study-nsp: i’ve seen many posts with study tips saying highlighting is ineffective because it

study-nsp:

i’ve seen many posts with study tips saying highlighting is ineffective because it lets you become a passive reader, but since i personally find it useful when done correctly i wanted to make a post specifically about highlighting effectively! note that these are all my personal tips and you should always go with what works for you :]

the big NO: passive highlighting

• the “highlight everything that’s important” technique where everything seems to be important
• don’t do it!!!
• you’ll end up with pages of yellow text not knowing what u just read
• this doesn’t help u study at all

when should i highlight?

• reading in advance for a class or sth, you have a really long text + you want to be able to recall important parts easily later – not necessary to colour code
  
• you need to extract information from a text to answer different questions or similar – colour code: different colour for each question
• you’re studying for a text and want to make a study guide - colour code: vocabulary + definitions, dates + people, etc
• don’thighlight when the information is already very compressed, short + to the point, but you can make annotations if you want

colour coding

• the art of highlighting
  
• colour coding your notes
• colour code and highlight efficiently [+ scientific evidence] 
• how to colour code
• colour coding notes 101
• colour coding annotations
• example of a key
• another example
• yet another key
• create your own key to suit you best!
• use different keys for different subjects

tips + advice

• keep your key somewhere visible, like a post it note, an index card, the highlighters themselves, etc
• is there something important that u feel like u may not remember or don’t understand? highlight it, make a note on the side
• don’t highlight titles/subtitles bc they’re usually already made to stand out. same with already bold words, but do highlight the definition/explanation
• you don’t need to highlight the whole sentence either – figure out what’s important inthe important information
• accompany highlighting with annotating to engage more + make it more effective – why did i highlight this part? do i have any info to add? personal comment/reminder?
• don’t think just because u highlighted a chunk of text u’ve already studied it/know it – highlighting shouldn’t at all work as a study technique on its own
• if you have few highlighters but want more colours, mix them!

highlighting supplies

• very cute pastel highlighters!!
  
• oh-so-famous-mildliners
• candy color marker pens [actually highlighters]
• cheap + good bic highlighters
• clear view sharpies!!
• stabilo boss wallet of 8 highlighters
• soft colours + window!!!
• muji twin tip highlighter

+ masterposts

• studyblr-ing 101
  
• apps for ur life
• how to mind map
• studying better
• diy notebooks

i hope i was any help at all and that u never fall in the grips of passive highlighting!! happy studying!

- sofi xx