Annotating

As you read actively by making predictions, making connections, and asking questions, you can annotate the reading with your thoughts and questions. Annotating helps you concentrate and keep your focus while you read. It can also help you when you need to study or review for a test, when you need to write about your reading, or when you are asked to discuss a reading in class.

Annotating includes:

• making notes in the margins
• underlining and highlighting key words, phrases, and sentences
• putting a check mark or star beside important passages
• putting a question mark next to passages you do not understand
• drawing lines and arrows to make connections

The notes you make about a reading will vary depending on your thoughts about a particular passage. There are basically four main types of annotations:

1. Restate the point of the passage.
2. Ask questions about the passage.
3. Challenge the ideas of the passage.
4. Compare or contrast the passage with what you already know.