Guidelines and Sample Instructions
Guidelines and Sample Instructions
Successful activities have good instructions! Below are some guidelines
(with other considerations), along with sample instructions for you to copy/repurpose.
Activity Guidelines
- Give students clear directions about what you are expecting regarding their annotations. For instance: a specific number of original annotations, a specific number of replies, if they should only make one annotation on each page, if they should make at least one annotation per page, by what date to post all original annotations, by what date to post all replies, etc.
- Remember to keep your expectations for the number of annotations and replies reasonable. It's better to focus on quality, not quantity.
- Model an annotation or tell students what sort of annotations you are looking for. Are they posting reactions to the text? Posing questions about the author's arguments or methodology? Connecting text to excerpts from other readings?
- Explain the purpose of the activity and how it contributes to the course's learning outcomes. This can help students understand that the assignment isn't just "busy work", but an intentionally designed activity to showcase their learning.
- Identify community standards and interaction guidelines; the principles of mutual respect they follow in the classroom also applies to their online communications.
- Engage with the students by replying to their annotations – this could be answering their questions, clarifying their understanding, or pushing their thinking deeper. Students will engage more earnestly if they know their instructors are reading their work. This can also help you monitor the conversation and ensure community standards are being upheld.
- Encourage students to tag their annotations, this could be a good way for students to collectively build knowledge. Define tags you want them to use, like 'definition', 'evidence', 'reaction', 'persuasion', etc.
- Allow for some time for students to get comfortable with using the Hypothesis interface.
- If this is their very first Hypothesis assignment in the class, you might spend some class time (or record a video) to demonstrate how to make annotations.
- Link to this Hypothesis Student Guide (or create and modify your own copy).
- Link the students to this page with Annotation Tips for Students.
Check out these tips about promoting engagement, refocusing discussions or addressing disruptive posts (and other tips about asynchronous discussions!).
Want more ideas?
Check out this BIG Hypothesis repository full of tips, sample assignments and instructions for annotation assignments generally or specific to a discipline (arts, business, STEM, and more).
Sample Instructions
These sample instructions are provided by instructors using Hypothesis at UCSC. You’re OK to copy and paste and edit any of these for your own use.
Example: Annotation guidelines & setting community standards
Shared (with many thanks) from Megan McNamara
Please keep in mind the following guidelines for minimum standards:
- Each post should be between 75-125 words (a medium-to-long paragraph)
- Contribute no more than one post on each page of the original text - spread out annotations to different pages
- Three original posts are due on Friday, response posts are due Sunday
- Each of your annotations should be substantive, clear and specific.
- When responding to others, use the “Yes and” concept from improv comedy. Don't stop at "I agree" or "I disagree"; instead, use your classmates' posts as a jumping-off point to go even further
- Please ensure that your posts demonstrate careful reading and a sociological perspective
Example: Historical Text
Shared (with many thanks) from Minghui Hu
- What you'll do: Read this assigned text comment on the content, idea, and argumentation of the text, or whatever you deem critical or problematic.
- Good participation includes (but is not limited to): inserting new ideas for discussion, responding to others' ideas, posing questions, highlighting interesting paragraphs to share, explaining a tricky concept, offering an informed opinion, and bringing in additional resources. This may involve defining new words to you, providing links to related resources, and reflecting on the linkages between different readings and lectures.
- Grading: We will grade your comments by the number and consistency of your comments, the depth of your consideration, clarification of terms or concepts, engagements with other students, and the originality of your comments. Please post at least 3 annotations and 3 replies.
- Aim for variation in the content and timing of your comments. If you always comment early, then try commenting later so that at least some of your comments build on those of others without responses. If you're always coming into the conversation at the last minute, try coming in earlier sometimes so that others can respond to you. Ideally, you come in and out a couple of different times to look at others' responses and your comments and witness how our collective understanding and analysis of the text grows.
Example: Article Annotations
While you read the article, you’ll add annotations to the text.
Focus on what the author has to say or what they are arguing:
- Identify supporting points or arguments in the article and post an annotation explaining how their evidence or examples are relevant.
- What are your reactions to their argument and examples?
- What is the author’s goal with this piece?
- Do you agree or disagree with their ideas?
Please post at least 5 original annotations and respond to at least 2 other students’ posts. Your response posts can be agreement, disagreement, or adding information and ultimately: it should draw connections.
Also: annotating to add additional resources like defining new words, providing links to related resources, and reflecting on the linkages between different readings and lectures is encouraged.
Jump To:
About Hypothesis · TRY OUT HYPOTHESIS · Setting up Hypothesis in Canvas ·
Guidelines and Sample Instructions · What's New + FAQ · Additional Support + Resources