Writing-to-Learn Strategies:

Annotationsand the

Cornell Note Taking System

You just don’t know anything

unless you can write it.S.I. Hayakawa

And there’s a very good chance that you won’t remember it, either,unless you can write it!

Lollipop game…

What if I gave you a lollipop?-Cool, huh?

What if I told you to eat it, but you could not use your hands?-Uncool, huh?

Lollipop game…What if I gave you a lollipop?-Cool, huh?

What if I told you to eat it, but you could not use your hands?-Uncool, huh?

-Many of you might try to muscle through the wrapper with your feet, or you might just grab the whole lollipop with your mouth and eat it, paper and all.

-Either way, however, you are MISSING a CRUCIAL COMPONENT for ENJOYING YOUR TREAT!

The same sadness occurs…

Trying to eat a lollipop without your hands is much like trying to read without taking notes, or interacting with what you are reading.

You may be able to force yourself through it (the reading), but you will unlikely understand, remember, or enjoy it as well.

SOLUTIONS?

YES! Turn that Frown Upside Down.

Annotations andCornell Notes!

This is annotation…

“Comprehension of difficult text can be significantly enhanced …with discussion-based activities in which students are invited to make predictions, summarize, link texts with one another and background knowledge, generate and answer text-related questions, clarify understanding, muster relevant evidence to support an interpretation, and interrelate reading, writing, and discussion.”

Applebee & Langer, 2003

Put Another Way, ANNOTATION IS…

Why annotation? Isn’t reading the text enough?

Robert Probst’s describes the reader’s response as a “dialogue with the text”, which signifies the student’s roles and responsibility in making connections between the text and himself or herself.

Carol Porter-O’Donnell notes that annotation of the text provides a “visible record of the thoughts that emerge while making sense of the reading.”

More rationale for annotation...

Annotation is a “writing-to-learn” strategy that…

Changes Comprehension Helps Teach

Reading as a Process

PromotesActive

Reading

Improves Writing

Focuses Reading

You know you have to read “between the lines”…

I want to persuade you to write between the lines. Unless you do, you are not likely to do the most efficient kind of reading.

Mortimer J. Adler

“How to Mark a Book”

Annotation requires student-awareness of categories of text response:

Text Response Categories

Reflecting on Content or

Reading Process

Construction or Craft of the Writing

Making predictions

Making connections

Stating Opinions

Asking Questions

Effective Annotation

Suggested Annotation Ideas (UNDERLINE OR HIGHLIGHT ON THE PAGE DURING READING)

WHORelevant characters in fictionImportant individuals in non-fiction

WHATThe plot and/or themes in fiction The main ideas in non-fiction

WHENThe setting in fictionThe important historical background and/or time frames in non-fiction

WHEREThe setting in fiction,Relevant geographies and/or locations in non-fiction

WHYWhy did the author write this?Why was it written in the way it was written?Why does the author and/or your professor consider this important?

HOWUsually characterization and literary devices used in the author’s craft in fictionHow does this occur, or how do I do this? (Often very important to student understanding in non-fiction especially)

VOCABULARYAny words you don’t knowAny terms that seem important

IMPORTANT DETAILSImportant information Literary devicesSupporting details

Summarize Make Predictions

Make Connections

Analyze the author's craft, the organization

of the materials, and/or relevant

structures of information

Formulate Opinions

Define or Explain

Ask Questions

Write Reflections,Reactions, Comments

Look for Patterns and Repetitions

Suggested annotation notes:

WriteThesein the Margins!

Let’s Try Annotating!

I contend, quite bluntly, that

marking up a book is not an

act of mutilation but of love.

Mortimer J. Adler

“How to Mark a Book”

Annotation can be done on the computer…

Use

INSERT:Comments

Or

REFERENCES:Footnotes

or Endnotes

Why Not Just HIGHTLIGHT?

Why Not Just HIGHTLIGHT?

How much to HIGHLIGHT, then?

Guidelines for annotation Students should mark the piece for surface meaning (vocabulary, who,

what, etc.)

Students must write an explanation for anything which they have underlined or highlighted.

Not every mark and note must be annotated on a single read. Annotation can be a process that evolves each time the piece is read and better understood.

Begin by focusing on a paragraph, then another, then a page, and then a chapter or the whole text, to prevent annotation from becoming burdensome.

Substitute sticky notes or loose-leaf paper for annotation if individual copies of the text are not available for annotation, or use the Cornell Note-taking System…

Cornell Notes A systematic format for condensing and

organizing notes. These notes can be taken from any source of

information, such as fiction and nonfiction books, DVDs, lectures, text books, etc.

Long sentences are avoided; symbols or abbreviations are used instead.

To assist with future reviews, students write relevant questions or key words in the left column.

Record as soon as possible so that the lecture and questions will be fresh in the student's mind, usually within 24 hours.

Cornell Notes Students then write a brief summary in the

bottom five to seven lines of the page. This helps to increase understanding of the

topic.

When studying for either a test or quiz, the student has a concise but detailed and relevant record of previous classes.

When reviewing the material, the student can cover the note-taking (right) column while attempting to answer the questions/keywords in the key word or cue (left) column.

Cornell Note-Taking System

Cues,

Keywords,

Questions,

Main Ideas2 Inches

.

Notes6 Inches

• Key thoughts, ideas, and info• Important dates/people/places• Repeated or emphasized info• Outlines of information structure• Diagrams or Pictures• Formulas

2.5 Inches

Summary Reduce the main

points of the reading or lecture notes.

Cornell Notes Examples

Let’s Practice…

Let’s Practice…