Before my time here at UNE, my ability to absorb information from text was terrible, I often found myself passively reading certain pieces of information three or more times just to remember details. My annotations were next to nothing and were often useless, many times done just to get credit on an assignment that required annotation. It wasn’t until I got to school here that I am now beginning to realize the importance of text absorption and annotation. Having outlines like Gilroy’s recommendations are helping me save time and absorb from and relate to texts. These helpful tips to annotation are not only helping me read texts, they also prepare me for classroom discussions to the point where I can be an active participant and add to the lessons. The biggest thing for me so far has been the growing ability to question texts and their meanings, as well as questioning how they relate to real world experiences and examples. These annotation keys and tips have helped me read more actively and engage with texts so for that I am thankful. In the future I will work toward becoming a better information absorber as well as a better student participator and by applying Gilroy’s recommendations, this is much more achievable than I though before.
