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?
Methods I have used to comprehend and use complex texts are re-reading, breaking down the text by pieces or topics, reading summaries first or overviews, reading abstracts, etc. I have found them to be very effective because it helps me understand the text better instead of just jumping into it, reading it, then trying to go back to understand what I just read because by the time I get to the end I don’t remember what I read many pages before. So I have found that most of the ways I use to break down texts that are complex are very useful to me.
ReplyDeleteIn past experiences, I have found incorporating complex research into my writing very difficult. The tests can be very in-depth and complex beyond what I write, making it hard to have my paper flow and make sense to my reader. I have learned over the years and have improved but to this day it is still very hard to make the paper make sense.
Using annotation in class made reading complex texts way easier to me. It helped me understand the text more the first time then having to read it over and over again, and it also helped me stay focused. I didn’t find much difficult about using this method it really helped me a lot.
1. In the past I really haven’t used any reading methods in the past to able to understand what I am reading. I have always just read something as many times as possible to understand it. It was always worked for me because eventually it would skin in.
ReplyDelete2. I have always had problems being able to incorporate research in to my writing. I was never sure where to put it or how to use it so I would just put nit in any where and hoped that it fit. I also was never sure if I had enough research it be able to support my claims and it would wind up being a paper that was 90 percent my opinion and nothing else.
3. Using the annotation method has made reading easier because I can mark the important parts like the authors main points and the evidence they use to support that and go from there as far as getting my own research and being able comment on what the author is saying. I really didn’t find anything hard when I used this method.
1 One of the reading methods I have used to comprehend and use complex texts in the past was breaking the text down. Through the process of reading, I came to the conclusion that for me, reading large parts at a time, doesn't get me to where I need to be. I don't remember what I read or I don't understand it. Then I started to break it up into either paragraphs or multiple paragraphs which helped me understand the text and relay it much better.
ReplyDelete2. What I have found challenging about incorporating research into my writing was where to put it. I always had what I wanted to put but never knew where to put it. Also, how to put it. Never knowing the right text to form it in always had me struggling.
3. I find using annotation in class made it easier for me because i was able to write down my thoughts as I was reading to help me personally understand what the author was trying to relay to me. I could put it in my own word so that I could understand. What I found difficult was hoping not to miss anything in the text. That's not as much annotation, but more of myself.
1. I have never used a reading technique. If I ever read something that I don't under-
ReplyDeletestand I just keep rereading it until I do understand. When I see words I dont understand I just keep it moving, never do I stop and look up the definition. Up till this point i've never felt like I don't know how to read when I do know how to read.
2. One thing that i've found challenging is how to organize all the research. Where
do I put each piece of information and how many types of different ideas can be in
the same paragraph. I feel like sometimes I might bunch ideas together when they
can be seperated into their own categories.
3 I didn't find anything difficult about using annotation. I think it really slows everything down so the reader can get a full sense of what the other is saying. It allows me to get a clear idea on what the author is trying to discuss. Acting like its an actual conversation really helps me understand the text better because it allows me to focus in much greater detail.
1. In the past the only real method I was taught was to break down each paragraph if I did not understand what I was reading. Even though I was taught that method I didn’t use it to my advantage and would just read what I had to read and if I didn’t get it just keep going back into the paragraph and hope that I would understand it and for it to catch on or ask someone else if they got it. Because I did this it would most of the time take me longer to do things because it is an ineffective way.
ReplyDelete2. In the past it wasn’t finding the information but was incorporating it into my essay. It would take me a while to figure out what pieces of the puzzle to put where. It was difficult doing this first because I wanted my essay to be in the right order and as perfect as it can be but I just didn’t know what information to put where most of the time and if it was too much research in a paper.
3. Using annotation in class has made reading complex material easier for me because I already knew how it worked because I just learned it in my reading class. My teacher showed us several different methods for textbook note taking and that’s where I learned annotation in the first place. Taking notes in the margin has helped me greatly because I can just go back to anything I check it off as important information to look and go back to, take notes, write down questions, ideas, and where I may have found a answer to a question.
1.) Methods I have used in the past to comprehend when reading;for say a research project would be underlining or highlighting important ideas. This way I can go directly back to that text instead of reading the whole reading over again. ( I do find myself having to re-read a lot)
ReplyDelete2.) some things I found challenging when incorporating research into a paper, would be using the information I found from the author, but putting it in my own words enough for it to not be plagiarism.
3.) I guess I was familiar with annotation subconsciously, but didn't know there was a word for this method. Its helpful because you should define unknown words to better understand the reading. Before I would just skip over them and forget about it. Difficulties I may find would be finding evidence offered to support the authors opinion or claim. - Kayla Van Auken
In the past I never used any reading methods to understand what I was reading. I guess if you count reading the story or article over and over and over and over again a method then yes I did use one. And after reading it about 50 times, I finally understood what I was reading. The hard part for me in incorporating research into my essay is using my own words. Most of the time I just copy and past and cite, which ends up being 99.9% of my paper. Not good. Using the annotation method is going to help me a lot because instead of having to go back and read the who article or story over again, I can easily find exactly what I’m looking for because I highlighted and wrote in the margins.
