Comparatively speaking, my annotations at this point of the semester are much more valuable than they were at the beginning of the semester. My annotations now showcase how my active reading skills have really transformed and improved. I think my annotations reflect how I am much more aware of what I am reading and I have developed skills that allow me to further connect myself to the reading and compare it to other readings, authors, or ideas I have observed in the past. One of the first pieces of writing I annotated was the “Moral Bucket List” by David Brooks. After looking back over my annotations on that article, I noticed that most of my annotations fell under the “Understand” category. Many of them were just restating a paragraph or some quotes in my own words and summarizing what has been said by the author. Some of my annotations were under the “Questions” category, and I was just writing down questions I had about what a certain word or phrase meant. This was because I was just trying to comprehend what I was reading and not preoccupied with making connections or challenging the text.

At this point in the semester, my annotations are completely different. I am making much more that fall under the “Draw Relationships” and “Challenge” categories. This is because I am more comfortable reading certain texts from multiple different authors and I am able to take my active reading one step further. I am making so many connections between what I read and what I have read in other texts, seen in the world around me, or experienced myself. I also have enough confidence that I am able to challenge an idea from the author and support my disagreement with evidence from other sources.