Annotations
Annotations are designed to prepare you for class discussions, for
formal essays, and for examinations by providing you with an occasion to close
read a selected passage and use the passage to make meaning of the whole work.
You are required to turn in five annotations during the semester;
at least two must be turned in before mid-term (October 10).
Annotations are due at the beginning of the class period on the day the
material annotated is being discussed. You
will not receive credit for annotations on material already discussed in class. You may do only one annotation on a single work.
·
Begin by selecting a brief passage: a
paragraph, a few lines, even a single sentence. Select passages that impress you as interesting, significant,
or puzzling.
·
Type your selection out in full at the top of
the page.
·
Underline three to five key words in the
passage.
·
Check the meaning of the underlined words in
the Oxford English Dictionary.
You may access the OED
online through the RBD Library’s database page.
·
Comment on why the passage is important and
significant to a reading of the work. Use
OED definitions to analyze the passage more closely.
This section of your annotation should be the most substantial part of
the assignment. Two or three
sentences is not an adequate discussion.
·
Conclude by advancing a tentative thesis based
on your reading.
·
Your annotation should be 11/2-2 pages.
Single space within sections; double space between sections.
We will collaborate on annotating a passage from Candide
in class on Monday, August 25. You
may want to delay completing your first annotation until after that class.