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Annotating structure

Read the text and look for patterns in the structure, for example:

• paragraph lengths
• repeated words and phrases
• overall shape of the text

Then look more closely at the ideas in the extract, and how they relate to one another.

Example

My father's family name being Pirrip, and my Christian name Philip, my infant tongue could make of both names nothing longer or more explicit than Pip. So, I called myself Pip, and came to be called Pip.

Great Expectations, Charles Dickens

Annotation

• Repetition of Pip.

Analysis

• Short paragraph, focused on importance of name.

Annotating language

• Highlight any interesting language features in the text.
• Pick out examples of literary devices that stand out because they’re unusual, or because they link closely to the character, theme or purpose.
• Highlight individual words to explore closely - those with particular connotations or ones that seem to relate to the theme of the text.

Annotating characterisation and voice

• Pick out key elements which show the development of characters.
• Look for phrases that reveal key details about characters. For example, you might highlight an example of where a character’s appearance is linked to a theme.
• Find clues about the main voice in the piece. Highlight points where narrative voice is shown through the language.
• Is the author using voice for a particular effect? Pick out examples of where they do so.

Annotating for themes and ideas

• Highlight any words or phrases that link to the main themes of a text. With a longer text you might find colour coding a helpful way to annotate various themes.