Tips to More Effective Underlining/Highlighting While Studying
(An example of a bit of underlining overload.)
When studying, it helps to underline while you read. But you *can* make your underlining more productive.
(1) Try to limit underlining to once or twice per paragraph. Underlining (1) highlights the important part of a paragraph for later reference and (2) is a visual and physical cue to your brain, as your reading it, of the importance of the phrase. This latter step is an active learning process—you read more carefully when you focus on it actively.
(2) Try underlining application statements—not just thesis statements. Though it’s tempting to point out the thesis/topic statement of a paragraph, often these aren’t the most useful. The most useful to learners can often be the real-world examples.
For example, which is more helpful for understanding:
- A valuable part of education is the behavioral component of socialization.
- When Johnny spends time in school, he learns by interacting with other students.
The thesis sentence does summarize the author’s point. But the application makes an image concrete in your head. It often uses the active voice and produces a more vivid memory. And it shows rather than tells.
Also note that sometimes authors have to craft their thesis sentences after the fact to summarize what they’ve already said—the “tell what you’re going to say, say it, then tell them what you’ve said” approach to writing. So, even in the writing process, the application is often more important than the stated thesis.
(3) Use more visual cues in your highlighting—boxes and asterisks. I underline phrases, but I box key words. Underlining highlights the key take-homes in a paragraph, but boxed key words often summarize key concepts for the entire document. I use asterisks in the margins if I find a key concept for a whole section (more than one page). If I’m doing a quick skim, then I can scan the boxed key words and asterisked sections for a refresher.
(4) Use a fine-tipped pencil or pen—step away from highlighters. Many people prefer color-coding systems with highlighters or pens, or use dark, heavy lines for underlining. I feel that these detract from the overall text and sometimes are harder to read in the end. Fine-tipped underlining—even a more subtle pencil rather than a bold pen—allows you to spot out the highlighted text *in the context* of each section. You can easily scan a document and pick out the highlights, but it’s not so garish as to blanch out the rest of the words.
(5) Be selective rather than expansive—edit the text while you read it. If you think like an editor while you’re reading, you’ll engage in a deeper process of understanding what the author is trying to say. Authors spend a lot of time filling pages and defending their arguments—when you’re reading to study, you’ve often already “bought” what the author is trying to say, and you’re just trying to figure out what he’s trying to say during finer points of his argument. If you think like an editor—someone who’s also already “bought” the author’s arguments—you’re just looking to trim out the fat and get to the point, a process that values selectivity over expansiveness.
Haha, I just realized that even while I wrote the bullet points for each tip, I practiced what I preached. I wrote topic sentences, but added application tips. I used asterisks—which on the web, are like subtle highlighting cues. I even spent a lot of time bolstering my arguments—filling space needlessly, perhaps—whereas anyone reading this will probably just look to the bolded statements and call it a day! Well, I won’t waste any more time and skip any repetitive conclusion, and just wish everyone good luck with their studying!