Active Reading and Annotation
Use purposeful annotation to track questions, patterns, confusing moments, vocabulary, and evidence. Distinguish summary notes from analytical notes.
A lesson of English 9, in Close Reading and Literary Foundations, about 10 minutes.
By the end of this lesson, you will be able to annotate a text purposefully, ask questions while reading, identify the author's choices, and extract evidence that supports an interpretation.
The Big Idea
Reading a literary text for class is not the same as reading for pleasure. Active reading means you are constantly engaging with the text: asking why the author made specific choices, noticing patterns, questioning motivations, and connecting what you're reading to what you already know. Annotation is how you externalize that thinking.
What Is Annotation?
Annotation is making a record of your thinking directly on the page (or in the margins of your notes).
Effective annotation includes:
- Circling unfamiliar words (to look up or infer from context)
- Underlining significant passages with a brief note explaining why they matter
- Marking questions in the margins ("Why does she lie here?")
- Noting patterns ("Third time this color has appeared")
- Connecting to other parts of the text ("Like the scene in Chapter 2")
- Marking moments of strong emotion, irony, or surprise
Annotation is NOT: highlighting without commentary. A highlighted page with no notes adds no value.
Levels of Questioning
Literal questions: answered directly in the text.
"What does Lennie do to Curley's hand?"
Inferential questions: require reading between the lines.
"Why does George continue to travel with Lennie despite the risks?"
Evaluative questions: require judgment about the text's meaning or quality.
"Does Steinbeck want the reader to sympathize with George? Why?"
Strong readers move beyond literal recall into inferential and evaluative territory.
The Annotation Workflow
Before reading: preview the title, headings, and opening sentences. What do you predict? Set a purpose.
During reading: slow down at confusing passages. Don't skip. Mark every significant moment.
After reading: return to your annotations. What patterns emerge? Which questions were answered? What new questions do you have?
Example — Annotating a Passage
From "The Most Dangerous Game" (Connell):
"Off there to the right — somewhere — is a large island," said Whitney. "It's rather a mystery—" "What island is it?" Rainsford asked. "The old charts call it 'Ship-Trap Island,'" Whitney replied.