The objective is to identify information that helps answer questions.

Start by marking the central topic or main idea.

Then identify:

Key facts: Information directly relevant to the passage.

Changes: Shifts in events, arguments, opinions or tone.

Evidence: Details supporting an important claim.

Unfamiliar vocabulary: Words that may affect comprehension.

Inference clues: Information that suggests something without stating it directly.

For narrative passages, pay attention to character motivation, conflict, setting and changes in emotion.

For persuasive or informational passages, identify the author's position, supporting evidence, purpose and tone.

Use simple symbols rather than writing long notes:

MI = Main idea

E = Evidence

I = Inference

? = Unclear

This keeps annotation fast.

Students should also avoid turning annotation into a separate task that consumes excessive exam time. The purpose is to improve comprehension and retrieval.

A useful method is:

Read → Identify structure → Mark key information → Answer using evidence.

With practice, students learn to recognise which information deserves attention.

The objective is not to make the page look heavily annotated. It is to create a mental map of the passage that makes difficult questions easier to answer accurately and efficiently.