When I read I employ various techniques of active and critical reading. While annotating pieces, in order to begin a conversation with the text, I ask questions such as how or why, and I do not shy away from stating my own opinion in the margin no matter if agrees or counters the authors argument. Susan Gilroy wrote a piece “Interrogating Texts: 6 Reading Habits to develop in Your First Year at Harvard,” and although I am not going to Harvard, I utilize many of the same strategies that she recommends. I find it extremely helpful to make notes of “how issues in a text may connect with class discussions or course themes” or other world experiences (Gilroy). In my annotations of the essay, “The Future of Science… Is Art?” by American author, Jonah Lehrer, I not only commented on his ideas, but also how he wrote. He used numerous quotes and references to other authors and people similar to another author that we have read this semester, philosopher Galen Strawson. Both used a lot of outside ideas, however I commented on how the technique that Lehrer used to integrate this evidence was a lot more successful. Instead of just throwing quotes into paragraphs like Strawson did, he clearly transitioned between his ideas, and someone else’s. I am then able to take this strategy into my own writing and learning and thinking in the future. This increased comprehension, allowed me to construct TREAC and Barclay paragraphs about the connections between art and science in my informal writing responses. In my annotating, I mark items that confuse me, I can relate to, or those that support the author’s main ideas so I can fully comprehend their claim and argument. This allows me to interrogate the text, both to learn from it, and desire more information from it at the same time. In my annotations, I would restate wordy or important phrases in order to extract more meaning from the words, along with helping me remember these pieces to the text. I could then use these pieces of evidence in class discussions. The annotations that my class and I made spark fruitful discussions that lead to further inquiry and comprehension.
