We said in class that the key to effective annotation is to think of it like conversing with the author. Hence, you are responding to the text the way you would in a face-to-face discussion. This is especially helpful in research situations, as the author's ideas can help you answer your research question.
A way to visualize this is to think of your sources as people discussing your topic over dinner. You ask each the same question (your research question), and they then respond with answers (the sources). Not all of the answers will be the same. Often, you will have to decide which answers make sense to you and which you find problematic. In doing so, you should be able to develop what you see as YOUR answer.
Your paper then becomes your response to these people. Annotation is the first step; it allows you to start forming your response to each source and, hence, how each source can be used in your paper.
With this in mind, please answer the following in your comment:
- What reading method(s) have you used to comprehend and use complex texts (books, articles, essays, websites, etc.) in the past? Have they been effective? Why or why not?
- In your past experiences, what have you found challenging about incorporating research into your writing?
- How did using annotation in class make reading complex material easier for you? What did you difficult about using this method?
I have youre typical reading style reread and reread because I forget unless I'm reading for pleasure. In textbooks I usually read the margins and section titles so a little of this is what we have done before.Writing in the margins will be a new and effective way to go back and remember. I have a hard time with not being organized so I hope that I can come up with an effective way to make my annotation neat. I tend to scribble and I broke that habit so I need to come up with a system. The underlining, starrin, and brackets should help me ...I hope.
ReplyDeleteI have always reread and if I still didn't understand I ask my husband. The thing with researching, is sometimes it's diffcult to find an answers. I haven't really read any thing complex yet and I think annotating would make things easier not harder.
ReplyDeletewhen i do a research paper i like to get information and different sources. i like to get information using books,articles and the websites. these kind of sources have always been helpful. i enjoy using this method of research. i always have to reread things. i cant just read it once it helps me more when i reread keys words sometimes i will write the keys words down.
ReplyDeleteWhen reading for school I would usually have to re-read what I read in order to understand. Sometime re-read again. All depends on the material. I like the idea of annotation because it is an easy way of not having to re-read. Jot down questions, comments and notation on the margins. That way it is easy to see what you understand and what you need to do more research on. When reading for a research paper it is a great idea to ask yourself question on the margins about what you have read and questions on vocab. It will give you more ideas to write about int he end.
ReplyDeleteThe reading methods I have used to comprehend and use complex text in the past (mostly highschool) was making sure I knew the meaning of each word that I am reading, and if I didnt know a word, I would write it down and then look it up. Also, If something that i'm reading doesn't click in my brain I would read it over and over until I understood the meaning, instead of skimming it and moving on like some people do. Also, I would take notes on the main topics and themes of the books, so then instead of going back to the book, I can easily just read my notes. These methods have been very effective for me because I have used them mainly for my whole life, and they are helpful for memorization.
ReplyDeleteWhat I find challenging about incorporating research into my writing is using the right citations, and knowing where to put them if I take a direct quote from an article or book. Also, another thing I find challenging for adding research to papers are finding the rght information and making sure I dont add too much information, or too less.
Using annotation in class makes reading complex materials easier for me because it breaks everything down into an understanding on my level, and I can always go back and look at my own notes. Annotation makes it much easier to understand complex readings that have harder to understand meanings and words. I didnt really find anytihng difficult about this method.