A Scholarly Conversation of I Am Cuba

STEP ONE:

Before we get into it, I want to explain why I chose this secondary source. As we analyze the film in the coming days in preparation for our next essay, we will focus on the intentions of the director himself. In this process, we may forget to analyze how the film was intercepted by the public, so in choosing this source which complexly analyzes the public's critique of the film, I hope to gain a deeper understanding of the work from a different perspective. 

Now, we can finally get into it. My first step in the annotating process is to perform a NAKED READ. This means that I will be doing a full readthrough of the indicated passage at my own pace, no annotations yet. To your right, you will see a personal demonstration of just that alongside a timer that will indicate the typical pacing of my readthrough of the indicated passage.

STEP TWO:

Now that I have a basic understanding of the passage after a brief naked read, I can officially embark on my annotating process. Using a green digital pen to mark up the passage, I actively interact during a second readthrough with the text utilizing the following annotating marks:

• circled = unknown word, needs further analysis

• highlighted = main points/purposes of the text

• underlined = supporting points 

STEP THREE:

Now that I've successfully identified the main/supporting points as well as words that I need to further look into, I now take the time to search up each unknown word's definition on Google. With how complex many of the secondary sources are in their analysis and word choices, taking the time to simply better understand what is being communicated helps me to gain a deeper understanding of the passage overall. 

FINAL STEP:

In one final readthrough of the passage, I can now bounce ideas off of the entirety of the passage as well as the main and supporting points. Knowing the meanings of the unknown vocabulary definitely helps in the long run to understand the secondary source's author's intentions.

To the left, you will see my final annotations to a section of Galt's text! As I read through the passage, I ask questions of the text that I can analyze later on in deeper analysis of the film and make points off of the main and supporting ideas that represent simpler translations of the text so that when I inevitably revisit it, I don't have to look too deep into the passage to understand what is being communicated!