What is the importance of annotating books?

Question

My teachers tell me to annotate in the margins, but sometimes it can look bad on the page.

Answer 1

As someone who can get easily distracted as I read a book, I prefer to use my Kindle to annotate. I highlight phrases I like, ask questions, and make brief notes if I find that I relate to something the author said or experienced. Annotating for me is also helpful when I'm discussing a book with someone else, and I want to share a poignant quote. This makes it easier to find the information I want to share.

A way you could annotate a physical book without it looking bad in the margins is to use small sticky notes. Write a brief comment, question, or "aha" moment on the note, then stick it near the paragraph to which it relates.

Answer 2

Annotating is a great skill/method to more actively engage readers in the text. Annotating helps when you read the text and then later when you need to refer back to a portion of the text. It encourages the reader to slow down and process what they just read, therefore improving your comprehension of the passage. It can be tedious at times, or may even look sloppy, but I would encourage you to develop an annotating key of shorthand symbols. Instead of writing 'important' or 'main idea' in the margin, you could draw a small star. When you look back at the text, you will know that the stars are next to the text's main idea. Under each star, you could assign a number to the key supporting details (1, 2, 3,...). If you have a question about a particular concept or sentence, you could draw a small question mark next to it. An exclamation point could be placed next to something you found interesting or exciting. Little symbols like this can also help organize your thoughts without overcrowding the page. You can assign these symbols yourself and make them specific to the text you are annotating. This system worked well for me in high school and college. In addition to the symbols I used, I typically wrote a summary sentence or a couple bullet points at the bottom of each page of the text. This encouraged me to pull all my thoughts together into little summary statements.

Answer 3

Why annotate in the margins of a book?

Writing ideas, phrases, and keywords in the margins helps you, the reader, to summarize what you just read. When you add questions, in a summary form, in the margins, you can easily determine what you did not understand from your readings. Many of my students find writing in the margins helpful for test preparation and for knowing specifically what they want to ask the instructor about their readings to clarify areas that are unclear to them. Overall, a great study skill!

Answer 4

Annotating can help you process important or difficult to understand information. The act of annotating (it can even be a few short words in the margin, or an underline or asterisk next to a certain excerpt) actively installs the message into your thought patterns. You can also refer back to your notes when you have questions later on.

Your annotations mark out your active thought process while reading. Without them, you may forget some of these important moments!

I personally love to read other people's annotations in second hard books, and decide where I agree and where I digress from their trains of thoughts.

Annotations make reading an active, engaged process rather than a passive one.