

6. Star ⭐️ any important or pivotal scenes or ideas 

• Plus it will be easier to flip back to the passages you starred  

7. Add a question mark ❓ next to the things you’re uncertain of / don’t understand 

• This will allow you to do further research online
• To ask your professor what a certain concept or passage means, ask for clarifications 

8. Exclamation points ( ! ) for dramatic scenes, plot twists (if you’re reading a novel), and new ideas that took you by surprise 

• Remember: the point of annotating is to code, organize, and engage with the text 

9. Highlight (or circle) character names in one colour every time new characters are introduced

• Super confusing to read without my initial annotations to keep me on track

10. Highlight the different literary devices

• Note any symbols, imagery, metaphors, figurative speech, etc.
• It’s not only about the ideas and characters but it’s also about how and what language is used to describe characters, places, and patterns of speech

11. Tab with sticky tag notes the most important passages, quotes, concepts, etc. 

• For your favourite passages
• Your most important theme, character, quotes
• What you want to use for essay

12. And finally, you can also use the colour coded method when highlighting (or underlining) your books (or essays)

• E.g., Underline blue for setting,
• yellow for characters,
• green for specific theme or for a repeated motif, etc. 
• E.g., Highlight o range for trauma, 
• blue for motherhood, 
• yellow for immigration, 
• and green for love, etc.

Those are my 12 methods on how to annotate a text for university. 

As I said, you get better at annotating through practice!

Eventually, you will learn your own patterns of thinking and therefore annotating. Every text might require different annotation and annotation style from you. 

In university, I had texts littered with annotations but they all had different codes, colours, and notes. 

Another thing worth mentioning is that I only annotate when I need. Therefore, I don’t always need to annotate! 

But since I want to annotate the text I read (for school and for personal pleasure) because it allows me further engagement and enjoyment with everything that I read.

What is your favourite annotation method? What is the book you most annotated? 📝

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August 18, 2021 at 6:41 pm

Interesting. I didn’t really do this in the university though but it doesn’t seem like a bad idea to imbibe that practice. But I’ll tell you my old Bible literally suffered from lots of annotations. If only it could speak…

August 19, 2021 at 11:55 am

Yesss! I love doing this when I read a good book. Great idea!

August 19, 2021 at 2:26 pm

Oh, this is good. Not just for University learning, but with any content. That’s why I love good old pen and paper, helps me retain better. No thanks, Kindle lol!

August 28, 2021 at 12:11 am

Right here is the perfect website for everyone who would like to understand this topic. You understand so much its almost hard to argue with you (not that I really would want to…HaHa). You definitely put a fresh spin on a subject that’s been written about for a long time. Wonderful stuff, just wonderful!

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How to Annotate

Last Updated: October 31, 2023 Fact Checked

This article was co-authored by Alexander Peterman, MA and by wikiHow staff writer, Hannah Madden . Alexander Peterman is a Private Tutor in Florida. He received his MA in Education from the University of Florida in 2017. There are 9 references cited in this article, which can be found at the bottom of the page. This article has been fact-checked, ensuring the accuracy of any cited facts and confirming the authority of its sources. This article has been viewed 338,016 times.

Slogging through a tough text is hard, and it can be even harder if you aren’t retaining the information. Annotating text is a purposeful note taking system that encourages close reading and literary analysis. When you go back to review a book or article, your annotations should help you find important information and jog your memory about relevant information. Your annotation system can be highly personalized, but you should establish your method before you start to read to make it easier on yourself.

Sample Annotations

Highlighting Important Information

• Clearly annotate the thesis and key parts of the argument in an essay. Underline evidence that you find questionable. This will be useful if you want to argue that the author’s thesis is wrong.
• Annotations on works of literature usually identify plot, character, and theme. However, they can also include setting, vocabulary and figurative language.
• If you are reading for pleasure, highlight points that you found very interesting and that you might want to go back to. Consider, for example, annotating quotes that you really like and might want to use later. In addition, if you run across a big idea that changes the way you think, highlight it so that you can return to it.

• Slow down. Read aloud verbally or in your mind. Don't skim through the text.
• You can also underline key terms or put brackets around longer phrases.

• In an essay, the thesis is typically in the first paragraph, but not always. It summarizes the main point or idea of the essay.
• The theme won't be a sentence. Instead, look for the repetition of certain ideas or significant passages (usually during the climax of the story).

• Pens aren’t great since you can't erase it if you make a mistake. It may also take away from the sell-back value if this is a textbook.
• If you choose to use a pen, consider blue. It will stand out from the black text of the book, but it won't detract from it, like hot pink or purple might.
• If you can’t stand to write directly into your book, use Post-It notes instead.

• Most e-book readers will allow you to highlight passages. Some will even allow you to use multiple colors when highlighting the text.
• If you don't have a highlighter, put brackets around the passage instead. You can do this with a pencil or a colored ballpoint pen (i.e.: pink, purple, blue, red, etc).
• If you're a visual learner, you can also artistically annotate important passages by drawing them and then writing an explanation of what your drawing is.
• Stick to highlighting super important information. If your entire text is covered in highlighter, you won’t be able to figure out what’s actually important.

• For example, you may want to circle new vocabulary, box figurative language, underline thematic statements, and place parentheses around descriptions of settings.
• You can use different color highlighters to identify text relevant to character, theme, or setting. You can also use different color highlighters to identify important statements about different characters.
• You can create different symbols to make it easier to identify relevant pages. For example, an asterisk in the margins or top of the page could identify pages with major parts of the argument. You can use arrows to point to quotes that you know you will use during the essay.

• For an e-reader, write a note at the beginning of the text.
• Be as consistent as you can with your symbols so you understand what you were trying to say.

Taking Notes

• A common mistake with annotations is to underline too much and take too few notes. Your notes will help you to make important connections that you can refer to later. Otherwise, you might forget what it was that you found to be important about the underlined section.

• You won't always have to do this, especially if it is an essay.
• Consider making your predictions on Post-it notes or on a separate sheet of paper. This will free up your margins for more important information.