ReplyDelete1.I have never used any sort of reading strategy for textbook reading. I always just dove right in to it and tried my best to understand what I was reading. The method of reading has not be successful, I usually had to reread the text several times and its seemed every time I read it I was hitting a brick wall.
ReplyDelete2.I have found that citing resources properly has been difficult. Putting quotes in properly has also been a struggle as well.
3.Before this class, annotation was a foreign thing to me. Annotation made attacking large complex material not so intimidating. It also made me more eager to read the material. I have a new outlook on textbook reading. The most difficult thing was at first it seems time consuming, but I’m hoping with practice it will become easier.
1. I've never really used any reading methods other then highlighting. Highlighting helps me because it tells me where the important information is.
ReplyDelete2. The most challenging thing for me would have to be citing the resources. Many times I don't know whether to cite something or not so I just end up citing it anyway.
3. Using annotation made getting information a lot easier for me. Before
I would just skim through paragraphs and just take what I got from it. Now I can get the information I need more easily.
1. Highlighting was one of my reading techniques that i've used in the past. It wasn't really effective because I would end up highlighting too much. That method wasn't helpful because I didn't know what to do with all the information hightlighted. Other than that I never looked up words I didn't know so that is also why I couldn't comprehend what I read.
ReplyDelete2. One thing I found challenging about incorporating reasearch in my writing was not knowing where to put the information and how to organize my ideas. In addition to that I didn't know how to put the research in my own words and i've always struggled with that.
3. Writing in the margins and using the active reading method has helped me engage more. Also looking up words I don't know helped me understand it a lot better. With annotation I'll have notes already in the margins so I wont have to re-read. I haven't found anything difficult with this reading technique.
A method I have used in ored to comprehend and use complex texts is re-reading. I usually read the entire story then go back and re-read the paragraphs , in depth, one by one. It seems to be a very good method actually, using it I am pretty clear with what pretty much everything I read. I can break down a paragraph and find words that I dont know if necessary or read it a little bit differently to get my mind to think what the author is really trying to say.
ReplyDeleteIn the past the only thing I really find challenging about incorporating research in my writing is finding the proper resources. A lot I dont know exactly where to get my information from therefore it takes a lot longer then it should to do the research.
I was unable to participate in class doing the annotation but I actually did a little on my own and found it a lot easier to come up with ideas on responding to what I have read. Which would make writing summarys or reports easier in the future. I didnt find anything difficult about this method it is a very effective way of reading
1)In the past, I’ve never really had to read that difficult of a book or didn’t understand what I was reading to actually have to break it down. Most of the time, in high school, the teachers would read it along with you or you would bring it home and the next day, they would go over it with you. This is pretty much the first time I’ve done annotation.
ReplyDelete2)In the past, I’ve never had that much of a problem incorporating research into my writing, I think the hardest part was just figuring out what I wanted to use.
3)Annotation made complex reading easier for me because now I know if I come to something I don’t understand, how to break it apart and understand it better. I didn’t find anything difficult about annotation, it’s just something different I have to get used to.
Like we talked about in class, I have always used highlighting as a method to comprehend what I’m reading. For me, I thought that it worked well because I knew what to highlight and why. This ties into annotation. Annotation makes things a lot easier because the explanation is right on the side of the page. Incorporating research into my text has always been a little difficult for me. Finding what was right and important enough has become easier since learning about it in class.
ReplyDeleteThe methods I have Previous used for reading comprehension consisted of bulleting key points in the margin, this has been somewhat effective for me because I'm fairly good at zeroing in on key points. There have been times where readings are too complex and bulleting does not work though.
ReplyDeleteTo be honest, the hard part for me is not incorporating the research but doing the research itself. Finding all the information needed to successfully write the paper hasn't been my strong point. Once I find it, its easy for me to incorporate it into my paper.
By using annotation, it makes it easier for me to find out whats happening in the reading. The times when you ask questions and respond to the reading help it stick in my mind whats happening because it forces you to think about it. The only thing i see as a challenge would be the fact that it is a little more time consuming in comparison to my technique. Certain material may require me to use this due to complexity, so I plan on getting to know it better.
1.)Bullet points, starting from general to more specific topics with definitions of words if needed. This provides me with both visual organization and an easier set up for body paragraphs when having to write a paper. I think it's a great method for me but probably not for others with different learning style.
ReplyDelete2.)Finding resources for me has always been difficult. Sometimes a source seems good at first glance, but upon further reading slowly steers away from the topic I'm trying to support. This makes it hard to find solid evidence when only 1 paragraph is of any use.
3.)I don't like marginal notes. I like doing my notes on a seperate sheet, that way everything stays organized. I would rather write 1 to 2 sentence descriptions of each paragraph's ideas and then organize them into general topics.