What Do I Underline? How to Determine What Matters in a Story

Inevitably, once a person starts annotating literature for the first time, the question arises: “How do I know what to underline? How can I tell what’s important?” After all, when the teacher models annotating in the classroom, they make it look so easy, underlining words and sentences and passages with the ease of a magician’s slight of hand.

Don’t worry, though. You, too, can figure out the things that matter from the things that don’t. Here are a few tips.

1)      Everything is a symbol.

A symbol is an object that represents an idea. Anything in a story can have symbolic value. Why? Because the story has an author, and authors don’t usually make a habit of putting objects in their stories for no reason. The real question is what should we consider an “object.” In Guy de Maupassant’s classic, “The Necklace,” the object in the title should immediately trigger your “symbol alert” senses. But what about the invitation that the main character, Mathilde Loisel’s, husband gives her for a swanky rich person party? It’s a symbol, too. The question is, of course, what does the invitation – or the necklace itself – symbolize. That’s for you to decide.

What about people, though? They are objects, too. Authors manipulate their characters just as they manipulate the non living objects of their stories. So, in “The Necklace,” what does Mathilde herself symbolize? Her husband? Her best friend, Mme. Forestier? They all have symbolic value, too. And your ideas about that will shape what you decide to underline in a story.

2)      Look for irony.

Irony occurs when what happens – or is said – does not meet the expectations you were prepared for by the author. Back to “The Necklace,” it is of course ironic that in the end, Mathilde discovers that the necklace she spent ten years slaving over to replace turned out to be a fake. That’s called situational irony. But it is also ironic that Mathilde begins the story thinking about how poor she is, even though she pays for a servant to clean her “shabby” home. It’s even more ironic that this woman, who thought she was poor, eventually becomes poverty stricken because of her pursuit of feeling rich.

When you see things in a story that play against your expectations, that is irony. Notice it, underline it, and enjoy it. Irony is one of the greatest elements of all literature.

3)      Descriptions matter.

Authors love to describe everything: characters, settings, objects…and it is usually because what they describe is important to the story they are trying to tell. On one level, descriptions can tell us what things look like, sound like, etc., and that is useful. But when we look at the words being selected, they tell us things on a completely different level. Take this description from “The Necklace.”

"All at once, in a box lined with black satin, she came upon a superb diamond necklace, and her heart started beating with overwhelming desire. Her hands trembled as she picked it up. She fastened it around her neck over her high-necked dress and stood there gazing at herself ecstatically."

Consider the word choice. The box is “lined with black satin.” The color black is often a symbol of death, so the immediate association with this obviously expensive necklace is death, which we learn later represents a death of sorts to Mathilde. We also see that Mathilde “fastened it around her neck over her high-necked dress”. The word “neck” is used twice, making that the focus. The general impression is that this necklace is a noose, or at least a shackle, even though Mathilde is ecstatic about it.

These tips are a good way to get yourself started annotating with independence and creativity. Of course, it will be difficult at first, because the process of marking up a text for meaning is new to you. But, give it time, work hard, and look for these things, and soon enough you’ll be finding “hidden” meanings you never thought you’d be able to in a million years.

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!