• Keep a list of themes and important figurative elements. This is especially important if you are going to be asked to do a literary analysis or write an essay. You can write these on a separate piece of paper, or on a blank page in the front of the book.
• While you're reading the text, keep track of moments when major characters change or evolve.
• List comments and page numbers under each theme. The more detailed you are, the easier it will be to write a paper and provide evidence.

• In a book, you can write this in the space between chapters. For e-books, write notes at the end of the text in the chapter. You can also write comments on a separate piece of paper or in a word file.
• You can also make a list of reflective questions to ask yourself at the end of every chapter so it's easier to summarize them.

Using Annotations to Understand a Tough Text

• Write these in the margins in pencil or on a separate sheet of paper.
• When you get the answer, go back and write it under the question. If it's too long, write the page or paragraph number that the answer can be found on.

• If there is enough space, you can write the definition under the passage. For example, text books often have several line breaks between paragraphs. Take advantage of these.
• Take note of any key terms as well. Mark these in the passage so that you can see how they are used.

• You can write these directly next to the words as they appear, or you can keep a list on a separate piece of paper to look back on later.

• If, for example, you are reading a book on chemistry, you could number each step necessary to produce a chemical reaction.

Annotating Digital Text

• If you’re using a tablet, you can write on the margins of the PDF with a stylus to take notes.

• Diigo, A.nnotate, and Kindle for PC are a few popular browser extensions for annotation.
• You should note that these browser extensions will often not let you annotate PDFs or word files—they’re for web pages only.

• Once your annotations are turned on, you can use a pen tool, highlight tool, and even share your screen with others so they can see your notes.
• You can also annotate on the Zoom app if you’re using a mobile device.

Community Q&A

• When annotating a book, add your opinion and what you feel about a particular sentence. Thanks Helpful 3 Not Helpful 0
• Remember to erase pencil notations before returning the book to a library or school classroom. Thanks Helpful 3 Not Helpful 2

You Might Also Like

• ↑ https://www.kellogg.edu/upload/eng151text/chapter/text-how-to-annotate/index.html
• ↑ https://www.covcath.org/uploaded/06_Students/Annotation_Guide_AP_Language.pdf
• ↑ https://www.hunter.cuny.edu/rwc/handouts/the-writing-process-1/invention/Annotating-a-Text/
• ↑ https://learningcenter.unc.edu/tips-and-tools/annotating-texts/
• ↑ http://www.hunter.cuny.edu/rwc/handouts/the-writing-process-1/invention/Annotating-a-Text/
• ↑ https://research.ewu.edu/writers_c_read_study_strategies
• ↑ https://www.chino.k12.ca.us/site/handlers/filedownload.ashx?moduleinstanceid=34965&dataid=72719&FileName=Annotation%20Guidelines.pdf
• ↑ https://techstyle.lmc.gatech.edu/how-to-annotate-digital-texts/
• ↑ https://support.zoom.us/hc/en-us/articles/115005706806-Using-annotation-tools-on-a-shared-screen-or-whiteboard

About This Article

Before you annotate a text, read it thoroughly so you can identify the main points or themes that you want to focus on. Next, highlight important passages and use different markings to identify things you want to make note of. For example, you can circle the names of any new characters as they appear, or underline statements relating to the theme. Then, create a legend by listing what each type of annotation means so that you can quickly find it again later. Finally, write an index of your notes on the text by writing down the page numbers and a short description of your observation on a separate paper. For tips from our Education reviewer on how to summarize each chapter in a text, read on! Did this summary help you? Yes No

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Narrative Essay

How to write an annotation.

One of the greatest challenges students face is adjusting to college reading expectations.  Unlike high school, students in college are expected to read more “academic” type of materials in less time and usually recall the information as soon as the next class.

The problem is many students spend hours reading and have no idea what they just read.  Their eyes are moving across the page, but their mind is somewhere else. The end result is wasted time, energy, and frustration…and having to read the text again.

Although students are taught  how to read  at an early age, many are not taught  how to actively engage  with written text or other media. Annotation is a tool to help you learn how to actively engage with a text or other media.

View the following video about how to annotate a text.

Annotating a text or other media (e.g. a video, image, etc.) is as much about you as it is the text you are annotating. What are YOUR responses to the author’s writing, claims and ideas? What are YOU thinking as you consider the work? Ask questions, challenge, think!

When we annotate an author’s work, our minds should encounter the mind of the author, openly and freely. If you met the author at a party, what would you like to tell to them; what would you like to ask them? What do you think they would say in response to your comments? You can be critical of the text, but you do not have to be. If you are annotating properly, you often begin to get ideas that have little or even nothing to do with the topic you are annotating. That’s fine: it’s all about generating insights and ideas of your own. Any good insight is worth keeping because it may make for a good essay or research paper later on.

The Secret is in the Pen

One of the ways proficient readers read is with a pen in hand. They know their purpose is to keep their attention on the material by:

• Predicting  what the material will be about
• Questioning  the material to further understanding
• Determining  what’s important
• Identifying  key vocabulary
• Summarizing  the material in their own words, and
• Monitoring  their comprehension (understanding) during and after engaging with the material

The same applies for mindfully viewing a film, video, image or other media.

Annotating a Text

Review the video, “How to Annotate a Text.”  Pay attention to both how to make annotations and what types of thoughts and ideas may be part of your annotations as you actively read a written text.

Example Assignment Format: Annotating a Written Text

For the annotation of reading assignments in this class, you will cite and comment on a minimum of FIVE (5) phrases, sentences or passages from notes you take on the selected readings.

Here is an example format for an assignment to annotate a written text:

Example Assignment Format: Annotating Media

In addition to annotating written text, at times you will have assignments to annotate media (e.g., videos, images or other media). For the annotation of media assignments in this class, you will cite and comment on a minimum of THREE (3) statements, facts, examples, research or any combination of those from the notes you take about selected media.

