underlining and highlighting to pick out what seem to you the most central or important words and phrases. Do this in your own copy of texts or on photocopies - never on borrowed texts;
keywords to record the main headings as you read. Use one or two keywords for each main point. Keywords can be used when you don't want to mark the text;
questions to encourage you to take an active approach to your reading. Record your questions as you read. They can also be used as prompts for follow up work;
summaries to check you have understood what you have read. Pause after a section of text and put what you have read in your own words. Skim over the text to check the accuracy of your summary, filling in any significant gaps