Annotating Your Way into Academic Discourse – Key Terms (Vocabulary)

Vocabulary flashcards covering key concepts from the notes on academic discourse and reading strategies.

Academic Discourse

The formal, complex, and precise way scholars speak and write in college-level contexts across disciplines.

Voice (Author's Voice)

Inserting your own perspective or stance into scholarly writing to participate in scholarly conversations.

Annotation

The act of marking up a text with notes, questions, and reflections while reading.

Highlighting

Marking important parts of a text with color; often used with annotations but not sufficient alone.

Previewing

A quick scan of a text to note title, author, design, structure, and genre to activate schemas.

Schemas

Prior knowledge frameworks that help structure and interpret a text.

Genre

The category or type of a text (e.g., informational, poetry) that shapes reading approach.

Skimming

Reading quickly to grasp the main ideas or gist of a text, often in early research stages.

Says/Does Approach

A method of annotation that distinguishes what a paragraph says from what it does in the text.

Audience

The intended readers for whom the author writes; influences tone, content, and appeals.

Ethos

Credibility-based appeal in rhetoric; how the author establishes trustworthiness.

Logos

Logical appeal; use of reasoning and evidence to persuade readers.

Pathos

Emotional appeal; engaging readers’ feelings to persuade.

Rhetorical Triangle

Three persuasive appeals—Ethos, Logos, and Pathos—used to persuade an audience.

Evidence

Facts, data, or sources used to support a claim or argument.

Believing/Doubting Game

A strategy to evaluate a position by alternately believing it and then doubting it, annotating reasons and counterarguments.

Reading Like a Writer (RLW)

Reading to identify writerly techniques and choices with the aim of applying or imitating them.

Mapping (Visual Mapping)

A visual representation of a text’s structure and connections (e.g., web/radial maps) to reveal relationships.

Online Source Evaluation

Assessing the credibility of online texts by considering domain, author, peer review, bibliography, and citations.

Peer-Reviewed

Scholarly work that has been evaluated by experts in the field before publication.

Domain Types

Suffixes like .com, .org, .gov, .edu that signal the nature and credibility of a website.

Purpose for Reading

The reason for reading (e.g., to summarize, compare, or locate sources) which guides strategy.

Information Literacy

The ability to locate, evaluate, and use information effectively and responsibly.