Here is an example format for an assignment to annotate media:

• Provided by : Lumen Learning. Located at : http://www.lumenlearning.com/ . License : CC BY: Attribution
• Authored by : Paul Powell . Provided by : Central Community College. Project : Kaleidoscope Open Course Initiative. License : CC BY: Attribution
• Authored by : Elisabeth Ellington and Ronda Dorsey Neugebauer . Provided by : Chadron State College. Project : Kaleidoscope Open Course Initiative. License : CC BY: Attribution
• Annotating a Text. Authored by : HaynesEnglish. Located at : http://youtu.be/pf9CTJj9dCM . License : All Rights Reserved . License Terms : Standard YouTube license
• How to Annotate a Text. Authored by : Kthiebau90. Located at : http://youtu.be/IzrWOj0gWHU . License : All Rights Reserved . License Terms : Standard YouTube License

Writers' Center

Eastern Washington University

Reading and Study Strategies

What is annotating and why do it, annotation explained, steps to annotating a source, annotating strategies.

• Using a Dictionary
• Study Skills

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What is Annotating?

Annotating is any action that deliberately interacts with a text to enhance the reader's understanding of, recall of, and reaction to the text. Sometimes called "close reading," annotating usually involves highlighting or underlining key pieces of text and making notes in the margins of the text. This page will introduce you to several effective strategies for annotating a text that will help you get the most out of your reading.

Why Annotate?

By annotating a text, you will ensure that you understand what is happening in a text after you've read it. As you annotate, you should note the author's main points, shifts in the message or perspective of the text, key areas of focus, and your own thoughts as you read. However, annotating isn't just for people who feel challenged when reading academic texts. Even if you regularly understand and remember what you read, annotating will help you summarize a text, highlight important pieces of information, and ultimately prepare yourself for discussion and writing prompts that your instructor may give you. Annotating means you are doing the hard work while you read, allowing you to reference your previous work and have a clear jumping-off point for future work.

1. Survey : This is your first time through the reading

You can annotate by hand or by using document software. You can also annotate on post-its if you have a text you do not want to mark up. As you annotate, use these strategies to make the most of your efforts:

• Include a key or legend on your paper that indicates what each marking is for, and use a different marking for each type of information. Example: Underline for key points, highlight for vocabulary, and circle for transition points.
• If you use highlighters, consider using different colors for different types of reactions to the text. Example: Yellow for definitions, orange for questions, and blue for disagreement/confusion.
• Dedicate different tasks to each margin: Use one margin to make an outline of the text (thesis statement, description, definition #1, counter argument, etc.) and summarize main ideas, and use the other margin to note your thoughts, questions, and reactions to the text.

Lastly, as you annotate, make sure you are including descriptions of the text as well as your own reactions to the text. This will allow you to skim your notations at a later date to locate key information and quotations, and to recall your thought processes more easily and quickly.

• Next: Using a Dictionary >>
• Last Updated: Apr 25, 2024 2:50 PM
• URL: https://research.ewu.edu/writers_c_read_study_strategies

• How to Annotate

Where to Make Notes

First, determine how you will annotate the text you are about to read. 

If it is a printed article, you may be able to just write in the margins. A colored pen might make it easier to see than black or even blue. 

If it is an article posted on the web, you could also you Diigo , which is a highlighting and annotating tool that you can use on the website and even share your notes with your instructor. Other note-taking plug-ins for web browsers might serve a similar function. 

If it is a textbook that you do not own (or wish to sell back), use post it notes to annotate in the margins.

You can also use a notebook to keep written commentary as you read in any platform, digital or print. If you do this, be sure to leave enough information about the specific text you’re responding to that you can find it later if you need to. (Make notes about page number, which paragraph it is, or even short quotes to help you locate the passage again.)

What Notes to Make

Now you will annotate the document by adding your own words, phrases, and summaries to the written text. For the following examples, the article “ Guinea Worm Facts ” was used.

• Scan the document you are annotating. Some obvious clues will be apparent before you read it, such as titles or headers for sections. Read the first paragraph. Somewhere in the first (or possibly the second) paragraph should be a BIG IDEA about what the article is going to be about. In the margins, near the top, write down the big idea of the article in your own words. This shouldn’t be more than a phrase or a sentence. This big idea is likely the article’s thesis.
• Underline topic sentences or phrases that express the main idea for that paragraph or section. You should never underline more than 5 words, though for large paragraphs or blocks of text, you can use brackets. (Underlining long stretches gets messy, and makes it hard to review the text later.) Write in the margin next to what you’ve underlined a summary of the paragraph or the idea being expressed.

• “Depending on the outcome of the assessment, the commission recommends to WHO which formerly endemic countries should be declared free of transmission, i.e., certified as free of the disease.” –> ?? What does this mean? Who is WHO?
• “Guinea worm disease incapacitates victims for extended periods of time making them unable to work or grow enough food to feed their families or attend school.” –> My dad was sick for a while and couldn’t work. This was hard on our family.
• “Guinea worm disease is set to become the second human disease in history, after smallpox, to be eradicated.” –> Eradicated = to put an end to, destroy

To summarize how you will annotate text:

1. Identify the BIG IDEA 2. Underline topic sentences or main ideas 3. Connect ideas with arrows 4. Ask questions 5. Add personal notes 6. Define technical words

Like many skills, annotating takes practice. Remember that the main goal for doing this is to give you a strategy for reading text that may be more complicated and technical than what you are used to.

• Revision and Adaptation. Provided by : Lumen Learning. License : CC BY-NC: Attribution-NonCommercial
• How to Annotate Text. Provided by : Biology Corner. Located at : https://biologycorner.com/worksheets/annotate.html . License : CC BY-NC: Attribution-NonCommercial
• Image of taking notes. Authored by : Security & Defence Agenda. Located at : https://flic.kr/p/8NunXe . License : CC BY: Attribution
• Table of Contents

Instructor Resources (available upon sign-in)

• Overview of Instructor Resources
• Quiz Survey

Reading: Types of Reading Material

• Introduction to Reading
• Outcome: Types of Reading Material
• Characteristics of Texts, Part 1
• Characteristics of Texts, Part 2
• Characteristics of Texts, Part 3
• Characteristics of Texts, Conclusion
• Self Check: Types of Writing

Reading: Reading Strategies

• Outcome: Reading Strategies
• The Rhetorical Situation
• Academic Reading Strategies
• Self Check: Reading Strategies

Reading: Specialized Reading Strategies

• Outcome: Specialized Reading Strategies
• Online Reading Comprehension
• How to Read Effectively in Math
• How to Read Effectively in the Social Sciences
• How to Read Effectively in the Sciences
• 5 Step Approach for Reading Charts and Graphs
• Self Check: Specialized Reading Strategies

