Notemaking from reading
Marking reading material prior to making notes
Often, as you read, you will be unsure of what to note because you are not sufficiently clear about the topic. In this case, mark the relevant points as you first read the text so that you can return to them easily when you are ready to make written notes.
In your own books you can underline key points or make marginal comments in soft pencil which can later be erased. Do not mark library books in any way. Instead, you can use post-it notes to mark appropriate pages, or photocopy relevant passages from books and journal articles and mark them in pen or highlighter. It is also very useful to summarise the content of each relevant paragraph in a word or phrase which you write next to it.
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Caution Do not photocopy excessively. It is no substitute for actively reading and selecting relevant information. Photocopying can waste rather than gain time. Also, avoid underlining or highlighting excessively as you will have to read too much material again. Working out what should and should not be marked is a way of actively reading and notemaking. |
