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Hi guys, I'm Katie Aavo from SchoolHabits Docomo. Your text while you're reading, and if at any point during this video you like what you see, please give it a thumbs up, or better yet, click subscribe below. I always forget on what side of the screen it is.
Annotating a book or an article is a fundamental school habit that you'll want to develop as early as possible. Sometimes you might be required to annotate text and might actually get a homework grade for doing so, depending on your teacher. But even if annotating isn't a requirement, it's a great skill to have and just might be the key that you've been missing in your reading life. True, though.
So, first things first: annotating means taking notes on a text, either in a book or an article or something similar. So to annotate means to take notes. Now you might be wondering why the heck you'd want to annotate anyway. For so many reasons, but the most important reason you'd annotate is for a deeper understanding of the material. So taking notes on your text helps you comprehend what you're reading on a much deeper level than if you were to just read it straight through.
So here are four major benefits of annotating: Number one, it keeps you awake and engaged as you read. You have to stay awake, and it reduces your chances of fake reading syndrome. I've coined that. I think you know when you read, you think you're reading, and you're not. Number two, it helps you process what you're reading as you're reading it. Number three, it slows down your reading, which is actually a good thing because decreasing your pace can often increase your comprehension and retention. And number four, it double-whammies as a way to quickly find information later on. So, in other words, when you go back into the book to find something later, you can just read your annotations, which is faster than reading the actual text a second time. Throw.
So how do you annotate? Just as there are so many types of learners, there are so many different techniques that suit different students. You might have to experiment for a while to see what does and doesn't work for you, but there are some basic annotation principles or rules to keep in mind as you figure out your system.
So here are 11 annotation techniques that you might find helpful: Number one, circle any unfamiliar words as you're reading, and then look them up and write down the definition. Here's a little hack: if you get the dictionary.com app, you can look the word up in like two seconds on your phone. Keep your phone right next to you—not that you should have your phone when you're studying—but, say. Number two, use question marks in the book to indicate areas of uncertainty. So anytime you're reading and you're like, "What?" put a question mark. Number three, use stars to indicate anything that seems important, such as themes or symbols or foreshadowing. Number four, use exclamation points to indicate something dramatic or a key turning point or something you want to come back to. Number five, circle or mark—somehow pick a shape—use a trapezoid. I don't remember what a trapezoid looks like. Um, circle any character names any time they are introduced for the first time in the book. Number six, keep a list somewhere—maybe on the inside cover—of all the characters and their traits, and you would add to this list as new characters are introduced or as you learn more about the existing characters. Number seven, write your notes in the margins, which is the best method; on sticky notes, which is a decent method; or in a separate notebook, which is your least favorable method, but if you don't own the book, you can't write in it, so you might have to do that. Number eight, paraphrase, which is a summarization technique, each chapter after you finish reading it. Now you only need a few sentences to do this, so write it down; write your little summary down at the beginning or the end of each chapter. Take the time to do this right after you read the chapter and not like five chapters later. Number nine, write down any questions that you have about the text, either questions you're willing to wait to find out the answer to as you read further or questions that you want to bring up to your teacher in class the next day. Number 10, we're almost there, use a color-coded system if that type of thing appeals to you. Uh-huh, colors. Yes, yes. Number 11, give each chapter a title. So after you finish reading each chapter, go back to its title page and give it a title. Now the title should simply be the main idea of the chapter or a statement about the main event in the chapter. If the chapter already has a title, chances are that it's just a catchy one; it's interesting and not helpful, so still go ahead and title it yourself with a little summary statement.
Here's a note, though: if you're reading a text on your tablet or your iPad, you can still annotate. There are so many cool apps that allow you to circle, underline, highlight, use a trapezoid, doodle, whatever. Just do a basic search for annotation apps, and you'll find a bunch. Um, IAnnotate PDF, I think, is a good one. I don't know if things have changed, but that used to be a good one. Um, I think you have to pay for it, though. Check it out.
So when you're reading and you're annotating, keep in mind that your notes should represent your thoughts; your notes should represent your interaction with the story, with the author, the characters, etc. [Music] You don't worry about writing things down that just sound smart just because you think that's what your teacher wants; it's totally pointless. Let your annotations really reflect your true thoughts and feelings as you read. Hopefully you have some, but if you really listen to your inner voice as you read—the voice that says, "Huh, why'd that happen?" or "That's awesome," or "That's not a good sign"—all those things that pop up into your head when you're reading, then the whole process of annotating is so much easier. You think it up here, you write it down here, and you'll have to think less about it that way, I promise.
Now, last two words of caution, though: first, annotating text is a skill that you'll develop more and more as you do it more and more. So as you first start off, you might not annotate much at all, cuz you're not sure where to start, and if that's the case, um, keep checking back to the 11 annotation techniques so I just walked you through and check to see which one you need to be doing more of. Um, it's okay to be reserved to see start, though. You'll get the hang of it soon enough. But I have also seen the opposite, where a student underlines like every single word on a page or highlights the entire article or chapter—it's just neon the whole way through. When you do this, nothing stands out, which defeats the purpose of taking notes in the first place. So definitely go easy on the markings; go easy on the highlighter, or your notes, you know, they're not going to be helpful.
My second word of caution is that while annotating is an excellent skill that allows you to get that deep, close understanding of a text, you don't need to do it all the time. If you're reading a book for pleasure, relax; just read the book. If you're reading an article in one of your favorite memes, uh, magazines, just relax and read the article. There's no need to make a job out of something that's supposed to bring you joy.
So annotation can bring your reading comprehension to the next level. Try it; why not? Thanks for watching, guys, and as always, please click a like or subscribe below, and definitely leave your comments in the section below. I read those, and if you have something to contribute—something that's perhaps helped you in your schooling or in your life—and if you put it out there for the world to see, that might help someone else, and isn't that awesome? Thanks for watching.