Reading Rhetorical Nonfiction
When you read, what things do you annotate (mark, comment on, and/or explain)? This reader’s bookmark contains our answers and excerpts from Porter-O’Donnell’s Figure 1.

Annotating Text

BEFORE READING
·  Read the title and any subtitles
·  Read the author’s biography
·  Read the editors’ prefatory comments
·  Examine the essay for unusual formatting (bold, italics, etc.)
DURING READING AND REREADING
Mark in the text:
·  Facts (5Ws)
·  Chunks/B-M-E
·  Difficult Vocabulary
·  Descriptions, CDs, adjectives
·  Repetitions (words, phrases, ideas)
·  Vivid, powerful language (imagery, figures of speech, etc.)
·  Rhetorical Structures (anecdotes, examples, comparison & contrast, cause & effect, classification, definitions, facts & opinions, appeals…)
Write in the margins:
·  Summaries
·  Personal Reactions
·  Tone Words
·  Mood Words
·  Questions
·  Predictions
·  Connections (personal, within the text, between this text and other texts)
·  Comments
·  Analysis (parts of the whole)
AFTER READING
·  Reread annotations – draw conclusions
·  Reread introduction and conclusion – try to figure out something new
·  Examine patterns and repetitions – determine possible significance
·  Revisit the title for new meaning and deeper understanding / Reading Rhetorical Nonfiction
When you read, what things do you annotate (mark, comment on, and/or explain)? This reader’s bookmark contains our answers and excerpts from Porter-O’Donnell’s Figure 1.

Annotating Text

BEFORE READING
·  Read the title and any subtitles
·  Read the author’s biography
·  Read the editors’ prefatory comments
·  Examine the essay for unusual formatting (bold, italics, etc.)
DURING READING AND REREADING
Mark in the text:
·  Facts (5Ws)
·  Chunks/B-M-E
·  Difficult Vocabulary
·  Descriptions, CDs, adjectives
·  Repetitions (words, phrases, ideas)
·  Vivid, powerful language (imagery, figures of speech, etc.)
·  Rhetorical Structures (anecdotes, examples, comparison & contrast, cause & effect, classification, definitions, facts & opinions, appeals…)
Write in the margins:
·  Summaries
·  Personal Reactions
·  Questions
·  Tone words
·  Mood words
·  Predictions
·  Connections (personal, within the text, between this text and other texts)
·  Comments
·  Analysis (parts of the whole)
AFTER READING
·  Reread annotations – draw conclusions
·  Reread introduction and conclusion – try to figure out something new
·  Examine patterns and repetitions – determine possible significance
·  Revisit the title for new meaning and deeper understanding