From Annotations to Essay

Close Reading ​is the skill of performing a rigorous and very detailed analysis of evidence in a text. When we do a “close reading,” we make careful observations about the text. From the evidence we gather and the analysis we conduct, we draw conclusions about the deeper meaning of the text. We can use the annotations we have been collecting in our readings to help perform a close reading.

The Process of Close Reading and Annotating

1. Read carefully and highlight unfamiliar, new vocabulary words.
2. Look up words and write a definition that you understand as an annotation. Be sure that the definition makes sense in the context of the reading passage.
3. Annotate ​the reading: highlight sentences that stand out to you, and write your questions and reactions in as annotations.
4. During the annotation process, identify quotes that you find interesting, significant, intriguing, or questionable, and which relate to the essay topic you have been given.
5. Look for patterns in the annotations: do certain quotes seem to connect to each other? Are certain ideas or words repeated? Do any quotes contradict each other and not fit the pattern?
6. Ask yourself questions about the quotes and take more notes:
   • The author chose to use these particular words when he or she could have chosen different words: which words are the most powerful and impactful? Why and how?
   • If the writer uses words that evoke an image or emotion, how would you describe the image or emotion that he or she created?
   • How might different readers understand the same words differently from you? Is there more than one way to interpret the quote?
   • Have you noticed something about the quote that other readers might not have noticed?
   • What is the writer’s tone? What specific words suggest this tone?
   • Why would the writer strike this tone in relation to his or her subject matter?
   • Does the tone change throughout the text? How and why?
   • Does the writer repeat certain ideas? To what effect?
   • Does the writer use any analogies or metaphors? What is their significance? What is the writer suggesting by using these analogies?
   • Does the writer make any references to other texts or writers? To what effect? For what purpose is the writer alluding to these other sources?
   • What kind of evidence does the writer use? Anecdotal (personal storytelling) or research? Facts and statistics?
   • What kind of relationship does the writer create with his or her audience and how?
   • What is the writer’s suggested purpose or message in writing?
   • What assumptions does the writer make (stated or unstated)?
   • What are the possible implications (implied consequences) of what the writer is stating?
7. Take notes on a piece of paper or in a Word/ Google Doc on the trends/ questions that arise from the annotations on our text. Organize your notes by grouping related ideas together.
8. Use your outlining to begin drafting body paragraphs.
9. Whenever you use a quote, you should make sure that your analysis of the quote is more developed than the quote itself. In addition, your response to the quotes should not just tell us what the quote says (this is called paraphrasing). It should go deeper by analyzing what the writer suggests or implies and how they do so.

Adapted from a resource developed by the Hostos English Department