Is annotating worth it?

Underlining, highlighting, taking notes in the margins—we’ve all been there. Whether it be for English, history, or science classes, annotations have become a staple of upper school academics. This practice is not unique to Haverford. In fact, annotations have been around for thousands of years, with a manuscript known as Papyrus Oxyrhynchus from the 2nd century BCE offering scholarly notes about Homer’s Iliad.

Despite the history, some students tend to brush off annotations, whether it be for a lack of time or personal preference. These students tend to believe that annotating interrupts their reading and creates distractions on the page. All of these factors culminate in the question: are annotations actually beneficial to us as students, or are they just another obligation?

Fourth Former Eric Xiao is a firm supporter of annotations in his education.

“Annotating helps me keep track of things and allows me to write important notes to myself when I need to review them later,” Xiao said. “It helps me with long-term recall of information and forces me to understand what I’m reading instead of subconsciously skimming over the text.”

The science backs this up. In a 2022 study published in The Journal of Research in Innovative Teaching and Learning, students who annotated received test scores 7.9% higher than students who didn’t.

While annotating is traditionally associated with humanities such as English or history, Xiao also believes that annotating is valuable in other classes.

“In chemistry class, annotating allows me to keep track of important values and details, allowing me to organize my thoughts while performing multi-step problems and experiments. I use a variety of symbols such as boxing and circling to differentiate types of information,” Xiao said.

However, fellow Fourth Former Cody Luong disagrees.

“I don’t think taking annotations positively affects grades,” says Luong. “The interruptions that annotating requires can cause me to spend a lot more time, causing me to lose focus over time. Cluttering up my book can make it harder to find certain passages and make reviewing more distracting.”

In a study by Hector Ponce, Richard Mayer, and Ester Mendez published in Springer Nature, researchers found that while annotating consistently improves memory of a subject, the effects of annotation on readers’ comprehension were minimal.

Deeper analysis of text is much more valuable than solely memorizing information in the context of both long-term learning and short-term academic success. The study also describes college students receiving a greater benefit from annotations than K-12 students.

“My personal alternative to annotating is spending free time recalling what happens in a chapter,” said Luong. “One of my favorite ways to do this is to replay a previous chapter in my head and think about its significance or purpose. It’s a good strategy to vividly remember the scene without the hassle of annotating”

This idea of “active reading” also changes perspectives around annotations. Many scholars, including Mortimer Adler and Tung-Tien Sun, believe that reading and annotating require a level of questioning. Specifically, Sun defines active reading as “reading with specific questions in mind and searching for answers.” This shows that annotations by themselves are not nearly as effective without the right methodology.

In order to access the full benefits of annotations, students must actively ask questions and connect with readings in the pursuit of answers.