In my early days of teaching college writing classes, I soon realized a lot of the students were struggling in class discussions. The typical response is to complain about how students weren’t doing their homework and wouldn’t do the reading, but I didn’t think that was the case.

Many students were putting in a lot of effort to read difficult texts, but they weren’t seeing the results of that effort when it came to participating in class, writing their essays, or taking exams.

I started asking students if I could see their books. Almost without exception, the students who were doing well had books covered in notes. The students who were struggling had pristine pages.

“You’ve got to write in your books,” I’d explain.

Many times, the students looked shocked. “We’re not allowed to write in books!”

“Says who?”

I was teaching mostly freshman who were coming from high schools where they’d been using shared texts. They’d been told that their books needed to stay in great condition, and they’d gotten into the habit of simply reading without taking any notes as they went.

This habit was not serving them well.

The Power of Annotation

Annotation is probably the single most important skill I have learned as a reader. My home is filled with books. Some of them I haven’t read in years—even decades.

But if I picked up one of those books right now and flipped it open, I would see notes from my past self to my current one written in the margins. I would see underlined passages and question marks signaling my confusion and vocabulary words outlined in square boxes.

I’ve been using the same basic annotation system for pretty much my entire adult life, and it’s now a code I know so well I don’t have to think about it.

Whenever I look at those old notes, memories come flooding back. I remember writing them. I remember the confusion or the excitement or the insight.

If annotation can help me remember details about a book years after I read it, imagine what it can do for a student who needs to keep those details in mind for a few months.

Annotated Reading is Active Reading

The reason that annotation is so effective is because it necessitates active reading.

What’s active reading? Well, let’s start by talking about what it is not.

Passive reading occurs when your eyes are physically skimming the words on the page but your mind isn’t really connecting with them. You do it all the time. You have to. You live in a world where your brain is bombarded with words, images, and messages. If we stopped to carefully read every flyer, billboard, advertisement, etc. that we see in a day, we’d never get anything done (and we’d cause quite a few traffic jams)!

So your brain gets good at passive reading. It learns how to glance at information without really taking it in. If you’ve ever been reading and had your thoughts wander off—I wonder what we’ll have for dinner. Did I ever text Jen back?—then you’ve experienced (likely unwanted) passive reading.

Taking notes while you read ensures that you are paying attention to what’s on the page.

More than that, though, it makes you a participant in the act of reading. You are able to respond to the text. Disagree with what’s on the page? Write it down! Confused? Make a note of it and look it up at the end of the chapter. Found a quote that makes your heart sing? Mark it so you can find it later!

When the Book is Not Yours

Of course, annotation is not always possible. If you’re using a library book or borrowing a friend’s book, you’re not going to be able to mark it up.

In these cases, you can still practice annotation by keeping a notebook open beside you as you write. You can write down your main reactions as you go and even write entire quotes. Just be sure to put quotation marks around them so that you remember they aren’t your own words later.

Sticky notes can also be useful for annotating a book that isn’t yours.

Finally, many ebooks allow you to make annotations even in borrowed library copies. If you check the book out again, your annotations will be saved to your account.

Looking to practice some annotation skills? Check out the Classes and Materials page for some hands-on learning options.