Reading: Vocabulary

• Outcome: Vocabulary
• Strategies to Improve Your Vocabulary
• Using Context Clues
• The Relationship Between Reading and Vocabulary
• Self Check: Vocabulary

Reading: Thesis

• Outcome: Thesis
• Locating and Evaluating Thesis Statements
• The Organizational Statement
• Self Check: Thesis

Reading: Supporting Claims

• Outcome: Supporting Claims
• Types of Support
• Supporting Claims
• Self Check: Supporting Claims

Reading: Logic and Structure

• Outcome: Logic and Structure
• Rhetorical Modes
• Inductive and Deductive Reasoning
• Diagramming and Evaluating Arguments
• Logical Fallacies
• Evaluating Appeals to Ethos, Logos, and Pathos
• Self Check: Logic and Structure

Reading: Summary Skills

• Outcome: Summary Skills
• Paraphrasing
• Quote Bombs
• Summary Writing
• Self Check: Summary Skills
• Conclusion to Reading

Writing Process: Topic Selection

• Introduction to Writing Process
• Outcome: Topic Selection
• Starting a Paper
• Choosing and Developing Topics
• Back to the Future of Topics
• Developing Your Topic
• Self Check: Topic Selection

Writing Process: Prewriting

• Outcome: Prewriting
• Prewriting Strategies for Diverse Learners
• Rhetorical Context
• Working Thesis Statements
• Self Check: Prewriting

Writing Process: Finding Evidence

• Outcome: Finding Evidence
• Using Personal Examples
• Performing Background Research
• Listening to Sources, Talking to Sources
• Self Check: Finding Evidence

Writing Process: Organizing

• Outcome: Organizing
• Moving Beyond the Five-Paragraph Theme
• Introduction to Argument
• The Three-Story Thesis
• Organically Structured Arguments
• Logic and Structure
• The Perfect Paragraph
• Introductions and Conclusions
• Self Check: Organizing

Writing Process: Drafting

• Outcome: Drafting
• From Outlining to Drafting
• Flash Drafts
• Self Check: Drafting

Writing Process: Revising

• Outcome: Revising
• Seeking Input from Others
• Responding to Input from Others
• The Art of Re-Seeing
• Higher Order Concerns
• Self Check: Revising

Writing Process: Proofreading

• Outcome: Proofreading
• Lower Order Concerns
• Proofreading Advice
• "Correctness" in Writing
• The Importance of Spelling
• Punctuation Concerns
• Self Check: Proofreading
• Conclusion to Writing Process

Research Process: Finding Sources

• Introduction to Research Process
• Outcome: Finding Sources
• The Research Process
• Finding Sources
• What are Scholarly Articles?
• Finding Scholarly Articles and Using Databases
• Database Searching
• Advanced Search Strategies
• Preliminary Research Strategies
• Reading and Using Scholarly Sources
• Self Check: Finding Sources

Research Process: Source Analysis

• Outcome: Source Analysis
• Evaluating Sources
• CRAAP Analysis
• Evaluating Websites
• Synthesizing Sources
• Self Check: Source Analysis

Research Process: Writing Ethically

• Outcome: Writing Ethically
• Academic Integrity
• Defining Plagiarism
• Avoiding Plagiarism
• Using Sources in Your Writing
• Self Check: Writing Ethically

Research Process: MLA Documentation

• Introduction to MLA Documentation
• Outcome: MLA Documentation
• MLA Document Formatting
• MLA Works Cited
• Creating MLA Citations
• MLA In-Text Citations
• Self Check: MLA Documentation
• Conclusion to Research Process

Grammar: Nouns and Pronouns

• Introduction to Grammar
• Outcome: Nouns and Pronouns
• Pronoun Cases and Types
• Pronoun Antecedents
• Try It: Nouns and Pronouns
• Self Check: Nouns and Pronouns

Grammar: Verbs

• Outcome: Verbs
• Verb Tenses and Agreement
• Non-Finite Verbs
• Complex Verb Tenses
• Try It: Verbs
• Self Check: Verbs

Grammar: Other Parts of Speech

• Outcome: Other Parts of Speech
• Comparing Adjectives and Adverbs
• Adjectives and Adverbs
• Conjunctions
• Prepositions
• Try It: Other Parts of Speech
• Self Check: Other Parts of Speech

Grammar: Punctuation

• Outcome: Punctuation
• End Punctuation
• Hyphens and Dashes
• Apostrophes and Quotation Marks
• Brackets, Parentheses, and Ellipses
• Semicolons and Colons
• Try It: Punctuation
• Self Check: Punctuation

Grammar: Sentence Structure

• Outcome: Sentence Structure
• Parts of a Sentence
• Common Sentence Structures
• Run-on Sentences
• Sentence Fragments
• Parallel Structure
• Try It: Sentence Structure
• Self Check: Sentence Structure

Grammar: Voice

• Outcome: Voice
• Active and Passive Voice
• Using the Passive Voice
• Conclusion to Grammar
• Try It: Voice
• Self Check: Voice

Success Skills

• Introduction to Success Skills
• Habits for Success
• Critical Thinking
• Time Management
• Writing in College
• Computer-Based Writing
• Conclusion to Success Skills

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Great Ideas From Readers

How Students and Teachers Benefit From Students Annotating Their Own Writing

Three ways to integrate annotation into the writing process that are inspired by our Annotated by the Author series.

By Matthew Johnson

A couple of years ago, we began a new series called Annotated by the Author, part of our Mentor Texts collection , in which we invite New York Times journalists, and winners of our student contests, to annotate their work, revealing the writing choices they made and explaining why they made them.

That series inspired Matthew Johnson, a writing teacher at Community High School in Ann Arbor, Mich. , to have his students try annotating their own writing. Below, he tells us how this kind of self-annotation can benefit both students and teachers. He also shares three simple, yet impactful, ways students can “talk” to their own work.

If you’d like to learn more about teaching with Annotated by the Author, and our other Times mentor texts, join us at our live webinar on Thursday, Oct. 21, at 4 p.m. Eastern .

And if you have an idea for teaching with The Times, tell us about it here or browse our full collection of Reader Ideas .

