Read notes thoroughly. If a note does not make sense, look back at the section of the reading to which the notes refer and clarify their meaning.
Highlight or underline any particularly poignant arguments or points you made in your notes as you read through them. For example, underline the main argument of the chapter, the main events or any key terminology.
Add annotations to these key points. Concisely restate the main emphasis of the key point or terminology and why it matters within the subject. For example, if you made a note about the term “intersectionality,” explain how this term relates to the rest of the reading. Make the annotation as clean and professional as possible, like you are writing a paper. For example, “The term intersectionality has been utilized in the field of history recently to suggest the ways that discrimination and domination have worked in multiple ways. Both Smith and Jones have utilized this key term in their work on colonial Latin America.”
Write these annotations along the margins of your notes if you have space or on a separate sheet of notebook paper. Type up a fresh sheet of annotations using a word processor after you have combed through your notes, to create clean and effective annotations that can be utilized for discussions or papers. Include relevant page numbers. Note the authors of the textbook and the class you are reading for at the top of the page.