Effective Reading: SQ3R

This document is a brief summary of the SQ3R (Survey, Question, Read, Recite, Review) system.

Before you begin it is important to realize the key to any study system is simply this: YOU REMEMBER MORE WHEN YOU ARE ACTIVELY INVOLVED AND UNDERSTAND THE CONTENT. The SQ3R method is designed to keep you involved and increase understanding.

 

STEP 1 - SURVEY

Before you begin reading, take just a few minutes for a preliminary survey of your reading assignment. The goal of this step is simply to get an overall picture of the nature of the material and how it is presented (i.e., the organization of the chapter). If you are not accustomed to doing this, you will be amazed at how clear many materials become, even before you start reading. Some authors make this step easy by providing Chapter Outlines, Descriptive Headings, Key Sentences, or Chapter Summaries. If so, read through these as your first step. The Outlines, Headings and Sentences will show you how the material is organized and the Summaries will tell you what the author considers to be most important in the Chapter. If you understand this first, it will be much easier to go back and fill in the details.

Even if your authors don't make it easy - don't skip this step. Make your own survey by reading the Table of Contents, or if necessary, simply quickly scanning the entire chapter to get a rough idea of what it is all about.

 

SURVEY Checklist: Look Over the Material You Are About to Read

  1. Check amount

  2. Establish manageable units

  3. Read the title

  4. Read the introductory material (paragraph)

  5. Read the boldface headings

  6. Look at charts, graphs, maps, pictures, other visuals

  7. Read the summary paragraph

  8. Read end-of-chapter questions/topics

STEP 2 - QUESTION

After completing your Survey, formulate questions about the material. This step is critical because it allows you to evaluate your knowledge of the material before you begin reading. Again, some authors provide questions either at the beginning or at the end of each Chapter. If so, read them and be prepared to answer them after reading the material. If questions are not provided, make up your own. If the topic is "Learning," some of your questions might be: "What is learning?" "How do we learn?" "What processes are involved in learning?" "Are there different rates of learning?" "How about forgetting?" etc. As you grow more skilled in the art of questioning, you may find more and more of your questions appearing in examinations!

 

QUESTION Checklist: Formulate Questions

  1. Jot down questions you want the text to answer based on:

    • What you know from your survey.

    • What you already know about the subject.

  2. Turn the boldface headings into questions.

  3. Write out end-of-chapter questions that interest you .

  4. Construct a K-T-U table to organize your previous knowledge.

STEP 3 - READ

Now you can begin active reading your assignment. All textbook writing is made up of three literary elements: main ideas, supporting details, and transitions. Your job is to discriminate between main ideas and their supporting details. Main ideas are what you need to understand and the subsequent supporting details will help you do that. As you read, try to answer the questions that you formulated in the previous step. Answering the questions gives your reading purpose and direction and increases your attention and concentration. There is now a reason for reading this passage and the material makes more sense!

The key to active reading is asking yourself if the reading makes sense. Here are some active reading strategies.

 

READ Checklist: Read for Main Ideas, Supporting Material, Transitions

  1. Separate main ideas from supporting material

  2. Delineate specifics of supporting material

  3. Actively record your comprehension of these distinctions by marking your text

  4. Select a paragraph or short section:

    • Read and Mark. Stop and Ask.

    • What is the main idea?

    • How is it supported?

    • What do I need to know from this paragraph?

STEP 4 - RECITE

This step means exactly what it says. After reading a section, actually recite or restate the important ideas from it -- preferably aloud. If you are in a public place and don't want to be seen talking to yourself, then put down the book and silently do your recitation, word by word. If you can't put your new-found knowledge into your own words, you don't really understand it! DON'T ALLOW YOURSELF TO CHEAT ON THIS STEP. If you can't restate the important points, go back and re-read that section until you can.

At first, you may want to do this for each paragraph - then as you get better at it, use a sub-topic section, then a whole section, eventually maybe a whole chapter, but don't stop until you can put the material into your own words.

Research has demonstrated that for most effective learning, at least one-half of your study time should be spent on Questioning and Reciting. These steps require your active participation. You can't be daydreaming while you are reciting what you have learned!

 

RECITE Checklist: Talk out loud or write out the ideas and supporting material

  1. Look away or cover the page

  2. Using your own words, say or write the ideas and details

  3. Answer the questions you have formulated

  4. Look back at the material to check for accuracy; find the missing information

  5. Look away and speak/write again

STEP 5 - REVIEW

This is not just glancing over the material again, but a later repeat of the Question and Recite steps. Come back to the chapter the next day - or next week and see how much of it you can restate in your own words. How much do you really remember? Now is the time to fill in the weak spots.

This is another vital step. If you spend one hour today studying, by next month you will be fortunate to retain 15-20% of the material. BUT, if you spend 30 minutes today, then review for 15 minutes tomorrow, 10 minutes next week and 5 minutes next month, you may retain 80-90% of what you first learned with the same one hour of total effort! (The exact amount retained will vary considerably depending on the type of material, how meaningful it is for you, etc., but the differences are dramatic based on proper review.)

 

REVIEW Checklist: Look over the material immediately & later

  A. Immediately:

  1. Try to construct a mental picture of the whole selection

  2. Recite the main ideas and answers to your questions

  3. Manipulate the ideas

  4. Speculate

  5. Compare/contrast

  6. Reorganize

  7. Categorize

  8. Consider the ideas in relation to other things you know, other selections in the same book, or other topics

  9. Make study notes in conjunction with lecture notes

  B. Later:

  1. Go back over:

    • Marked material

    • Answers to questions

    • Written recitation notes

    • Notes gathered by manipulating material

    • Study notes

A FINAL WORD

As an overview, there are three primary things to keep in mind about studying:

  1. Divide any study time you have between reading and reciting. At least half of your time should be spent in reciting what you have learned.

  2. A systematic plan of study gives the best return on your time investment. Rather than grabbing chunks of time here and there for studying, plan some time for study and for review.

  3. This system is simpler than it looks, so give it a chance. Don't let yourself skip any steps. Previous students have discovered that by using effective study techniques they have improved their grades and still had more free time than ever before.