— The Learning Network

The first installment of The Learning Network’s Annotated by the Author series, where the science writer Nicholas St. Fleur dissects his article “ Tiny Tyrannosaur Hints at How T. Rex Became King ,” was an instant hit in my classes, and not just because it had a tiny dinosaur. For many students, the window into the motivations, methods and moves of a seasoned writer opened their eyes to what goes into professional writing and what their own writing can be.

Last year, The Learning Network began to have the winners of their student contests annotate their work, and, like the series, my instruction using these annotated pieces grew as well. We used Abel John’s discussion of citing evidence in his editorial “Collar the Cat” to help us define what makes a source useful and reputable. Varya Kluev’s and Elizabeth Phelps’s insights into descriptive writing were just right to seed a conversation about how to artfully extend metaphors. And just this fall, I shared Ananya Udaygiri’s explanation of why she picked Animal Crossing as the topic for her editorial to help some of my seniors pick the right college essay topics for them.

Choosing a Topic to Write About With Ananya Udaygiri

My name is Ananya Udaygiri And I am the author of ‘How Animal Crossing Will Save Gen Z.’ “Generation Z was born in the aftermath of 9/11, molded by the economic recession of 2008 and polished off by the coronavirus, the worst pandemic in a century, and that doesn’t even include the mounting crisis of climate change or the growing nationalism. Or the gun violence epidemic. Gen Z’s childhood is rooted in issues that would be unrecognizable only a decade prior. We are no strangers to a fight. So what drew us to a Japanese video game about living in a village with anthropomorphic animal neighbors? Like moths to a flame, or perhaps more appropriately, like children to their first love, Animal Crossing has captured the young teenage heart.” How did you choose this topic? So I wrote my essay in April, which obviously, the world was ending in April. So you began looking for those little pockets of calm. And within that I found Animal Crossing, which is this game that my friends and I love. I really wanted to talk about that feeling of peace that is so hard to find. And I was scared going in that I was writing about a video game. But ultimately, it was it was passion. It was something that I was passionate about. So I stuck on with it. “In a New York Times article focusing on Animal Crossing in the age of coronavirus, the author described how Animal Crossing was a miniature escape for those isolated by the pandemic. He labeled it as a bomb for the rushing tonnage of real world news. While that is certainly true, for Generation Z it encompasses all that and more.” I was a little relieved and surprised to find something about Animal Crossing, but actually that article really inspired more of my work because as I was reading through it, I noticed that I was thinking, oh, if only they had talked about how this relates to kids, if only they had talked more about Gen Z. And then I realized that, oh, I can do that. So going into my essay, it was inspired by other things I saw and other things that, more importantly, I wanted to see. “Our generation’s troubles are valid and growing. Buzzfeed News so aptly describes it as a ‘generation free-fall.’ So pick up your video game console. Load in Animal Crossing. Play the game. For Generation Z, Animal Crossing is hope, and it will save us all.” So my advice to any young writers wanting to participate in the contest is don’t feel pressured to choose a topic that doesn’t feel like you. You don’t have to write about political events that you don’t care about. You don’t have to write about economic trends in the stock market. Talk about things that matter to you. I wrote about video games. And I use simple language, but I’m more proud of writing this than any academic paper I’ve written for school.

As I watched these students in the series so thoughtfully dissect their pieces time and again, I also began to wonder why we don’t regularly have students annotate their own work in the classroom. Suggesting that students annotate, or talk to, texts as they read is commonplace, but before the Annotated by the Author series, I’d never seen someone ask students to annotate their own writing. Then, last winter, after reading Maria Fernanda Benavides’s particularly insightful explanation of how she shifted her sentence structure to match her emotions in her narrative “Speechless,” I decided to try having my students annotate their own writing, and I haven’t looked back since.

The Benefits of Annotation for Students and for Teachers

For students, the potential positives of unpacking and explaining their own writing were instantly apparent and significant. These are some of the common advantages I found:

Annotation develops metacognition . The act of annotation is the very definition of metacognition , which is when students think about their own thinking and processes. Engaging in this sort of metacognition has been shown to significantly improve student learning outcomes , in part because it requires students to actively engage in monitoring their own growth instead of relying on the teacher to do it for them.

It positions students as active, serious participants in their own writing growth . Regular annotation of their work also recognizes students as purposeful writers and decision makers who have something to say about their craft, which is very different from how student writers are often approached. This recognition can be both empowering and motivating, especially for students who have often felt that their voices weren’t heard by those around them.

And it makes students better readers. Annotating and unpacking their work can act as a safe training ground for students to learn to better dissect and discuss the work of others in workshops and peer review.

For teachers, student annotation can be equally useful, as it opens up the following opportunities:

It helps us to see students’ thinking. Annotation allows teachers a glimpse into the students’ inner monologues about writing. These monologues can help teachers better plan and calibrate lessons so they meet the needs of students.

It allows us to give more targeted feedback. Teachers can be more precise and responsive when providing feedback to and conferencing with students when that writing has annotations because they allow the teacher to see the student’s mind-set, process, understanding and motivations, and allow the teacher to respond accordingly.

And it reduces our workload. Annotation helps students to more accurately self-assess their work, which can save teachers significant amounts of time when it comes to assessment, even as it helps students better understand and chart their own learning journey.

Three Ways to Have Students Annotate Their Work

Once one starts to look for them, there are numerous places where student annotations of their writing might yield such positive results — so many that I feel I am just scratching the surface. Still, over the last year, I’ve found some particular areas where they’ve made the biggest difference in my classes:

Short, Skills-Focused Assignments

Much of my grammar and rhetoric instruction involves students writing shorter papers where they use a certain grammatical and rhetorical skill in the context of their own writing. I’ve found this type of grammar instruction to be far more effective than the grammar worksheets I used to do, but for many years I also found it more time-consuming to read and assess those extra papers.

This all changed, though, when students started annotating the choices they made. For example, in my class, we do a short unit on the grammatical tools writers can use to add emphasis (colons, dashes, appositives, parallel structure, purposeful fragments and so on). To assess their understanding of these “emphasizers,” I have my students write a rant on any topic that they want and then use the comments feature on Google Docs to explain how, when and why they used the tools we discussed in class.

