Reading for information asks what does this tell me. Rhetorical reading asks a second question on top: what is this doing to me, and by what means. Click any sentence in the two texts below, then choose the margin note that actually earns its ink — and watch what your margin says about the way you read.
Pick a text, then a sentence
The text
The habit to build: a “does” note is an active verb with the text as its subject — concedes, reframes, pre-empts, buries, subordinates, universalises. If your note starts “talks about…” you have written a summary. If it starts “this is biased,” you have written a verdict and ended the inquiry.