It’s Back-to-School time, and I was thinking about study habits and getting organized for school. Organizing information is a challenge, and some people like to take notes in the margins of their books to help them retain information better and find it faster later.
I just ran into this great note-taking information from Levenger— They are the quintessential source for people who love reading and books. Their great page on "Masterly Marginalia" is fascinating! It shows all of the note-taking marks that are most popular, such as shown here on this screenshot from their site. They have a printable PDF of these marginalia marks here.
Do you write in your books? I do! I use highlighters mostly– it helps me focus better while reading and reinforces "the main idea" of each section (remember that main idea stuff from school?). What are your favorite marginalia notes? For more on reading skills, see my colleague Abby’s website, Rev It Up Reading. She teaches speed-reading and also teaches people how to read more effectively on a screen.
I’m like you, Lorie – I mostly highlight. I’ll also sometimes note in the front of the book what page had a specific point I’m likely to want to refer to again.
As I read, useing the edge of discarded film-strip-negitive to underline ‘keywords’ in pencil. [I make alot of mistakes and misunderstandings, so I frequently need to erase. -on a good day I can find the eraser!]
Here’s what I would have underlined in your first paragraph:
[I try to think like telegraphic speach] study habits, get organized. Organizing info, notes in margins. retain info find faster.
If a key word I underline isn’t listed in the index, I write in keyword & page #. [alphabetically] If the keyword is already in the index with a list of page #’s, I’ll circle the page # that has the deffination.
A book on Coaching -Fournies- had steps one, two, three, etc. and in the middle of step three it had steps one, two and three of step three. I was very confused reversing which step was part of which. I used a different colored pencil and drew a box around each whole step. & different color for each step with in the step. Then I re-read it & found I had mixed up the colors. 🙁 But color pencil erases!!! YEA!!! 🙂 -I needed a BIG eraser- I finally got it write. [made index note-cards & colored the top edge to corrosponding step]
Books I know I’ll own for years [Organizing From the Inside Out; Driven to Distraction; The Fifth Dicipline; ACA Big Book] I map out the contents by writeing on the pages side of the closed book. [like some phone books have the alphbet printed] I hold [pinch] together all of the pages of the first chapter & on the EDGES of the pages with a marker I color one inch from the top of the page. Second chapter same thing only I start one inch down [where the previous left off] then color one inch. Etc. When the book is closed it reminds me of index file tabs, cascadeing down.
I am always struggling to find the index & the table of contents, so those pages I color the intire EDGE of the page from top to bottom. [by EDGE I mean imagine giving your marker a ‘paper-cut’-ouch!]
Wish I had photos, eaiser than words. Sorry ’bout my spelling.
Doing the best I can with what I’ve got, Melodie
Quick Tip: Blue high-lighter often is invisible to copiers. Other colors darken the words you’ve hi-lited, somtimes makes them illedgeable. If you know you’ll be makeing copies hi-light in blue for clearer text. Melodie