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Step one: choose the timeframe and the rule
Start by fixing one timeframe, such as the daily chart, and one rule for what counts as a swing point. A common rule is that a swing high is a candle whose high is above the highs of the two candles on each side, and a swing low is the mirror image. Write the rule down before marking anything. Changing the rule mid-chart is how learners fool themselves, because every wiggle starts to look meaningful. Consistency matters more than which number of neighboring candles you pick, so keep it the same.
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Step two: mark points and test with an example
Consider a daily chart where price rises over several candles, peaks, then falls. Using the two-candle rule, the peak candle is a swing high only when the two candles before and after it have lower highs. Mark it with a small arrow. Continue left to right until the chart is annotated. Notice that the most recent candles cannot be confirmed yet, since the candles that follow them are missing. Leave those unmarked. This restraint prevents the common error of declaring a turning point that later turns out to be an ordinary pause.
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Step three: read the sequence and record it
Once points are marked, read them in order. Higher swing highs paired with higher swing lows describe an uptrend, lower ones describe a downtrend, and a mix suggests a range. Record the sequence in a short journal entry with the pair, timeframe, date and your reading, then revisit it after a few weeks to see whether the structure behaved as you expected. This habit turns marking into learning. It also creates a personal reference of examples, which is more useful than memorizing patterns from a book or a screenshot.