Step 1: Preview
After reading the title and glancing over the text and author's biography (below), what do you think the text will be about? What do you understand about the text from the title? What do you know already about this topic? What questions do you have about the text?
Step 2: Read, summarize, and annotate
As you read the article, use the Track Changes function to annotate the text.
Highlight a paragraph and summarize it in one sentence. Group short paragraphs of the same topic together for summarizing.
What words do you not understand? Define them directly in the text next to the word. Only put the definition for the word in its exact context (not all the definitions).
Highlight the main idea(s) of each section. Refer to the handout Annotating for more help. You can use the functions in Microsoft Word to highlight sections or words or underline sentences or sections that are important, just like you would if you were annotating a hard copy of the essay.
Step Three: Answering questions about the text
What is the tone and how do you know? Provide at least three quotes that support your answer.
What is your response to this reading? What did the article add to your knowledge or understanding of this topic?