How to Take Notes and Highlights While Reading on a Screen
Highlight less, write one line per section, bookmark what you will need. A simple method for notes and highlights on PDFs and articles.
The best way to take notes while reading on a screen is to highlight sparingly, write a one-line note after each section in your own words, and keep both attached to the passage they came from. Highlighting on its own does little for memory. The processing step, deciding why a line matters and saying it in your own words, is what makes it stick. This guide gives a simple method and shows how to do it in a reader built for it.
Why Screen Notes Go Wrong
Most people end up with one of two bad systems:
- Highlight everything. By the end of the chapter half the page is yellow and nothing stands out. Research on study techniques consistently finds highlighting alone is a weak way to remember, because it gives a feeling of progress without the processing that builds memory.
- Notes in a separate app. You read in one window, type in another, and lose both the thread and the link between the note and the line it was about. A week later you cannot tell what a note referred to.
A good system keeps marking up and reading in the same place and forces one small act of processing per section.
The Method: Highlight, Note, Bookmark
1. Highlight the claim, not the sentence. Highlight the one line that states what the author is arguing. If you find yourself highlighting a third line in a paragraph, stop. Pick the one that matters.
2. Write a one-line note in your own words. After each section, select the key passage and attach a note: "So the argument is…" or "I disagree because…". If you cannot write the line, you did not understand the section. That is useful: go back and reread just that part.
3. Bookmark what you will need again. The definition you will be tested on, the result you will cite, the quote for your essay. A bookmark makes it a ten-second find next week.
4. Question as you go. If a passage does not make sense, do not rewrite it in a note. Use a tool that explains it, then write the answer in your own words.
5. Review the notes, not the reading. Within a day or two, spend ten minutes reading only your notes and bookmarks. That is the cheapest way to lock in what you read.
Doing It in Nook
Nook is built so marking up and reading happen in one place:
- Highlights. Select text to highlight it in a color.
- Notes. Select a passage and attach a note to it, so the note stays pinned to the paragraph.
- Bookmarks. Bookmark any paragraph to return to it.
- Explain. Select a passage you do not follow and ask for an explanation. Select a single word to get its definition.
- Summaries. Open the takeaways for the reading and tap a point to land on the passage it came from. Use it to check that your notes caught the main points.
- Find and outline. Search the document and jump between headings.
- Folders. Keep each course or project's readings together, with their marks.
You can also bring in readings from Readwise Reader with their highlights and notes, so what you already marked there appears in Nook's reader.
Make Time to Do It: Short Sessions
Notes take effort, and effort runs out. Read in short sessions so you have energy for the processing step.
Nook has a Pomodoro timer built in. Set the read and break lengths, and a clock sits on the toolbar. Add the sites that pull you away to the block list and they stay blocked during the read phase and return at the break. The block list needs the Nook extension. See Pomodoro timer for reading and studying.
A good rhythm:
1. 25 minutes of reading, with highlights and notes as you go
2. 5-minute break
3. After four rounds, a longer break
What to Do on Different Kinds of Reading
- Journal articles: highlight the main finding and the stated gap, note your disagreement, bookmark the methods paragraph if you may replicate it. See How to Read a Research Paper.
- Course readings: one note per section, in your words. Bookmark the passages you may be asked about.
- Textbook chapters (text and figures): highlight definitions, note how each section links to the last, check with the summary.
- Long-form articles and essays: a single note at the end with the argument in one sentence.
Try the method on this week's reading. The trial is 3 days with everything included, then $5/month or $39/year.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is highlighting an effective way to study?
On its own, highlighting is one of the weaker study techniques. It becomes useful when paired with processing: highlight the key line, then write a one-sentence note on why it matters. The processing, not the color, creates the memory.
How do I take notes on a PDF on my computer?
Use a reader that lets you highlight and attach notes to the text itself, so the note stays with the passage. In Nook, import the PDF, select text, and add a highlight or note. Bookmark the paragraphs you will need again.
How many notes should I take?
Fewer than you think. One line per section is enough. If a page has more than a couple of marks, the marks stop being useful.
Can I use this on EPUBs too?
Yes, you can read EPUBs in Nook alongside PDFs and Word files, in the same library and the same reader.
Can I see what I highlighted in Readwise Reader?
If you import an article from Readwise Reader, Nook copies its highlights and notes into Nook's reader.
Related reading:
- How to Read a Research Paper (and Keep What You Find): the staged read
- 7 Ways to Actually Remember What You Read for Class: retention techniques
- How to Organize PDFs and EPUBs for a Course or Thesis: folders, bookmarks, imports
- Best PDF Reader for Studying: the apps compared
- Why You Read 50 Pages and Remember Nothing: why notes matter
- How to Understand a Hard Passage: when the note is "I do not get this"