Something I have learned in my years of academic reading is how important annotating is. It helps me recall what the text was about and often serves as the foundation of my essay-writing process. Without annotations, much of my reading would be lost on me. As an English major, I have worked with texts in all formats and fonts. Over time, I’ve developed a reliable annotation routine that helps me understand and analyze a text so I am able to write about it successfully.
Physical Versus Digital Annotations
I will die on the hill that physical books are the best way to read for classes. It sounds simple, but I see handwritten notes and highlights as the most valuable part of the reading process. It is much easier to flip through pages quickly and see what passages are marked up, and it is convenient for referencing while typing on a laptop. I won’t deny that online texts can be easier in some situations, especially with tools like Ctrl+F, and Kindle books or PDFs are undoubtedly convenient to carry. Despite this, I always prefer and recommend physical copies, but both physical and digital texts have their pros and cons, so the key is finding the one that best fits your situation.
Regardless of the resource you use, it is crucial to be able to adapt the format to make adaptations. With your own physical book, grab a pen and highlighter, and be prepared to write in the book itself. For borrowed or library books, keep sticky notes and tabs next to you so your annotations aren’t forgotten in the moment, and flag the pages with your notes. If you are reading digitally and have access to some type of online note-taking app, such as Notability or Goodnotes, download the text to the app and annotate that way. If you are reading straight from a PDF, have a separate notebook to write down your thoughts. The important part is being able to reference your annotations after you have finished reading the text, or else your summary and thoughts on the reading will be lost in the moment.
analysis
No matter what I read, or how I read it, I always keep a pen and highlighter nearby. Highlighters are often overused and lose their importance, so I am very selective about what I highlight. Thesis statements, topic sentences, or important sections earn the distinction of being highlighted; any other sentence that I find relevant, I underline in pen. This is a simple method, but I feel it often gets overlooked for more aesthetic versions of annotating.
The notes themselves are crucial to developing your own analysis and thoughts on the text. Articles often have large margins on the left and right sides of the text, which makes for the perfect place to take notes. Since they are usually shorter in length, I also put in the time to summarize every couple of paragraphs into a sentence. Although summarizing can feel tedious, it is very helpful when discussing the text in class or even when resummarizing for annotated bibliographies. Alongside summaries, I also include any questions or common themes I see throughout the text. My annotations can be as simple as a reaction to a funny sentence, or as important as a thesis statement on a later assignment.
The key to a thorough analysis is separating the summary and notes from each other. When I read an article, I select either the left or right side of the margins (usually the left) to summarize, and the opposite to analyze. If my course has provided a theme list, I keep it on hand throughout the reading process and refer back to it as I annotate. This distinction in annotations makes understanding your notes much easier when reflecting on them, and standardizes annotations across different articles or books for easy comprehension.
Although the highlights and annotations may seem simple in the moment, annotation is the backbone of the reading process. Without it, understanding and remembering a text becomes much harder, and completing assignments is even more difficult. Over my years of reading for class, this method has proven to be the most effective for me. While it may not work for everyone, I hope it emphasizes just how valuable thorough reading and annotation truly are.