Advantageous Annotations

Annotating is a useful tool that involves adding explanatory or clarifying notes to any form of content. It allows an individual to obtain a deeper analytical understanding of a certain topic through close reading faculty and students belonging to the School agree that the skill of annotating is a key to success.  

Morgan Guzmán, a History 11 teacher at the School, has a renowned reputation among the 11th and 12th graders for being an annotating enthusiast. She claims that learning the process of annotating “changed everything for [her]” as she “could finally break down and analyze texts” after struggling with dense and difficult readings that were hard to debrief. 

Similarly, Jacob Leland, an English 11 teacher at the School, believes annotating is rarely tedious. Leland states, “It helps me stay active and engaged while reading—just about any time I’m reading, I do it with a pen in my hand.” The simple task of keeping a pen handy and jotting down the thoughts that come to mind while reading a text, he argues, significantly improves your ability to comprehend and understand the text. 

Unlike Guzmán and Lelands, many students complain that annotations are tedious and time-consuming. Guzmán argues that “our texts are supposed to take time, and the more attentive time you spend with these texts the deeper your understanding will become.” 

From a student perspective, Charlotte Ragones, a junior at the School, claims, “I do not think annotating benefits me in my everyday life, but I do think that it helps in school, so I would not like to take it away. But I just don’t think it necessarily needs to be graded because that just puts more pressure on me.” Grades seem to be a major point of motivation for students when it comes to annotating for various assignments. 

 However, another student, Silas Farhang, a sophomore, believes annotating can improve one’s grade. He claims, “Annotations are also a good tool to bring your participation and overall grade up because they show the teacher that you care and put effort into the text you are assigned. It also gives you a better understanding of the text and more material for class discussions.” Deep thoughts and understanding of the topic you are learning about are the key things teachers look for while grading, whether it is a paper you are writing or a project you are working on. Keep these pointers in mind to make your experience in high school more fruitful.