Can Highlighting Outshine the Underline?

by Kimberly | 2 comments

Whether I'm absorbing an important document, studying a textbook, or just working on my own notes, I always take time to highlight and underline sentences or sections that have special significance. The highlighting or underlining helps me organize and focus my thoughts while creating a document that is more likely to draw me back to review it later. Here are some of my favorite techniques for underlining and highlighting:

Underlighting

I love my fine tipped highlighters for underlining, so I regularly turn to a Propus 2 for its fine tipped end, and the bright (but not garish) colors. Red may be the most popular color among the students I know. The Propus 2 'red' is really more of a salmon or watermelon shade.

Thin tips in bright colors

I choose an underlining pen that will draw my attention when scanning the document or text. This means that I reach for a pen that will deliver a noticeable line of brightly colored ink. For me a green Uniball Signo DX in .28 or .38 tip usually works best. The point is fine enough to squeeze comfortable between printed lines of text, but still produces a beautiful green line that stands out from black text but doesn't dominate the page like a bright red would.

Join Forces

When I have more than two lines of text in a row to emphasize, I move to the margins and make a curly brace to set the block of text off and make it stand out. Pen lines or pointed highlighters work well for this, but my personal favorite is a black pen curly brace, highlighted with a watermelon-red highlighter. Gel pens work well for this, but are vulnerable to bleeding or smearing until they dry, so don't highlight over them until the mark is completely dry.

Detailed Notetaking

I highlight and underline as I take notes when I have time to carefully craft them, but I often take notes quickly and come back later to enhance them for clarity. Color coding of sections or emphasis of words or phrases helps me study, or just organize my thoughts on paper.

How do you highlight or underline? I would love to hear from you!

2 comments

Peruse Previous Pontifications:

• Tokyo Pen Shop Holiday Buying Guide
• Tokyo Pen Shop is pleased to stock Nomadic!
• Join us on Facebook for buying trip updates
• Tokyo Pen Shop Goes To Tokyo
• Choosing Your Daily Pen
• The Lacking and Lackluster Erasable Pen
• Kuru Toga Sweeps the Blogosphere
• Can Highlighting Outshine the Underline?
• The Apica Twin Ring Notebook, Most Advanced Quality
• The Great Pen Debate: Click-Tops vs. Caps
• Creative uses for Uncommon Colors of Ink
• The Redemption of the Feared Red Pen
• Not All Hi Tec C Pens are Created Equal
• The Crimes of Correction Fluid