By using the highlighted comments as a guide, I can now assess these pieces faster because I know exactly where to look. I can also assess them better because I can see in students’ own words how well they understand the concept.

Pre-feedback Moments

Feedback, whether it is from teachers or peers, tends to be a one-way street where the reader responds to the writer and then the conversation largely stops. I have found that while that approach can yield some growth, both peer and teacher responses often have a far larger impact when they are true conversations, especially when they are initiated by the author.

This is why I now have my students write annotations before getting peer and teacher responses to let the reader know what they are thinking, questioning and needing. Here is how I prompt them to do that:

These annotations don’t take long, but they often add a great deal — acting as icebreakers for conversation, ensuring that students get the help they need, and establishing a clear foundation from which both parties can work as collaborators toward improving the student’s piece.

Final Draft Self-Evaluations

More and more educators are growing interested in the idea of having students do meaningful self-assessment of their work in class. Self-assessment adds an additional layer of reflection and metacognition, and it can free up teachers to give feedback in the formative, or early, stages of student work, where it is most effective. Further, students assessing their work first can act as a bulwark against the possibility that students will feel blindsided or injured by grades and assessments because the teacher can see how they feel about their work first.

The trouble with self-assessment is that many students are unaccustomed to doing it, which can lead to problems with accuracy and students feeling unsure about how to evaluate themselves. Requiring students to use annotations to support their specific assessments can help with both of these issues: The act of finding and explaining the scores means that they need to be grounded in evidence, and the very act of looking for that evidence can help to train students in how to better assess themselves.

Here is the slide I use to prompt these kinds of self-assessments:

____________

Annotation can be a potent tool for helping students become better and more savvy readers, so it makes sense that it would also be a potent tool for helping students to become better and more savvy writers. The secret I’ve found to using it, though, is that the annotation needs to be meaningful. As soon as it feels more like a hoop to be jumped through, as can sometimes happen with misapplied classroom-required annotations during reading, all of the advantages of annotating their own work vanish in an instant.

This is why I explain much of what I share above with my students as a way to make a case for the value of annotating one’s own writing. It is also why I now use the essays from The Learning Network’s Annotated by the Author series both as mentor texts for the craft of writing and for the craft of learning how to dissect one’s own work.

Because when it serves a thoughtful purpose, student annotation is one of the most exciting pedagogical tools I’ve found in a long time — one that opens students up to what revision and writing can be, opens up the teacher to providing better and faster feedback and assessment, and generally opens up powerful lines of communication between both parties that often lie dormant.

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1.7: How to Write an Annotation

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One of the greatest challenges students face is adjusting to college reading expectations.  Unlike high school, students in college are expected to read more “academic” type of materials in less time and usually recall the information as soon as the next class.

The problem is many students spend hours reading and have no idea what they just read.  Their eyes are moving across the page, but their mind is somewhere else. The end result is wasted time, energy, and frustration…and having to read the text again.

Although students are taught  how to read  at an early age, many are not taught  how to actively engage  with written text or other media. Annotation is a tool to help you learn how to actively engage with a text or other media.

View the following video about how to annotate a text.

A YouTube element has been excluded from this version of the text. You can view it online here: http://pb.libretexts.org/temp/?p=1435

Annotating a text or other media (e.g. a video, image, etc.) is as much about you as it is the text you are annotating. What are YOUR responses to the author’s writing, claims and ideas? What are YOU thinking as you consider the work? Ask questions, challenge, think!

When we annotate an author’s work, our minds should encounter the mind of the author, openly and freely. If you met the author at a party, what would you like to tell to them; what would you like to ask them? What do you think they would say in response to your comments? You can be critical of the text, but you do not have to be. If you are annotating properly, you often begin to get ideas that have little or even nothing to do with the topic you are annotating. That’s fine: it’s all about generating insights and ideas of your own. Any good insight is worth keeping because it may make for a good essay or research paper later on.

The Secret is in the Pen

One of the ways proficient readers read is with a pen in hand. They know their purpose is to keep their attention on the material by:

• Predicting  what the material will be about
• Questioning  the material to further understanding
• Determining  what’s important
• Identifying  key vocabulary
• Summarizing  the material in their own words, and
• Monitoring  their comprehension (understanding) during and after engaging with the material

The same applies for mindfully viewing a film, video, image or other media.

Annotating a Text

Review the video, “How to Annotate a Text.”  Pay attention to both how to make annotations and what types of thoughts and ideas may be part of your annotations as you actively read a written text.

Example Assignment Format: Annotating a Written Text

For the annotation of reading assignments in this class, you will cite and comment on a minimum of FIVE (5) phrases, sentences or passages from notes you take on the selected readings.

Here is an example format for an assignment to annotate a written text:

Example Assignment Format: Annotating Media

In addition to annotating written text, at times you will have assignments to annotate media (e.g., videos, images or other media). For the annotation of media assignments in this class, you will cite and comment on a minimum of THREE (3) statements, facts, examples, research or any combination of those from the notes you take about selected media.

Here is an example format for an assignment to annotate media:

Annotating Texts

What is annotation.

Annotation 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 annotate?

• 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

How do you annotate?

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.

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?

Write brief comments and questions in the margins

• Be as specific or broad as you would like—use these questions to activate your thinking about the content
• See our handout on reading comprehension tips for some examples

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.

Highlight/underline

• Highlight or underline, but mindfully. Check out our resource on strategic highlighting for tips on when and how to highlight.

Use comment and highlight features built into pdfs, online/digital textbooks, or other apps and browser add-ons

• Are you using a pdf? Explore its highlight, edit, and comment functions to support your annotations
• Some browsers have add-ons or extensions that allow you to annotate web pages or web-based documents
• Does your digital or online textbook come with an annotation feature?
• Can your digital text be imported into a note-taking tool like OneNote, EverNote, or Google Keep? If so, you might be able to annotate texts in those apps

What are the most 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 mastery 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

The table below demonstrates this process using a geography textbook excerpt (Press 2004):

A common concern about annotating texts: It takes time!

Yes, it can, but that time isn’t lost—it’s invested.

