In Fourth Place...

Studying vocab! And the crowd goes wild!...or...not. Tough crowd, man. Tough crowd.

I know. Studying vocab. This is even more dull than annotation, isn't it? Le ew. Oh well, if you don't study your vocab--and I really mean study it, you may as well just give up now, and go talk to your counselor. There is absolutely no way you could withstand the course without adequate vocabulary study. Like, you'd have less chance than an ice cream cone sitting under the hot August sun.

Your vocab is your lifeline to understanding what exactly is going on in the class. Seriously. And I'm not talking about the wimpy English class vocab lists, with words like "hierarchy," and "adequate." I'm talking about the difference between a qualifier and an antithesis. Or  the difference between a thesis and a claim. You have no idea, do you? If you do, congratulations, you're ahead of the game. Would you like a trophy? I'd give you one, but that wouldn't really mean much, because knowing simple differences isn't enough.

You have to know the exact definitions, especially for the evils of the vocabulary definitions quizzes. You don't define the words. The quiz has a bunch of blanks, no word banks, and a bunch of definitions. There will probably be at least 3 sets of words that have definitions that could mean the exact same thing.

Getting the idea, now? Vocabulary is the key to surviving...at least for the first semester or so of the course. After that, you'll probably be done with vocabulary--quizzes, at least. Oh, you thought that was the least of it? Unfortunately, no. You'll be expected to know just about every possible word to describe sentence structure, not to mention paragraph structure and various different ways to structure one's arguments. On what, you ask? On in-class essays, on timed writings, on the AP Exam.

I had one exam where I had to write an essay using rhetorical modes. Go figure I always mix up "Rhetorical Modes," "Rhetorical Structures," and "Rhetorical Devices," huh? Rather than modes, I put a bunch of rhetorical devices. I knew that I had done poorly, before I even handed it in. Why? Because even though, for once, I hadn't mixed up the various rhetorical ____s, I could not, for the life of me, remember a single mode. Not a one. Oh joy of joys.

You're going to need to be able to call on difficult terms at a moment's notice; whether it be during an essay, a quiz, a test, or a class discussion. It's probably a good idea to learn some studying habits now, while you have the chance.

Vocabulary doesn't stick well with me, for some reason. Grammar, sure. Vocabulary? Not so much. I've found that flashcards (if you have a different word for them, let me know; it's basically where you put the word on one side, and the definition on the other) and/or flashcard apps for my phone seem to work best for me. Physical flashcards being far better than the alternative. And there are even vocabulary fans you could use...all sorts of things.

Like I mentioned, practice studying terms now, because it can only get easier. There are also practice AP multiple choice exams you can take, to see how much you already know, so that you know what you need to study. I do that all the time, personally. We had several in-class or for homework over the first semester, and every time I got one back, I'd study the words I didn't know, or the answers that I didn't get correct, with fervor. I suggest doing the same, and saving all of those quizzes for reference. I mean, it's not like it can do anything to make your life more difficult; attempting new ways of studying can only make your life easier.

So, this one may not be interesting, but really...vocabulary is way important. Take my word for it, or don't. I've already learned the hard way; if you want to do so as well, that's your prerogative.

And.....BEGIN the Countdown!

Remember how I mentioned a Top 5 list? Maybe you don't, because that blog post was metamorphosed into the far-more fitting "About the Survival Guide" page. So go read it, before you even THINK about scrolling down. If you have, well then, carry on.

Now, guess what! It's starting waaaaay sooner than originally anticipated. Aren't you all just lucky ducks? Without any further ado...

Drumroll, please...in fifth place, we have....

annotation.

...are those crickets I hear? They'd better not be. There should be an orchestra playing in the background, and the sounds of thousands of people clapping--oh, wait, I suppose not. I was confusing my amazinglyfantasticabsolutelyperfectandsototallynecessary Survival Guide with an opera. Yes, I know, quite an easy mistake. I'm sure you thought the exact same thing. Oh, right. You were just silent. Much obliged.

Anyway, annotation doesn't sound very fabulous, and there's a good chance that, just like cursive writing (aka handwriting) was treated by teachers in my primary school, your teachers have spouted off lines like, "Oh, they're going to teach it to you next year if you need it."

Wrong. They probably told you that in the eighth grade, maybe even in the ninth grade, and if you really lucked out, you even heard [are hearing] it in tenth grade. Unfortunately, that all ends here. Most students enter the tenth grade and have no idea what annotation is, honestly expecting their teachers to teach them how to do it, if the need arises. That doesn't happen, meaning they head right on into an eleventh grade APLC class and are completely lost. Yes, kiddos, your teachers have lied to you. Did you also know there was no Santa Claus? 

However, if you didn't hear annotation ever mentioned, or APLC will honestly be the first time you ever have to annotate anything, I have a few tips for you. Yes, this is when you get your pen and pap--don't groan!-- Ahem. This is when you get your pen and paper out, and jot down a few things. Maybe not everything (though it would obviously be a good idea), but enough to get the general idea of what you need to know down. Maybe make a chart or something.

There is one thing that goes completely hand-in-hand with the skill of annotation. I'll give you a hint. It also starts with an 'A.' Still can't guess? Okay, it has to do with really, really, deep, brain-breaking thinking. Still lost? That's fine; I'm supposed to tell you, anyway. Analysis, analysis, analysis. The three 'A's to any successful attempt at annotation.

Of course, you've probably had teachers spout all this nonsense before. Keyword being probably. The thing is, you already know that you're supposed to annotate, but teachers never think to show you how to do so, right? You know you're supposed to analyze, but most people have no idea what that really means. Sure, you could get by with just summarizing what you think are the main points that (whatever you may happen to be reading) puts forward, but that's not analysis. Which begs the question:

What, exactly, is analysis?! 

