R = READ to discover the author's ideas

• Taped books may be used or the passages may be read aloud by a tutor.

E = ENCODE the author's ideas into one's own language

• Tape record or dictate to a tutor.

A = ANNOTATE those ideas in writing for oneself or for sharing with others.

• Pre-writing accommodations: tape recorder, dictation to a tutor, or diagramming of ideas
• Annotate the text by writing responses to it.

  Note: An annotation can be one of several types:

• summary
• heuristic, defining the essence of the statement
• thesis, depicting the precise statement's theme
• question, addressing the germane ideas of a selection
• intention, specifying an author's intention for writing
• motivation, speculating on motives, biases, and perceptions of the author
• critical: author's point of view, the annotator's reaction to this position, the basis for the annotator's position.

P = PONDER the significance of the annotation.

• Reflect on the meaning, seek connections with what you know to increase memory.

(SOURCE: Eanet & Manzo, in Tierney, Readence, and Dishner. Reading Strategies and Practices. 2nd ed. Boston: Allyn and Bacon, 1985, 195-197)