Spending the time to annotate on the front end does two important things:

• It saves you time later when you’re studying. Your annotated notes will help speed up exam prep, because you can review critical concepts quickly and efficiently.
• It increases the likelihood that you will retain the information after the course is completed. This is especially important when you are supplying the building blocks of your mind and future career.

One last tip: Try separating the reading and annotating processes! Quickly read through a section of the text first, then go back and annotate.

Works consulted:

Nist, S., & Holschuh, J. (2000). Active learning: strategies for college success. Boston: Allyn and Bacon. 202-218.

Simpson, M., & Nist, S. (1990). Textbook annotation: An effective and efficient study strategy for college students. Journal of Reading, 34: 122-129.

Press, F. (2004). Understanding earth (4th ed). New York: W.H. Freeman. 208-210.

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Home » Writers-House Blog » How to Annotate an Essay

How to Annotate an Essay

An annotated essay should provide a natural and logical flow of opinions and views. This is a reason why many people get so stressed out when they need to write such an essay. However, an annotated essay is also an opportunity to explore ideas and to communicate your own perspective. Writing experts from writers-house.com recommend the following tips.

Annotating: Definition

The main thing is to address the key points and to make sure all your thoughts are directly connected to the key points. Annotating can help you when preparing for exams (verbal or written) or studying for quizzes and test of any kind. Annotating a certain text also allows you to create a well-written response that will either support or question the author’s point.

Where to Start

After you read the whole piece, grab a highlighter. Choose your favorite color and highlight the most important passages that support your point. Make sure to highlight only crucial passages. If you feel that some phrase supports your opinion, highlight or underline it, and pay particular attention to the vocabulary of your source. If the author repeats the same phrase in several places, it can support your own idea better. Don’t forget to highlight any important names, dates, etc.

Complete Your Essay

Margin comments perform a few different functions. Their main purpose is to label types of information, either logically or chronologically. Take notes to define the topic of each paragraph. Consider each paragraph in the context of your point of view and note specific details.

Note how different fragments make you feel and how they support your opinion. If a piece resonates with your own experiences, you can also use this connection in the future. Don’t forget to mention how the piece changed your opinion. The margins also allow you to ask questions about what you don’t agree with.

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The #1 Text Annotation Generator

Sarah Matlack

Oct 12th, 2023

The Go-to Online Annotator and Article Annotation Tool

Are you drowning in a sea of information? Whether you’re a student or a professional, you know how tough it can be to wade through endless piles of data. Articles, lecture slides, research papers—you name it! But what if you had a tool that could make this task easier? Enter Mindgrasp, a remarkable online annotator and text annotation generator designed to simplify your life. Forget the tedious work of scanning through documents. With Mindgrasp, you get quick, precise, and insightful annotations at the click of a button.

As a cutting-edge article annotation tool, Mindgrasp takes any content you feed it and turns it into valuable insights. From textbooks and YouTube videos to audio recordings and more, Mindgrasp does the heavy lifting for you. It sifts through all the data to create short summaries and detailed notes that get straight to the point. Don’t waste time rereading the same lines over and over. Mindgrasp delivers clear information from your text that’s remarkable by professional standards .

What sets Mindgrasp apart? It’s not just an online annotator; it’s an all-in-one solution for your learning and understanding needs. Imagine having your very own study guide and flashcards based on the material you’re reviewing. Or how about a question-answer feature that tackles your document-specific queries? Mindgrasp offers all of these features, making it a game-changer in how you approach your work or study materials.

The ultimate text annotation generator for summaries and notes.

We all know the struggle of scanning through lengthy articles, research papers, or website content just to grasp the essential points. But what if there was a simpler way to get the gist without the hassle? Meet Mindgrasp, your new text annotation generator that takes care of this for you. Just upload your document—be it a web article, lecture slide, or even a YouTube video—and let Mindgrasp work its magic. Within moments, you’ll have concise summaries and in-depth notes that make it easier to understand what you’re reading.

Think of it as annotating on steroids. Mindgrasp acts as a high-powered annotator, taking the core elements of your uploaded materials and distilling them into easy-to-read summaries and detailed notes. Need to know how to annotate a website for a research project or work presentation? Mindgrasp is your answer. It pulls out the key facts, figures, and concepts, presenting them in a digestible format that saves you time and effort. Its able to do this for articles to videos

But the benefits don’t stop at summaries and notes. The platform adds an extra layer of utility by allowing you to ask document-specific questions. That’s right, if you’re unclear about something, Mindgrasp will clarify it for you based on the uploaded content. So the next time you’re struggling to sift through a mountain of data, remember: Mindgrasp is here to streamline the process with  a free annotation tool  from the trial that you’ve never experienced before. Say goodbye to manual highlighters and tedious note-taking, and say hello to the future of efficient, smart annotation.

Boost Your Grades and Writing Skills with Mindgrasp: The Premier Free Annotation Tool and Annotator

Are you aiming for better grades? Do you want to refine your writing but don’t know where to start? Look no further than Mindgrasp, your free annotation tool that does more than just annotate—it transforms how you engage with information. By offering short summaries and detailed notes of the uploaded content, this  online annotator  acts as a versatile tool that helps you grasp the essentials fast. This way, you’re not just consuming information; you’re actually understanding it, which is a critical step in enhancing your writing and academic performance.

When you have a clear, summarized vision of your study materials, writing assignments become less daunting. Mindgrasp helps you focus on the key themes, concepts, and details you need to include in your papers. No more aimless wandering through paragraphs trying to decipher the main points. The tool serves you the essence on a silver platter, making it easier to construct well-argued and coherent essays that impress your teachers and earn you better grades.

But it’s not just about academics. Professionals can also reap the benefits of using Mindgrasp as their go-to annotator. Think of how much more effective your reports, presentations, or articles could be with the precise information Mindgrasp offers. Because let’s face it, clarity and accuracy are crucial in any field, and Mindgrasp excels in delivering both. Not only this but it also serves as a  great note taking organizer!

So why spend another minute lost in a maze of complex information? Make Mindgrasp your secret weapon for improved writing and top-notch grades. With Mindgrasp’s free annotation tools, you’re not just surviving the information overload—you’re conquering it.

