If you're doing it the smart way, you're not reading the chapter from start to finish. It's a lot easier if you get an idea of what you're about to read before you read it. Knowing what you’re going to do before you do it is common sense, and it applies to tasks in general.
A preview or overview of the chapter is done by looking at anything in the chapter that quickly tells you what it’s about: headings, sub-headings, bold print in the text, first sentences of paragraphs, captions of illustrations.
Your first reading of the chapter, which can be done quickly, should prepare you for studying it.
The two basic ways of using a pencil with text are marking and outlining/note taking. Although these two may appear similar, they have somewhat different purposes. For example, underlining is an aid to understanding the meanings of sentences, whereas outlining is helpful in seeing structure.
While it may seem that underlining a chapter and also outlining the chapter is a lot of work, outlines are generally very easy to write. A textbook comes with its own outline, the structure of the material shown by its headings and subheadings. The first sentence of a paragraph usually gives the main idea of the paragraph. Also, when a student has finished underlining a chapter, the work of outlining the chapter is essentially done. When a book or article is hard to read, it may be necessary to use the two methods with it.
BOOK MARKING
By this I mean underlining (or highlighting) and writing in margins.
Underlining/Highlighting
There are advantages to underlining with a pencil, as opposed to a colored highlight marker. If you are not very good at highlighting, you can use a pencil and correct your mistakes. You can write margin notes while you’re underlining. Because penciled underlines are not easy to read, you would probably want to go over them with a highlight marker.
You should be able to read the underlined words by themselves, without the rest of the words. The underlined words should make sense -- like the text as a whole. Be good to yourself, so that reading the underlined words will be easy.
Four principles of underlining (or highlighting)
1. Underline the right amount. Don’t underline too little or too much. The following paragraph shows neither too much nor too little underlining.
(I am CAPITALIZING LETTERS in places where I would UNDERLINE.)
The HUMAN BODY is CAPABLE OF DOING WORK. The ENERGY necessary for the performance of this work COMES FROM the BURNING OF CARBOHYDRATES, FATS, AND PROTEINS, WHICH ALSO PROVIDES ENERGY FOR MAINTAINING THE BODY TEMPERATURE AND for CARRYING ON its INTERNAL VITAL FUNCTIONS. The pumping of blood through the veins and arteries is an illustration of the internal work performed in the body. This work is done by the heart muscle. For a man at rest, the heart normally beats about 70 times per minute and develops a power of about 1.3 watts. An average working MAN USES ABOUT 10 MILLION JOULES of energy PER DAY, of which ABOUT HALF GOES INTO MAINTAINING TEMPERATURE AND CARRYING ON INTERNAL FUNCTIONS. The REMAINDER is available FOR the performance of EXTERNAL WORK.
2. Underline completely. All the important information should be underlined.
In recent years, the term EXTRASENSORY PERCEPTION (ESP) has been widely published. This term REFERS TO mental telepathy, clairvoyance, or any other means of PERCEIVING THAT DOES NOT DEPEND ON THE SENSES. Telepathy refers to
one person sending a message to another BY EXTRASENSORY MEANS. CLAIRVOYANCE IS the name for the PERCEPTION OF EXTERNAL EVENTS WITHOUT any SENSORY KNOWLEDGE of them. Recently the term PSYCHOKINESIS has been added to the vocabulary to cover MENTAL INFLUENCES ON EXTERNAL EVENTS, such as making dice roll to a desired number by “concentrating” on the number. Psychologists are often asked whether there is any truth to reports that ESP has been demonstrated. To answer this question, one must distinguish between the evidence and the possibility. Scientists must keep an open mind about all sorts of possibilities whether they are proved or not. AT THE PRESENT TIME, WE SEE NO MEANS BY WHICH INFORMATION CAN BE PERCEIVED BY AN INDIVIDUAL UNLESS IT IS PROCESSED THROUGH his SENSE ORGANS.
3. Underline consistently. Treat the details (or, the supporting ideas) equally as you go from page to page.
4. Underline correctly. Naturally, you don’t want to underline so that you misrepresent the facts in the text, creating a meaning that the author never intended.
There is a simple technique that can help you spot incorrect underlining:
a. Read a paragraph.
b. Decide how many ideas and examples are presented in the paragraph.
c. Underline the paragraph.
d. Read what you underlined – only the underlined words. Do you feel that they convey the same ideas as the whole paragraph?
- a vertical line running down a margin to identify a particular passage
-- stars, used for the most important points
-- numbers to indicate the series of points the author makes to develop a single argument
-- numbers of other pages, to indicate where else the author makes points relevant to the point marked
Outlining has a big advantage. An outline can be memorized by turning it into a set of flashcards. See the Wikipedia “Flashcards” – “ERO.”