Annotation

"It is well to read everything of something, and something of everything"

As you already know, being an interactive reader means you approach your reading with questions in your mind. As you read, you should try to answer these questions, either by finding evidence in the text, or by forming an opinion or conclusion based on what you read.

We are going to talk about something that brings out very violent feelings among some people. This method is extremely effective for those who use it. However, there are those who adamantly refuse to use it, and there might be ways around it in some cases.-- but not all cases.

What am I talking about?

I'm talking about marking up your book. And not just very lightly underlining something of interest. I'm talking about highlighting, underlining, circling, writing notes in the margins, adding information to the front and back covers of your books. In short, we are going to "ruin" a book in order to understand it.

Shocking, isn't it? Especially for those of us who have been taught from a very young age to never, ever deface a book.

If this is too much of a shock for your system, I have two suggestions:

Copy or retype whatever you intend to annotate, and then work from that copy.

Purchase two copies of the book you plan to annotate. That way you can keep one in pristine condition and the other one you can mark up as much as you like.

The point is, in order to really interact with the author as you read, to point out to yourself critical key points and ideas, and focus on unknown vocabulary words, it is important to read with a pen, pencil, and highlighter in hand.

For the purposes of this lesson, we will use the computer to demonstrate how to annotate a short story by Guy de Maupassant called The Necklace. This is divided into three sections:

In the beginning, the annotating and highlighting will be done for you.

Then the annotating will stop, but some highlighting and underlining will continue in order to help you to know what you might want to annotate.

Finally, all highlighting, underlining, and annotating will end, but by that point you should have enough of an idea of how to annotate that you can confidently continue on until the end of the selection.

Highlight, Circle, Notes in Margins

The word annotate means to make or furnish critical or explanatory notes or comment.

While highlighting or underlining is a good start to annotating, it is relatively passive because we rarely go back to something that is merely underlined or highlighted. It is only when we ask questions as we read that we really begin to interact with the material.

This process will help you concentrate and really focus on the material. Here are some of the techniques we will use to annotate our study materials:

Underline important terms.

Circle or highlight, in a specific color, definitions and meanings.

Write keywords and definitions in the margin.

Note important information in the margin.

Write short summaries or analysis in the margins as you progress.

The Process of Annotation

Annotation is the process of taking notes as you're reading. This is your opportunity to have a conversation with the author. It will also lead you through the material, making appropriate note of the events as they happen.

You know what seems important to you, and by annotating in this way, you can create an outline, quickly find answers, and demonstrate your level of understanding. All of these lead to greater reading comprehension.

Annotation will be one of the greatest comprehension tools you will ever learn.

Outline the Selection

I know. Everyone hates outlines. But an outline is one of the easiest ways to understand the flow of a story, an argument, presentation, or new idea. When you annotate, you can often demonstrate the varying parts of the piece you are reading, simply by using your outline.

For example, in The Necklace, where you annotated the story earlier in this lesson, you will likely have seen that there are three major parts to the story.

Here is how you might consider outlining The Necklace:

1. Part I - Introduction of Characters

Madame Mathilde Loisel
- Selfish - never considers her husband
- Self-centered - believes that only she suffers
- Unsatisfied - Regardless of the fact that she has a servant, she only sees when others have more than she does.
Monsieur Loisel
- Generous to a fault
- Generally happy, but tries to appease his wife
- Never seems to get anything right in her eyes

Part II - Set up of the Conflict

Mathilde dissatisfied with life
- Nothing her husband ever does is good enough.
- Even an invitation to a society ball fails to please her, for she feels she doesn't have a good enough dress, jewelry, or wrap for the event.
Monsieur Loisel obtains an invitation to a high society ball.
- Understanding his wife's desire for the "good life," Monsieur Loisel manages to get an invitation to a high society ball.
- He cannot understand why this does not make his wife happy.
Mathilde wheedles money out of husband
- Again, her selfishness comes to the fore, for her husband was hoping to treat himself to a new rifle.
- Buys a new dress, but still unhappy until her husband suggests she borrow some jewelry from her old friend
Still not satisfied, borrows diamond necklace from friend
- Mathilde is very happy to borrow an expensive necklace to show herself off in public.
- Notice, she is not satisfied with just anything her friend offered, only the most beautiful item she sees.

Part III - Neckace is Missing

Husband looks everywhere, no necklace
- The party was a sound success, but because Mathild refused to be seen in her "poor" wrap, she rushes out of the house, not taking care to secure the necklace.
- Notice how her husband is the only one looking for the necklace, while Mathilde rests at home. Anxious, but not helping.
Both must borrow, work very hard, and sacrifice for 10 years
- They cannot pay for the necklace with their own savings, so must take all savings, then borrow money from friends and loan sharks.
- It takes 10 long years to pay off the replacement necklace they had to buy to replace the one Mathilde lost.
Mathilde meets old friend to discover the necklace was only paste
- Notice how Mathilde still blames her friend for her poor lot in life.

How did you do with the outlining of the story? At first it seems somewhat difficult but with practice it will become second nature. Many stories are naturally shaped into three distinct parts, much as plays are often done in three acts.

For your homework, try to find three more short stories and work on them the way we did here with The Necklace. First, annotate them, making sure to note things like characters, time/place, problem, additional problems, final solution. Then, the last thing you should do is to determine the purpose of the story. What did you learn or take away from reading the story?

What did you take away from reading The Necklace?

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