STUDY SKILLS: UNDERLINING

 

Underlining is a skill YOU learned by trial and error or you
wouldn't have succeeded in university.

Students at Douglas may enter classes afraid to mark in their
expensive book. They think the resale value will decrease. Not so.

According to the bookstore, used books are re-purchased for 60%
of the original price whether liberally underlined or free of a mark.
And in purchasing used books, a book well-underlined can be a study
boon in helping the new student select what needs to be remembered.
Maybe you could point out in your classes a few tips on how to
recognize good underlining. :

Underlining serves two functions: it helps the student in his
first encounter with the text to highlight the key points. And his
second encounter at exam time is one when hitting the high points
is all he has time for when the volume of material is greater. So
selection of what to underline is important.

Too much underlining is no help at all. It's like rereading the
entire text. This can be avoided by glancing over all the material to
be read first to see the relationship of parts to whole. Only main
ideas and significant details should be underlined, not tangents, rep-
etition or trivia.

Too little underlining is also unproductive. You can often recognize
where on the page the student's mind wandered as the underlining peters
out. Obviously, underlining is a useful device to keep the mind alert.
An example of too little might be when not all items in a list are marked:

Three administrative structures exist within the
Institution. The first is the divisional with

deans to manage affairs. Then the campuses furnish

a method whereby the institution touches the community

through their principals and vice-principals. Last
is the department served by a convenor.

As you can see, the underlining has left out a fundamental
structure and the student would not pass the exam question.

Maybe you'll want to go over a page of your text with your
students to illustrate what should be marked. Several handouts are
available on this topic; if you'd like copies, the Reading and Study
Skills Faculty will oblige.

Sua ape Sherry Ladbrook
Sandra Carpenter
Ian McCaughey