United States
Hong KongHighlighting rules
Highlighting is permitted alongside permanent index tabs. Its purpose is to make a specific figure findable within a page you have already reached, not to mark everything that looks important.
Permitted, useful, and routinely done in a way that makes books harder to use.
What highlighting is for
The last step of a lookup. Your tab gets you to the page; the highlight gets your eye to the line.
That is a narrow job and it works only when very little on the page is highlighted.
Marking everything that seems important is the instinct from studying for a closed-book exam, where highlighting aids memory. Here it aids retrieval, and retrieval needs contrast.
What to highlight
- The specific figure a question would ask for
- A defined term where the definition is the answer
- The row of a table you keep returning to
- The exception to a rule, which is where questions sit
Color with a system
One color for figures, another for definitions, another for exceptions. Then the color tells you what kind of thing you are looking at before you read it. Contrast is the whole point.
Any system beats no system, and consistency matters more than which colors you pick.
Highlight from practice, not from reading
The same rule as tabbing. Highlight what a question actually made you look up, so the marks reflect what gets asked rather than what looked interesting.
Check the current rules
Tabs and highlighting are permitted. For anything beyond that the bulletin governs, and it is worth reading rather than assuming.
Common questions
Is highlighting allowed on the NASCLA exam?
Yes, alongside permanent index tabs.
What should I highlight?
Specific figures, defined terms, table rows you return to, and exceptions to rules.
Why not highlight everything important?
Highlighting here aids retrieval rather than memory, and retrieval needs contrast. A page marked everywhere helps nowhere.
Should I use colors?
Yes, with a consistent system - one color for figures, another for definitions, another for exceptions.
When should I highlight?
While working practice questions, so the marks reflect what gets asked.