My approach to critical reading and annotating was simple and very effective. For the majority of my annotations, I used multiple reading practices, including highlighting, noting, and underlining. The way I decided to make these annotations was so it created a guideline through the author’s arguments and points, helping me identify crucial information in the writing. This method of annotating not only reinforced my focus on the material but also allowed me to engage deeply with the writing even more, by allowing me to express personal thoughts and opinions freely. More specifically, in the annotation process of deciding what to mark and discuss, I focused on sentences or passages that seemed central to the author’s argument, key evidence, or things that raised questions or thoughts in my mind. This decision proved to be extremely effective because assisted me in extracting the most meaningful and relevant information from the writing. Also by doing these purposeful annotations, it ensured that my annotations served a purpose and were accessible to be referenced in the future. For example, in this piece I used as an example, Is Google Making Us Stupid? I used many of my annotations like bookmarks when it came to writing my first essay, it made finding quotes and other information incredibly easy. I also found that putting in my own opinion or thoughts in marginal comments helped build my essay as well because I had already added my thoughts about paragraphs or sentences. Additionally, I found even more value in doing this as it allowed me to periodically pause throughout my reading and make sure I was comprehending what I was reading. This method reveals my ability to analyze information and draw connections within the text, showing my understanding of the material and the importance of effectively annotating. In conclusion, my active, critical reading approach involves combinations of multiple annotating methods. By involving different methods I can interpret what is what and allow me to extract meaningful information by marking and discussing it. This process not only enhanced my comprehension of the material but also allowed me to use it as a resource to build my essay.

5 annotated pages evidenced here: