This technique gives students a strategy for focusing their reading to help them become more efficient and effective learners. Prior to giving students a reading assignment, instructors identify 3-5 themes or concepts they want students to look for in the text and then choose corresponding keywords or phrases. Students use these keywords as headings for columns on a sheet of paper and enter reading notes in the appropriate column. The column headings direct students' attention to what is important and provide them with an organisational framework for writing notes about new knowledge and understandings.