Textual Annotation
Watson Textual Annotations
This assignment is designed to help you in developing critical writing skills while also demonstrating your ability to critically read a text for content and response.
Complete the following prompts for each primary reading this semester (exclude contextual readings and author biographies).
To complete this assignment effectively you will first need to annotate the text. Over the course of the semester, we will discuss a number of techniques to help you perform a close reading/annotation of a text.
Be sure to take notes on these strategies, and choose the one that is best for you!
1. In your own words: Summarize the text (150-200 words maximum).
2. Quote a passage that you found confusing (properly cite the quote in MLA format) and write about why you found it confusing. (250-300 words maximum)
3. Identify and define at least one (1) word you did not previously know before reading this text. Use dictionary.com for an initial definition.
4. Answer one (1) of the Reader Response Questions found on the second page of this assignment. Be sure to use evidence from the text when discussing your answer. (250-300 words minimum)
**You may use first-person pronouns (I, Me, My, etc.) for this assignment.
Reward!: Students who earn a superior grade (20/20) on each Textual Annotation assignment for four (4) straight weeks will be excused from all future Textual Annotation submissions since they will have demonstrated their strength in independent critical reading.
Grading:
20 (A): Assignment demonstrates a close reading of the literary texts by thoroughly answering each prompt clearly with insightful material and responses.
16 (B): Responses to prompts are thorough, yet lack the depth of “A” submissions.
14 (C): Responses to prompts are vague and/or demonstrate only a tertiary reading of the text by not including substantial details or in-depth responses.
12 (D): Responses to prompts are missing and/or do not stay focused on the prompt given. 10 (F): Responses to prompts are very brief with no indication of original thought or close reading.
Additional points may be deducted for the following:
-5: Incorrect MLA format and/or MLA format not attempted
-10: For each missing Textual Annotation (If multiple readings were assigned).
Created by Josh Watson, Reynolds Community College, 2018 Licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License.
Reader Response Questions
Choose one of the questions below to answer #4 for each of your Textual Annotations.
∙ Did this reading make you laugh? Cry? Cringe? Smile? Cheer? Explain.
∙ What connections are there between the reading and your life? Explain.
∙ What is the most important word in the reading? Explain.
∙ Do you like the ending of the reading? Why or why not?
∙ What came as a surprise in the reading? Why?
∙ What was the author saying about life and living through this reading? Explain. ∙ What does the writer’s purpose seem to be? Are they successful? Explain.
∙ My favorite character is __________ because __________.
∙ I can relate to __________ (character) because __________.
∙ Create a slogan for the reading and explain why you chose this…
∙ If this reading would become a movie, choose 3 main scenes and explain why you chose them. ∙ This reading helps me understand the problem of __________ better because __________. ∙ Write and explain a feasible solution for a problem a character has that is different from anything suggested in the reading.
∙ Discuss how __________(character) shows his/her personality through the dialogue in the story. ∙ Discuss how __________(character) shows his /her personality by the actions he/she takes. ∙ Discuss how __________(character) shows his/her personality by what other characters say or do toward this character.
∙ Create an award for this reading. Explain the award and why this book received it.
Created by Josh Watson, Reynolds Community College, 2018 Licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License.
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