Underlining & Highlighting

Why should I write in my book?

1. It forces you to sift through what you've read to identify important information.
2. It helps you keep your mind on what you're doing.
3. It keeps you physically active while reading.
4. It helps you to evaluate what you read.
5. It organizes the facts and ideas.
6. It demonstrates to you whether you have understood the passage.
7. It reduces time spent reviewing when you don't have to reread the entire passage.

How to write effectively in my book:

1. Read the boldface heading.
2. Read the entire paragraph or section first.
3. Select key words or short phrases to make. Leave out small words like "the" or "a".
4. Underline the right amount. Make sure your underlining covers ALL the necessary material for recall on tests. But, make sure you don't underline too much. Generally, you should underline about 25% of the material or 1/4 of the page for underlining to be effective.
5. Develop and use a variety of marks for instant discrimination during review. Circle words defined; underline the definition; use different color highlighters to determine vocabulary from details; draw a line down the side of the page for the examples.
6. Underline and use markings consistently in every textbook.
7. Use the margins -- for writing key words, correlation to lecture notes, your own thoughts, questions, etc.
8. Remember that the main purpose of underlining is to reduce the amount of material to be specifically remembered and to be reviewed for an exam.
9. Review -- often, regularly, and quickly -- the material underlined/highlighted.

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