Embrace Your Ultimate Annotator for Success

In this digital age, the need for efficient information management and annotation is more vital than ever. Mindgrasp, as an online annotator and free annotation tool, offers a complete solution for students and professionals alike. With its remarkable ability to generate concise summaries and detailed notes, Mindgrasp empowers you to make sense of the avalanche of information we face daily. It’s not just about simplifying data; it’s about enhancing your understanding and, in turn, your writing.

From how to annotate a website to annotating articles, Mindgrasp streamlines the process, improving your academic and professional pursuits. Writing becomes a breeze as you have the core content at your fingertips. With the power of Mindgrasp, you’ll not only save time but also pave the way for better grades and more effective communication.

So, don’t struggle through the chaos of information overload. Embrace Mindgrasp and revolutionize your approach to learning, research, and professional work. Whether you’re in need of an annotator or a text annotation generator, Mindgrasp is your all-in-one, go-to solution for success. Try it today and experience the transformative power of efficient, intelligent annotation.

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An Easy Guide to Writing an Annotated Essay Structure

Table of Contents

Essays can be long and complicated. That’s because they can go on and, sometimes seem impossible to write.

The following guide helps make them manageable. It will show you when to break down each essay section and which parts can stand on their own as a stand-alone paragraph. It will also help you determine how much of the essay to share as freely as possible and which parts of the article you need to edit.

Creating an Annotated Essay Structure

Before starting your research assignment, your teacher could request you to write an annotated outline. An outline will help you organize your paper’s main ideas and ensure it is supported by research .

Asides the fact that you have to save a lot of time by creating an annotated outline, you can also save time by writing the paper in its entirety. 

1. Start With an Introduction.

The introduction section of your outline should include a thesis statement.

2.The Main Body of Your Paper Should Contain Headings.

While you may make them more or less specific, the main point is to make sure they are related to your thesis statement since they must support it. Your heading should reflect different aspects of your topic. 

3. Make Sure Your Outline Is Straight to the Point.

Only try to make the sections you need because the outline must be concise. Annotated systems usually are at most 2-2. Double spaces appear on five pages. 

4. Include Two or More Supporting Paragraph Headings Under Every Section.

You should write another paragraph if you don’t have at least two paragraph headings in each section. 

5. Subsequent Paragraphs Should Contain Topic Sentences.

You must begin your paragraph with a topic sentence that describes what the section will be about and reflects the arguments that you make in it. When you start a paragraph about rising sea levels near California, you can write a simple sentence like this: Global warming is responsible for rising sea levels near California. 

6. It Is Essential to Provide at Least Two Supporting Examples in Every Paragraph so That Readers Can Understand Why Your Points Are Valid.

It would help if you also mentioned how each paragraph relates to your thesis statement. You may also provide paraphrases and direct references to support your arguments.

7. Provide Data From Interviews and Opinions From Reliable Experts.

Briefly explain the connection between the topic sentence and the evidence from each paragraph in the outline.

8. Let Your Closing Sentence Allow You to Make the Transition From One to the Next

Your content will flow logically from one section to another . As a result, Write a conclusion. You need to rephrase your thesis statement, wrap up the entire paper, summarize the key points, and express some meaningful ideas that will reinforce the thesis and leave your readers with something to think about. 

Your writing should follow the following pattern: Introduction – argument – data (statistics) – your analysis. By doing so, you can always argue with evidence while keeping things clear. Keep your readers focused by following the same structure. 

Abir Ghenaiet

Abir is a data analyst and researcher. Among her interests are artificial intelligence, machine learning, and natural language processing. As a humanitarian and educator, she actively supports women in tech and promotes diversity.

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ENGL 099 Introductory Composition

• Sample Annotated Essays: MLA & APA
• Writing Basics
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• Evaluating Sources
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MLA and APA formatting style

Sample essays.

The two sample essays below highlight the formatting features of MLA and APA style from start to finish. 

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• Last Updated: Apr 17, 2024 2:38 PM
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How to Annotate an Essay

Kimberley mcgee, 25 jun 2018.

Letting your views and opinions about a topic flow is the point of an annotated essay. It may make some people a little nervous, but it is actually a place where ideas can be explored and communicated. It can be an invitation to let your thoughts on a subject fly.

Explore this article

• Definition of Annotating
• First Steps to Annotate
• Following Through to a Great Ending

1 Definition of Annotating

The key is to highlight major points in the piece and note your thoughts in the margins of the piece that specifically make connections that refer back to the key points. This can assist in preparing for written or verbal exams, studying for potential pop quizzes or cramming for a final exam in an organized way. Annotating a text can also help you to compose a well-crafted written response in your own words for an essay or debate rebuttal.

2 First Steps to Annotate

After reading the piece through, go back with a highlighter in the color of your choice. Do not be hasty in taking the highlighter to the copied piece. Be frugal in what you underline, and only underscore the passages that truly speak to your opinion and support your ideas. Highlight, circle or underline the main points as you go through the piece. If certain words or phrases speak to you, make a point to highlight those. Pay attention to the vocabulary used in the piece. If a word or phrase pops up in more than one place, it can give more support to your piece. Circle important dates, names and other data that is significant to the narrative, history or tone of the piece.

3 Following Through to a Great Ending

Your margin comments serve a few purposes. They label the type of material, either chronologically or in phases that build to the conclusion. Take notes about the paragraph’s topic. Be specific, so you know if it is worth your time to return to that paragraph in pursuit of proving your idea for the full essay or piece that you write. Jot down your reactions.

If a piece moves you in a certain spot, note that for future use as a quote or how it made you feel and supports your thesis. If a piece speaks to you and your past experiences, note that connection in the margins to assist you when you scan the piece for future reference. Consider how the issues brought up in the piece raised questions with your previous notions about the subject. The margins are also a good place to ask questions of the author of the piece if you do not agree with its direction or argument.

• 1 Mineral Area College: Annotating Essay and Text
• 2 University of Central Arkansas: Annotated Essay
• 3 City University of New York: Critically Reading and Annotating a Text

About the Author

Kimberley McGee is an award-winning journalist with 20+ years of experience writing about education, jobs, business and more for The New York Times, Las Vegas Review-Journal, Today’s Parent and other publications. She graduated with a B.A. in Journalism from UNLV. Her full bio and clips can be seen at www.vegaswriter.com.

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