Somewhere between the jump from middle school to high school, the reading material gets a whole lot more complicated. And though it may seem daunting to go from using Harry Potter as an acceptable summer reading list entry to being forced to trod your way through Anna Karenina, there’s a foolproof method to ensuring that nothing in your English class is ever helplessly confusing again. It wasn’t until my freshman year at Burlingame High School that I was privileged enough to learn the secret, but the skill it advises is so helpful that I hope you might make use of it earlier.
We sat in fourth period, the silence almost oppressive. There wasn’t a single student looking anywhere but his or her desk, eyes drawn to the personalized monstrosity that was an individual copy of The Odyssey. If Shakespeare is your worst fear, try churning his words in a food processor until you can’t even form the original letters, and that’s about how clear the first page of Homer’s famous epic ends up to be. However, Honors English (or English class of any kind, really) is not for the fainthearted, and we listened bravely as we were given our instructions.
The key to reading – and more importantly, understanding – Homer, my teacher explained, was keeping track of everything that was going on. And that incredible secret? Maintaining your grasp on characters, creatures, islands and marriages could all magically be achieved with nothing more than your pencil. Yes, annotation. Overcome the childhood mantra that you must not write in your books and mark the heck out of them (provided their yours, and not school copies, of course). It’s a guaranteed way to do well in any English classroom; comprehension will become effortless, and finding notes and quotes for your essays will be a cinch. Just take a look at my intensely marked textbook – yes, I still employ this method years later, as a sophomore in college – and ask yourself how it’s possible to misunderstand.
Here’s a quick breakdown of the annotation skills to remember. Take note! (pun intended)
• At the bottom of each page, write a one-sentence summary of what has just occurred. In addition to helping you keep up with the thread of the story, it’s particularly useful when you’re reading thing in verse, like The Odyssey.
• If you don’t recognize something, be it a person, place, or thing, stop and look it up. Then simply write your best definition in the margin and trace it back to the term with an arrow. Sure, it takes a little longer than skipping it and moving on, but it is essential to the full comprehension that will help you write about and discuss the material afterwards. You’ll never forget the meaning again. I guarantee it.
• If you have questions or comments, by all means make note of them. They’ll come in handy for essay topics and class discussions – basically, you’ll become that kid who’s always prepared and never has to worry about being caught without something to say.
• Especially in poetry or verse, note the patterns that you find. Repetition of words, rhyme scheme, line length, and recurring themes are what give these particular art forms their foundation, as well as a lot of their meaning.
• Take note of important lines, words, or quotations. Underline or bracket them, and be sure to use a post-it to mark the page. Later, finding evidence to support your theories will simply mean flipping open to the proper page.
Though it may seem overly time-consuming, take it from someone who’s tried just about every way possible to succeed in an English class: the effort you put in while reading reduces the amount of time you spend afterwards. If you have a clear understanding of the work, and a clear documentation of what you and the author think, there isn’t a thing you’ll do in class that you won’t breeze right through. And so, many BHS graduates will advise you to never read without a pencil…and I can advise you, from personal experience, to never store that pencil in your pocket.
Comments
I will admit unfortunately I never finished High school I am now 27 and I've just taken up reading, not that I've never read anything before but rather now I enjoy reading! but sometimes have trouble explaining to people what I have just read I tend to forget, or not understand what I read at times. I don't read anything too difficult such as The Odyssey, but non the less I find your tips very useful! I was once told by a friend "Your not really reading if your book lacks your writing everywhere in the book" any who I see that this was written last year, but I would still like to give my credit to its writer. thank you Michaela Zamloot. and stay in school kids ha!