How to Use Highlighting Effectively
Highlighting is another tool that students should use in order to help them organize the information they are presented with. We live in a world overflowing with information….it cannot possibly all be important!! Highlighting properly is an important skill to master so that it is actually helpful when it comes time to study.
One of the most common problems is that students highlight everything or nothing. They get caught up in the details instead of searching for the main points. So highlighting becomes a waste of time as it does not actually help to “highlight” the important information Students need to know what their goals are and have a plan when reading.
This example shows over-highlighting with the green text:
We live in a world overflowing with information. Highlighting is an important skill used to filter the important information out of the text so that we are not overwhelmed by the details. If you highlight everything then you are not reading effectively. Not everything is important. Before you start reading have a plan, what are your goals? What are you trying to discover?
This example shows effective, focused highlighting:
We live in a world overflowing with information. Highlighting is an important skill used to filter the important information out of the text so that we are not overwhelmed by the details. If you highlight everything then you are not reading effectively. Not everything is important. Before you start reading have a plan, what are your goals? What are you trying to discover?
The Art of Highlighting
Choosing what to highlight can be difficult, here are a few tips to help you become a pro!!
Don’t highlight on the first reading; focus on reading to understand the content instead. Get an idea of what you are reading, the structure of the work, pay attention to how the information is laid out (titles, subtitiles), get an idea of where information is located, and the important points made in the text
On the second reading highlight the main points. Your text is made of up of main points and supporting details; don’t get overwhelmed by the details
Use different colours to indicate importance or significance on the third reading. Use Yellow for the main points, Orange for the information that you need to clarify further, Green for important dates etc…..
Although reading the text over three times may seem like too much, think of the benefits: you are gaining a better understanding of the material and you are studying at the same time and committing the information to memory!
Create an Online Study Guide
Once you have highlighted and consolidated, you can create an online or paper study guide. Online study guides are one way to organize your notes and prepare you for upcoming assessment. Find a system that works for you. However there is a lot of research to support more traditional methods of study; I am sure you have heard adults say that “you will remember it better if you write it down!!” Some people may find that they want to take the notes that are available to them online and transfer them back to written work, others prefer it organized through online platforms. Whatever you find works best for you is best!!
There are some great features and benefits to compiling your notes online:
They are all in one spot making daily review easy
If you are rewriting your main points daily in the same document then it will help make connections between daily material, you can see a flow
Easy to review on a suggested schedule (ie. look at Monday’s work on Tuesday etc) as you can link it to your calendar and set reminders to study
It acts as a portable desk…..you do not have to lug your books everywhere as it is all online!!
You can create an online document and share it with group members so that you can all edit and work to compile your notes as a team