How & Why to Annotate

If you've ever had to read a text and have a discussion on it at a later time, you know the benefits of annotating or taking notes on whatever text you're reading. Believe it or not, there's a difference between taking notes on a text and annotating a text. Crazy. I know.

So what's the difference? For some, there isn't a difference. But here, annotating is a way of making notes directly onto a text (a book, an article, a handout, etc.). According to Nick Otten's article, "The advantage of having one annotated text instead of a set of note papers plus a text should be clear enough: all the information is together and inseparable, with notes very close to the text for easier understanding, and with fewer pieces to keep together."

Annotating texts is pretty simple, and I personally find it much easier than taking notes on separate pieces of paper (because I have a nasty habit of losing loose-leaf papers). You only need three basic materials in order to annotate: a highlighter, a pencil, and your text.

A highlighter. Pick one color. I know how tempting it can be to create some crazy color scheme, but highlighting is more effective if you just use one color (and it doesn't give you a headache). Anyway. A highlighter allows you to mark exactly what you need to know/remember. When you go back through the text later, your eyes will be drawn to the highlighted sections.

A pencil. A pencil is better to use than a pen because you can make changes. I'm super guilty of using a pen when I annotate, but I'm trying to get better at using a pencil; I've even started carrying a pencil in my pencil case and having a pencil sitting out when I'm reading.

Your text! Seems pretty necessary, huh? I suggest using marginal notes when you're annotating, that way you have a bit more space to jot down your notes. Another suggestion, in case the margins of your text aren't big enough for notes that are to your liking, you could use Post-It notes. I do it sometimes with books that I don't want to write directly in - particularly books that are from my campus library. If you're going to annotate directly in books, be sure to check your school's policy on highlighting and writing in books!

So what does annotating look like? And how does it different from taking notes on a text?

This image is annotations from a text I was reading in my Slave Literature class earlier this semester. There aren't a lot of annotations on this particular page but it was the first text I found on the mound of text on my desk. I used the margins of the text to jot down notes about particular sections of the narrative that my professor went over in class. Unfortunately, I had to underline the sentences that I wanted to remember because my highlighter died right before the class started (*sad face*). I had planned to go back and highlight everything, but I ended up not having the time before we moved on to the next text for the class. But, nonetheless, I had the annotations I needed for when I had to go back and make the online posts about the text.

This image is notes in a notebook that I took when I was noting my Kindle version of Twelfth Night. When I'm reading texts online or on my Kindle app (or iBooks, for that matter) I take notes in a notebook because I don't like how annotations are added on e-books. But more on that in a second. As you can see, when you have to take notes rather than annotate, you have a lot more to write. The other problem I have with taking notes on texts is that if I want to reference a particular quote, I have to hand-write the ENTIRE quote into my notes. And if it's a long quote...well, you get the idea.

I mentioned the ability to take notes when reading an e-book on Kindle or iBooks. Which is great if that's your primary way of reading texts. I use e-books for certain texts - ones that are too expensive or ones that I need at the last minute. So when you're reading an e-book, you have the ability to highlight passages and you're given the option to add a note. When you add a note, it looks like the image below. You can edit it at any time, which is nice, but I don't like how you can't see the note unless you poke the little note icon next to the highlighted passage. But it's better than nothing at all.

If you're using an Apple product, chances are you have iBooks. And iBooks is just as great as Kindle for reading e-books. If you're reading an e-book on iBooks (ha! Try saying that ten times fast) you have the same option to add a note to a highlighted passage. And what I like about making notes in iBooks is that you can get a list of the passages you've highlighted and the notes you've made.

Like this. This is a list of all the things I highlighted and noted in Upton Sinclair's novel The Jungle. Then you can poke each passage and it will take you to the page.

If you're struggling with how to annotate a text, hopefully this post has given you some kickoff points!

#tips #advice