I have been annotating since middle school, and it is one of my favorite strategies that I use when reading. I will mostly rewrite the main ideas that I find in the paper in my own words. I do this because it is one way that helps me to remember what the essay is about and its important points. I also do this to try to clarify a paragraph that might be particularly difficult. Another tactic that I do is ask questions. This another way for me to find clairday when I do not understand a part of the essay. One way to get a better grasp on a paper is to read it multiple times. The first time you read a paper is when you get the main ideas that the author is trying to get across, while the second time around is where you pick out the details that help build the authors argument and possibly show any underlying means.
