Highlighting and annotating

Do you want to understand and remember what you read for class? If so, you’ll have to be an active reader. Annotation is the first step is active reading. (Not sure what active reading is? Go here for an overview.)

What is annotation?

To annotate means to write a note. When you annotate, you mark up the text you are reading. You highlight and underline parts of the text. You write words and draw symbols above and below words, and in the margins. Annotation is a record of your thoughts, responses, and questions while reading. What you write may be comments, criticisms, explanations, or other reactions you have to the text. When you annotate a text, you are having a conversation with the author of the text right there on the paper!

Why do we annotate?

• During the reading, it will help ensure that you are actively engaging with the text and analyzing the ideas presented, instead of just reading without thinking.

• After the reading, it will help you to remember what you read.

• If you need to refer back to the reading, it will help you find important information more quickly.

• You can use your annotations to help you write a thoughtful, organized response such as a summary or an essay.

What tools can I use?

Pencil

Since nobody does everything perfectly the first time, it is likely that you will want to make changes to your annotation as you go. That’s why you should use something erasable, like a pencil, for your first try. Maybe you wrote out a main idea, but then thought of a better way to say it. Maybe your tutor pointed out that a sentence you marked as the main idea is actually just a minor detail. Maybe you drew the wrong symbol. Maybe you wrote so many things on the text that you ran out of room and had to write sideways and now you can barely read the text or your notes. If you used a pencil, it’s no problem! You can just erase it and try again.

Pen

Some people don’t like writing with pencils because the writing can smear or fade with time. If you are a more experienced annotator, and don’t expect to need to make many changes to what you write, you could use pen. Or you could go over what you wrote in pencil with a pen, once you’re satisfied.

Highlighter

Highlighters can really make important ideas pop out. However, unlike a pen or pencil, highlighter can’t be erased or even crossed out. If you highlight what you think is the main idea, but then realize you were wrong, there’s not really anything you can do. So it’s worth doublechecking first.

How much should I annotate?

Annotate as needed. The harder the text is, the more you should annotate. Easy texts might require little annotation. However, don't over-annotate! Annotation should make the text easier to read, not harder. Here are some ways to avoid writing too much on your text.

When annotating words you don’t know, write in synonyms, not definitions.

Ex: you see the word “cruel” in an essay and don’t know what it means, so you look online. Why write the definition (“having a tendency to inflict suffering and pain on others”) when you could just write a synonym (“mean”)?

Write longer thoughts on another piece of paper.

It can be hard to find enough space in the margins to write a sentence or a question, so try this instead. Number the paragraphs in your text. Then, open a Word document, a GoogleDoc, or grab a piece of lined paper, and number your paper. Now, if you have a longer question or comment about a section in paragraph 3, you can write it next to the number three in your own document. This technique keeps your notes organized and easy to read.

What symbols should I use?

Annotation is a personal tool, so do it in a way that works for you. Develop a system that works for you...and then stick to it! Your teacher may have given you a list of commonly used symbols for annotation, but you can find more on the internet. Choose symbols that you like and make sense to you. You can even make up your own symbols. Just make sure you do not use the same symbol for two different purposes.

Similarly, if you use a yellow highlighter to mark the main idea, but also use a yellow highlighter to mark things that surprise you, when you look back at a reading and see yellow highlighter, you won’t know if you marked that section yellow because it’s surprising, or because it’s the main idea. So if you’re committed to highlighting, use different color highlighters for different purposes so you don’t get confused.

Now that you have our own style, be consistent! Write out a key so you can remember what symbol or color you are using to mean what. Here is one reader’s key for the symbols she uses when annotating.

Should I do all my annotations the first time I do the reading?

Great question! Active reading involves highlighting and annotating, finding the main idea, and making connections. Some people like to mirror these steps by reading the text three times, and focusing on a different step each time. Here's an example of one reader’s process.

First read

• Highlight important information that answers the “Five Ws and H” (who, what, when, where, why, and how).

• Circle unfamiliar words and define them.

• Underline any ideas that you agree or disagree with and write agree or disagree.

• Number any ideas that represent a process or series of events.

• Write a ? whenever the writing gets confusing or challenging.

• Write ! or WOW whenever the ideas presented are surprising or thought-provoking.

• Make a * whenever you see an idea that you may want to quote or paraphrase in an essay.

Second read

Go through the reading again and find the main ideas! In your own words, and in as few words as possible, summarize the main ideas in the margins of the reading.

Third read

• Annotate with any thoughts, questions, or connections that occur to you when you are reading.

• Make connections with the text:

• Text-to-self: How the text connects to things from your own life

• Text-to-text: How the text connects to other things you have read

• Text-to-world: How the text connects to historical events, news, or other world affairs

Other people make all their annotations on the first read. We encourage you to try this process and see if it works for you. As you annotate more and more, you may find yourself making a connection on the first read—and that’s fine too.

To learn more about annotation and highlighting, including how to do it on your computer, watch this powerpoint.

So what does it look like when I’m finished? Can you give me an example of an annotated text?

This is what the essay Jesus is a Brands of Jeans looks like after being annotated by one reader.

Am I done now?

Congrats! You have made your way through your first set of annotations! Did it take a while? Did it seem hard? Don’t worry—the more you do it, the easier it gets.

Highlighting and annotating is just the first step in active reading. Not sure what active reading is? Go here for an overview. Ready for the second step? Click here to learn about finding the main idea.