How to Decide What to Highlight While Reading
Authors of academic books and articles always seem to have so much to say. How do you figure out what really counts?
- Difficulty:
- Moderate
Instructions
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1
Look briefly over the entire book or article to get a feel for its structure and how its argument or arguments will proceed.
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2
Pay particular attention to introductory and concluding paragraphs. These often contain summaries of important points.
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3
Look for certain words and phrases that can tip you off that something important is coming up, such as "In sum," "The point is," "Most importantly," and so on.
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4
Consider reading the conclusion first. It's like doing a maze backwards: If you know where you're trying to end up, you can find and understand the path better.
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5
Look back over the book or article the next day, reading only the highlighted material. Do so again in about a week. This will help the material stick better in your mind.
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6
Remember that this is a skill: Be patient with yourself if you're having difficulty with it. Practice makes perfect.
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1
Tips & Warnings
If, as you go along, you find that half the text is fluorescent, you're probably highlighting too much. Be more discriminating.
Instead of using a highlighting pen, try marking in the margins with a pen or pencil. This will save time.
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Comments
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Durden
Apr 08, 2008
i am a cronic highlighter and i would like to solve this problem... i often look at my papers and notice the entire thing is yellow w/ small islands of white... the things said here do help me a lot...and i do like the thing about haxing the used text books... but i still have the problem of highlighting too much... any tips or suggestions would be greatly accepted -
Durden
Apr 08, 2008
i am a cronic highlighter and i would like to solve this problem... i often look at my papers and notice the entire thing is yellow w/ small islands of white... the things said here do help me a lot...and i do like the thing about haxing the used text books... but i still have the problem of highlighting too much... any tips or suggestions would be greatly accepted
-
Durden
Apr 08, 2008
i am a cronic highlighter and i would like to solve this problem... i often look at my papers and notice the entire thing is yellow w/ small islands of white... the things said here do help me a lot...and i do like the thing about haxing the used text books... but i still have the problem of highlighting too much... any tips or suggestions would be greatly accepted
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Aug 08, 2006
I have found that it is pretty neat to put a star (written in pencil) at the beginning and ending portions of what you think is important to highlight. Then, it is a good idea to just write down what you have put stars by. Such a thing is good for retention. When you are done with finals week, you can erase what you put stars by and sell those books back for a little money. When I first started at University, I highlighted everything and have books I will never use again that are highlighted big time. I missed out on making a little money selling them back because of that, but I always keep my ears open if anyone needs a book, you know? Like, I know my younger brother is going to use my old history books. But, I wished I learned sooner about highlighting. So, just work your starring and underlining technique in pencil and please write down what you mark because that is really good for your memory.
-
Aug 08, 2006
I have found that it is pretty neat to put a star (written in pencil) at the beginning and ending portions of what you think is important to highlight. Then, it is a good idea to just write down what you have put stars by. Such a thing is good for retention. When you are done with finals week, you can erase what you put stars by and sell those books back for a little money. When I first started at University, I highlighted everything and have books I will never use again that are highlighted big time. I missed out on making a little money selling them back because of that, but I always keep my ears open if anyone needs a book, you know? Like, I know my younger brother is going to use my old history books. But, I wished I learned sooner about highlighting. So, just work your starring and underlining technique in pencil and please write down what you mark because that is really good for your memory.
