CH / STUDIOReading Journal: TabMap field guide

A practical reading method

Track Which Vocabulary Words Actually Repeat

Mark an unfamiliar word with page and a provisional meaning, then continue if the sentence remains clear. Add a second occurrence before promoting it to the active list unless the word blocks the main claim. Review the active list through its page contexts and remove one-time decorative terms.

Use this in classroom, language-learning, or dense nonfiction reading. Frequency and importance are different, but repetition is a useful filter when the goal is continuity rather than exhaustive study.

Use case

When this method helps

Use this in classroom, language-learning, or dense nonfiction reading.

Frequency and importance are different, but repetition is a useful filter when the goal is continuity rather than exhaustive study.

Method

Build the note

1. Mark an unfamiliar word with page and a provisional meaning, then continue if the sentence remains clear.

2. Add a second occurrence before promoting it to the active list unless the word blocks the main claim.

3. Review the active list through its page contexts and remove one-time decorative terms.

Example

See the boundary in practice

The word threshold appears on pages 19, 44, and 97 and becomes active; a single plant name remains a page note.

Quality check

Before you trust the note

Every active word should either repeat or be necessary to understand a load-bearing passage.