The Importance of Annotation

Annotating, or marking up, a text is one of the most important activities you will do this year. It is important that you get a strong grasp on what it means, why you should do it, and how to do it.

What is Annotation?

Annotation is not simply underlining or highlighting a text. It is a conversation you are having with the text you are reading. This involves writing notes, making comments, circling important information, and noting patterns and recurring ideas. When you are done annotating, you should be able to look back at what you've done and get a clearer picture of what a text means, and how it achieved its purpose.

Why Annotate?

Annotating is a powerful way to engage with, focus on, and remember what you read. It requires that you carefully spend time digesting a text instead of rushing your way through it like a dog eating a bowl of Pedigree. Becoming a more powerful reader has many benefits, least of all being successful in class.

How To Annotate?

There are many ways to annotate a text, so work on a system that helps you. In the "Downloads" section, you will find a handout to assist you, as well as in the AP Survival Guide. Here's a link to an article that goes more in-depth (on page 3, there's an example).

Take a look at "annotation examples" on Google, and select the Images feature; you'll discover lots of images showing you a variety of annotation styles.

Here are some basic tips:

1. Underline any passages you feel sound thematically important. These are usually very well-written, often profound-sounding statements.

2. Summarize important pieces of information in the margins.

3. Write connections to other stories, films, music, and art that the text reminds you of.

4. Note important uses of symbol, metaphor, or irony.

Lastly, you won't be able to write in every book that you get in school, so consider using Post-It notes. They are remarkably helpful and can be removed when you no longer need them. Also use a pencil, because your ideas might change or shift focus through the reading, making the ability to erase quite valuable.

Alright, time to get reading with those pencils out!

On Grading Your Writing

The way I approach grading essays is probably very unlike anything you've experienced before.

My main goal is to see that you are able to write proficiently in each of the six-traits (ideas, organization, voice, word choice, sentence fluency, and conventions). As a result, I am using a rubric that gives you a score for each of the traits, which gives you the ability to recognize both your strengths and weaknesses as a writer. This way, you can decide where to focus your energies when re-writing.

Also, I do not expect multiple draft writing projects. If you can write a first draft that meets the required score (an average of a 4 on the 6-point, 6-trait rubric), you do not need to re-write. You can choose to re-write, though, if your score is not to your liking. This puts you in the driver's seat -- provided you do your work -- and makes writing a realistic task that puts quality at a premium over quantity.

Remember: if you turn in an essay on-time, you can revise as many times as you need to achieve the score you desire. This means, though, that you have to stay on top of things, and make sure you get those revisions to me so a grade can be inputed in the gradebook.

Origin Myth Project Tips -- English III

Some of you might be struggling to get started with this project, so here is the process I went through to create my origin myth.

1. Wrote the story out like an essay. Three paragraphs: beginning, middle, and end. Make sure your story sets up a character with a problem. The character should try to solve the problem. The end should involve what happens as a result of the character's solution.
2. Create a list of events. I created a numbered list of events, up to 10, since the project requires 10 pages in your children's book.
3. Write a script. Write out what you're going to say on each of the 10 pages. This way you won't make any major mistakes when you start putting together the book.

Lastly, make sure you try to have some fun with this. Get together with some friends in class and work together, bouncing ideas off of each other. The best stories come out of a desire to entertain, not just trying to get work done.

Good luck!

Contents of the Dead Man's Pocket -- Video

This video is a student retelling of Jack Finney's classic, "Contents of the Dead Man's Pockets." It's quite cheesy, and the conclusion doesn't quite line up with Finney's story, but it's a fun adaptation nonetheless.