Do not flatten the page
A handwritten note on a printed form may describe another event, a later correction or an unrelated task. Its physical presence on the same sheet does not establish that it was written at the same time as the form. Record the main document and its annotation separately before deciding how they relate. This is especially useful when a striking marginal phrase threatens to dominate your reading of an otherwise ordinary record.
Worked example: the crossed-out name
A choir list has one name crossed out, while a second sheet assigns that person a new duty. The crossing-out may record a role change rather than exclusion from the group. To evaluate the mark, compare its function with the surrounding records. Do not turn the emotional appearance of a red line into evidence of a quarrel unless another source supplies that connection.
Preserve the uncertainty
A useful note might read name removed from singing list; appears on duty list; reason not yet established. That wording gives the annotation a place without making it carry more meaning than the evidence allows. In Somatry, revisit annotations after reading related records. A mark that initially appears incriminating may become administrative, while a routine-looking correction may matter once its timing or author is independently established.