Many students already use highlighter pens to identify key parts of a text.
But many students either highlight too much or highlight the wrong things.
Use a highlighter to mark a FEW key points to act as the basis for mental pictures and reminder cues.
It is crucial to think about the meaning of the text.
Add key words in the margins if you don’t find useful clues to highlight.
Make a note to yourself which concepts you find confusing, interesting or crucial that you need to research further on the internet, and which are useful for you to create notes and/or flashcards with.
Highlighted text from the books needs to be rehearsed in the context of how it fits with the purpose, why it needs to be remembered, and how it fits with important material that preceded it.
Every few paragraphs or pages – depending on the information density – the reader should stop and self-quiz to make sure the important material is being understood and memorized.
Making outline notes of such material after it is first read can be an important rehearsal aid for forming immediate memory, and for later study.
The act of creating such an outline from short term memory, and checking it against the content just read, supports memory formation in very powerful ways.