Analysis is really just three basic things; you've got your basic:

A) summarizing,

B) what the author is intending (the speaker, in poetry's case) to relate to his/her audience, and

           *listing any rhetorical modes, devices, etc. would be a good idea.

C) personal opinions on what's going on. 

Yeah, I know, right? Since when has an English class really wanted to know your personal thoughts on something? Isn't English supposed to be about, like, what the author does and what the characters (if there are any) do, and that kind of thing? Well, sure. But analysis is deep thinking, right? We've covered that. When you deep think, you develop a personal understanding of something...in theory, anyway. Generally, with personal understanding, comes a personal opinion (we'll get to opinions later; for now let's focus on the topic of this post: our oh-so important annotation skills), and with a personal opinion on something, you're going to be completely capable of doing what your teachers want...yep. Annotating.

When you're annotating stuff in the margins of, say The Bedford Reader, which happens to be a required text for the AP Language class that I enrolled in, you have to think of what it's going to mean to you when you look back on it for the essay you're going to have to write (because, really, the likelihood of you being asked to annotate something, and not having an essay follow shortly thereafter is rather slim to none), because you may not understand it if you just write something like, "White used a metaphor," and place an arrow towards the line in the passage. 

Rather than write something as easily misunderstood as that, you should focus on your analysis. For each comment you decide to make about something, check your 3 steps; "White talks about the lake,"--summary? Check.--"He used a metaphor about the lake's beauty to further embellish his attachment to it,"--intention? Check. And, look--a rhetorical device (metaphor)!--"His metaphor really pulls me into the passage,"--personal views? Check and mate. Now, I wouldn't say to make it that long, but get the general gist of it there. Cut off words, if need be. And a really quick way to annotate is to just jot down a question about the passage, if it's plaguing your mind.

Annotation isn't just going to be necessary for the books and passages that your teachers will assign essays on; it's also fundamental to your success in the AP Exam. Yeah, there's a writing portion. And guess what? You only have a few minutes to annotate whatever prompt you get. That's when you use the little one-line annotation skills. I'd suggest not doing this too often, and if you think you'll have a spare minute or two, do the deeper analysis--your writing will be far more intelligent and authoritative.

Let's summarize, here.

1) Use the 3-Step Analysis Plan (as it shall now be dubbed) for any annotations that you'll have to look at in the foreseeable future.

2) Jot down one to two line annotations for anything that you are working on at that second. 

Alright, so...I told you what annotation is, told you how to do it, but you may still be confused. That's completely understandable. It took me months to really understand annotation. Yeah. Believe it or not, I've been there, too.

I started tenth grade never having even heard the word "annotation." From the start, I was in over my head, and really felt like I wouldn't ever catch up, and like I wouldn't understand what my teacher was saying. I don't wish that on anybody, because once you start getting behind in one section of a class, the rest of your skills for the class slip as well, seeing as how you'll be so focused on trying to understand the annotation (or whatever else it may be) that you'll forget about other stuff, and lose practice.

Anyhow, I digress. If you still don't completely understand, here are some visual examples, so you can actually see what annotation is supposed to look like.

An example of "badly-" done annotation (I hesitate to say that, but there's no other way to really put it):

Why is it "bad?" Well, for one thing, there's absolutely NO commentary around the highlights; how is the annotator supposed to understand his/her earlier thought processes, if/when s/he looks at it later? Exactly. Highlighting? Good. Lack of commentary? Very, very bad. Big no-no.

Example of "meh-" annotation (this is basically something you'd do for a prompt during a timed writing. I wouldn't suggest it for anything long-term):

The annotations here seem relatively rushed, but show a deep thought process, which is a really good start. And annotations that look like this are PERFECT for a timed writing of any sort, be it the AP Exam, the SOLs (standards of learning; it may be called something different in your state), or just something in class. 

Example of  awesome annotations (the type of annotations you should aim to do at all times, if you're not feeling a total time crunch):

This one's a bit harder to see, but look at all of the commentary. This is an English professor's dream. The person who annotated this really put a lot of time and effort into his/her reading, even going so far as to circle words, in order to remember exactly what s/he was describing in his/her annotations. You should attempt to do this for everything.

Funny story, actually. In APLC, it's pretty common to have what are called "Socratic Seminars (SS)," a classroom discussion on a topic, so named for the Greek philosopher and his methods of group conversation. For my first quarter SS in AP Lang, we covered the topic of transcendentalism. We were given a rather large packet with which to prepare, and about a week to prepare during. Me, being the rather forgetful, and, admittedly, somewhat lazy person I am, completely forgot that we had a seminar coming up. Oops. 

So there  I was, at the beginning of the seminar, rushing through it to annotate as much as I could. Not that it could help me at all. What kind of deep analysis would I be able to bring up in a deep discussion with rushed, skim-through commentary? Needless to say, I did not do as well as I should have been able to on that seminar. 

Remember: annotation is a skill that will totally help you with just about every single assignment you take on in your APLC course. So learn it. Love it. Live by it. Take it for walks. Potty train it. Feed it. Become best friends with it. Marry it. Whatever it takes to be able to comprehend it and embrace it. Do it.

I claim no ownership of the pictures above. They were found on google images, their base websites being:

"bad:" http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5006/5202737549_5d4d7642e3.jpg

"meh:" http://gregteach.net/yahoo_site_admin/assets/docs/Annotated_text.86212607.jpg

"awesome:" https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgoBlv2O-vIK7gsMwHGzNMcicJuB21zysgiuEqbDKP6ss-nORAaf-1kFboFPzj-pfil2iaIbNDTODTDNH65DIwZ4FWPT4K0vuTIeH0HpwWkr3w0ON_n2Eg58aIOMIsCDYjHwd-jHvo7E5k/s400/annotation.jpg