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Annotation
Annotation
How To Annotate:
I know! I know... You are so skilled at reading that you don't feel the need to annotate. Well... that's balderdash! Annotation or just taking notes while you read promotes active reading to avoid wasted time spent rereading later! Here are a few other reasons to annotate!
Annotation isolates important material to be used later
Annotation allows the reader to recall more after just one reading
Annotation furthers reader interpretation and deepens your analysis
Here is a super simple system for annotating literary texts:
Characterization
Characterization
Students will be able to identify and describe what specific textual details reveal about a character, that character's perspective, and that character's motives.
Writers can build characterization in several ways, including:
Character description
Dialogue and inner thoughts
Character behavior
If you had me for 10th grade, think back to S.T.E.A.L.
Character Description
Character Description
Character description can include the way a character looks, dresses, talks, walks, thinks, and more.
Writers almost always describe their characters, but it usually goes beyond a basic physical description. In fact, they sometimes omit that!
When a writer does describe a character, consider what is described for you, and what is left for you to determine for yourself.
READING EXCERPT: "Shaving" by Leslie Norris
Consider the following while reading:
Why would the author go to such lengths to describe the protagonist this way?
What predictions can you make about this characterization?
Dialogue & Inner Thoughts
Dialogue & Inner Thoughts
Another way to learn about a character is to examine the way he or she speaks, or in some cases, how they write or speak in their minds.
A character’s speech style and patterns can show their culture, socio-economic status, values, intelligence, and more.
READING EXCERPT: "Flowers for Algernon" by Daniel Keyes
Consider the following while reading:
What conclusions can you make about the narrator?
What predictions can you make about this story or this character, based on his characterization?
Character Behavior
Character Behavior
The saying goes, “actions speak louder than words,” and this goes for fictional characters as well.
One of the biggest ways to learn about a character is to observe his or her behavior. You can learn virtually anything about a character based on his or her actions.
READING EXCERPT: "The Tell-Tale Heart" by Edgar Allan Poe
Consider the following while reading:
What can you deduce about the narrator of this piece based on his actions alone?
Perspective
Perspective
Characters reveal their perspectives and biases through the words they use, the details they provide in the text, the organization of their thinking, the decisions they make, and the actions they take.
NOTE: Point of view differs from perspective in that point of view (POV) is a narrative viewpoint, which sometimes employs a characterized narrator.
Perspective is broader, referring to the feelings and outlook of the narrator as a person/character.
To read through these three excerpts, click here. Then describe the narrative perspective of each.
Motivation
Motivation
Readers can infer a character's motives from that character's actions or inactions.
Character motivation refers to the drive behind a character’s actions. Characters are motivated by desires, needs, or even the story’s conflict.
Read Saki’s short story “The Open Window” and consider the motivations of young Vera.
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