In cold blood/analyzing/notes?? :P

[Mister6]

what are some good tips for taking good margin notes?

and how do you become proficient at analyzing the text/making connections and so on?

notes on rhetoric/use of narrative??
rhetorical devices?
going to take a ap lit class this fall and i'd really love to get to know some good lit tips to make my life easier :P
thanks

and sorry if this is the wrong place to post? :\ :smilewinkgrin:

[Pryderi Agni]

Probably the right place to post, but here's some tips:

1. Read a LOT of extraneous material. It might or might not be related to your major or even your option, but you shouldn't care.

2. Take notes of whatever you read. Have a notebook close at hand, and just write down what you feel or what you think the author thinks worth saying.

3. Margin notes should always be precise, compact and sensitively written. Never crowd out the text with a cloud of margin scribbles.

4. Analysis of a literary work should always be by a mixture of heart and head. Read some of the great critics (Pater, Gates, and Kristeva come most highly recommended) if you have time, and find out how they analyzed a text.