Economical Way of Looking at Textbooks — Or Any Other Book, I'm Not Prejudice

Plan not to resell. You'll get less money anyway. So personalize your book, make it truly your own! Highlighters can be used systematically to facilitate learning. But of more importance than these is the mighty pen. Yes, the pen is also mightier than the highlighter! How so? Do you see all the 'white spaces' surrounding a given page of the book? They're called margins and gutters and they function to organize what is read as well as to enhance the reading experience. More importantly, they also serve as good annotation sites! So, take notes of what is read. Ask questions before, during, and after reading the paragraphs. Vent your emotions upon the margins, whether in nature these be reactions to the material or simply protests, stifled by your own introspective disposition ( if such are you ) seeking an outlet, against a particular pedagogy you feel is just a waste of time:

'Mr. So-and-so's discussion on (insert subject here) is such as waste of time! I learn more from my dog barking than from his two hours of yapping. If I were teaching this, I'd say etc, etc ... ' ).

Emotions have a funny way of enthroning themselves in our memory. Hence, the more intense the emotion, the better! Write phone numbers of colleagues as such:

Name (###) ###-#### ♥.

This would be the number to the affable person in class who understands the material best. The heart emoticon carries no emotional value; it's just that it's easier to draw a heart than, say, a pair of eye-glasses perhaps? Plus, it is attached next to the number anyway, not to the person's name!

Sure! Doing the above will require more time than usual to go through a given material but in the long run it is more efficient. When comes a comprehensive exam, you need not do so much as to peruse through the book with annotated paragraphs — keywords and main ideas all intact within the margins.

What are you paying for really? Not necessarily the book, but education. Pay the price for the book, but pay the higher price for your education.

☺ - Now this emoticon bears all the sentiment of the writer.

Inspired by Prof David Dobos, teaching his last Sociology 100 class at Santa Ana College in the summer of 2011.

WARNING: Not an encouraged practice for high school students. Use regular piece of paper to take notes and to vent. Be careful not to circulate the latter however, nor the former during days of exam. I never understood why high school students can't wait to get to college. Now I do.