Description

Now that you have identified your (3) texts, you are ready to start the meta-analysis process. Meta-analysis is just like annotating, but it’s a close reading of your own work. In a meta-analysis, you are responding to a text as a reader. The goal of this activity is to capture your reactions to your own writing so that you can gain the “distance” to develop as a more critical self-reader and, eventually, self-revisor. To complete the meta-analysis, create annotations (including markings and verbal comments) just as you would in the annotation process, and avoid the urge to revise, “fix,” or reword any of the text. Simply capture your reactions. Because you are the writer whose work you’re annotating, your meta-analysis should also consider:

• Where are the moments your thinking became unclear in the writing? What do you think happened as you created this part of the text?
• Where are the moments you notice fabulous clarity and language for what you meant? What do you remember about how you created this part of the text?
• Identify each part of that rhetorical situation (audience, purpose, message, and so on) and how it “shows up” in the writing? How did the audience and purpose influence your choices in each text?
• What are the take-aways about this writing that you want to remember for the future?

Technical Requirements

If you’re annotating using pen and pa.PAPR:

• Print or obtain a printed copy of all texts.
• Complete the meta-analysis/annotation process by hand using a dark-colored pen.
• Use a traditional scanner on a printer or other device to capture images of all pages or sections of all text as a single PDF, OR use a smartphone app for scanning such as CamScanner, TurboScan, or Scannable to capture images of all pages or sections of the texts as a single PDF.
• Email yourself the PDF for easy access and storage. From your preferred device, download the single PDF of the annotated text from your email and then upload it to the Writer Portrait text annotations area in Canvas.

If you’re annotating using a stylus on a tablet or other device:

• Open digital files or images of the texts in your preferred application on the tablet or other device.
• Complete the annotation process by hand using a stylus and any other relevant marking tools (such as a highlighting feature).
• Save your annotated files or images of all the texts as a single PDF.
• Upload the single PDF of the annotated text to the Summary Annotations Assignment area in Canvas.