1. Annotating Effectively

2. Annotation  Comments or notes that explain what you just read.  Use your own words, but try not to change the meaning.  Questions/ Comments  Highlighting Important Information

3. Why take notes while you read?  Learning to take notes effectively helps you to improve study and work habits and to remember important information.  Often, students are deceived into thinking that because they read the selection they understand and will remember what they read. This is dead wrong! Highlight or Write it down.

4. Practice Makes Perfect  The secret to developing this skill is practice.  You should strive to improve this skill constantly.

5. What is important? Some of the more common clues are:  Information written in bold  Definitions  Main idea of a paragraph (First or Last Sentence)  Sections Summaries (Introduction or Conclusion Paragraphs)

6. Warning  Don't highlight everything that you read. Be alert and attentive to the main points. Concentrate on the "meat" of the subject and forget the trimmings.  Make notes brief. Never use a sentence where you can use a phrase. Never use a phrase where you can use a word.  Use abbreviations and symbols, but be consistent. Have a uniform system of punctuation and abbreviation that will make sense to you.