SQ3R reading method

SQ3R is a reading strategy formed from its letters:

Survey! Question! Read! Recite! Review!
SQ3R will help you build a framework to understand your reading assignment.
Before you read, Survey the chapter:
 the title, headings, and subheadings
 captions under pictures, charts, graphs or maps
 review questions or teacher-made study guides
 introductory and concluding paragraphs
 summary
Question while you are surveying:
 Turn the title, headings, and/or subheadings into questions
 Read questions at the end of the chapters or after each subheading
 Ask yourself,
"What did my instructor say about this chapter or subject
when it was assigned?"
 Ask yourself,
"What do I already know about this subject?"
Note: If it is helpful to you, write out these questions for consideration.
This variation is called SQW3R
When you begin to Read:
 Look for answers to the questions you first raised
 Answer questions at the beginning or end of chapters or study guides
 Reread captions under pictures, graphs, etc.
 Note all the underlined, italicized, bold printed words or phrases
 Study graphic aids
 Reduce your speed for difficult passages
 Stop and reread parts which are not clear
 Read only a section at a time and recite after each section
Recite after you've read a section:
 Orally ask yourself questions about what you have just read, or summarize, in your own words, what
you read
 Take notes from the text but write the information in your own words
 Underline or highlight important points you've just read
 Reciting:
The more senses you use the more likely you are to remember what you read Triple strength learning:
Seeing, saying, hearing
Quadruple strength learning: Seeing , saying , hearing, writing!!!
Review: an ongoing process
Day One
 After you have read and recited the entire chapter,
write questions in the margins for those points
you have highlighted or underlined.
 If you took notes while reciting,
write questions for the notes you have taken
in the left hand margins of your notebook.
 Complete the form for a critical reading review
Day Two
 Page through the text and/or your notebook to re-acquaint yourself
with the important points.
 Cover the right hand column of your text/note-book
and orally ask yourself the questions in the left hand margins.
 Orally recite or write the answers from memory.
  Develop mnemonic devices for material which need to be memorized.
Make flash cards for those questions which give you difficulty.
Days Three, Four and Five
 Alternate between your flash cards and notes and test yourself
(orally or in writing) on the questions you formulated.
 Make additional flash cards if necessary.
Weekend
 Using the text and notebook, make a Table of Contents - list all the topics and sub-topics you need to
know from the chapter.
 From the Table of Contents, make a Study Sheet/ Spatial Map.
 Recite the information orally and in your own words as you put the Study Sheet/Map together.
 As you have consolidated all the information you need for this chapter, periodically review the
Sheet/Map so that at test time
you will not have to cram.
The SQ3R Reading Method
What on earth is the SQ3R method of reading?

It is a way to read academic material such as textbooks, articles, research studies or manuals that can increase your
comprehension of what you are reading and improve your ability to recall it. With the SQ3R method, your active
involvement in the reading process is required – in fact, it is demanded! We won’t sugar-coat it: reading textbooks is
hard work. But the SQ3R method can make that work less difficult and perhaps, even a little more interesting.

Why SQ3R?

Evidence of the success of this method has been obtained from several studies. In one experiment several sections
of a how-to-study class measured their reading ability (reading rate and comprehension accuracy) on a test that
dealt with the history of Canada. They were then given practice in the use of the SQ3R Method for several days, after
which they took another comparable reading test. Before training in SQ3R, the average reading level for the classes
was at only the 34th percentile, but after training, it was at the 53rd percentile. In another experiment, two quizzes
of equal difficulty were prepared. For the first quiz, the students studied their own way, but for the second quiz, they
were shown how to predict quiz questions with the SQ3R method. The average number of errors on the first quiz
was 15, but on the second quiz the average was only 6. To the author, one of the most convincing arguments for the
method were the comments of students who tried it and found that it worked, such as:

· “I predicted 15 of the 20 [quiz] questions he asked.”

· “Boy, oh boy, I’ve been getting Ds in chemistry but I got a B yesterday.”

· “It looked as if he had picked the quiz questions from my list.”

Steps in the SQ3R Method

The title for this new higher-level study skill is abbreviated to make it easier to remember and to make reference to
it simpler. The acronym SQ3R stands for the steps that the student follows in using the method: Survey, Question,
Read, Recite, Review. A description of each of these steps is given below.

1. Survey

Skim the following: the title of the chapter, the introduction, the table of contents and any illustrations, charts or
graphs and the summary paragraph. Note any unknown vocabulary and find a definition. Most importantly, skim the
section headings and the first sentences of each paragraph to find the main points that will be developed. This
orientation should not take more than a few minutes (make a conscious effort to look only at the headings, etc.) but
will help you to organize the ideas as you read them later. For more information on skimming, see the Kwantlen
handout “Tips on Getting the Most from your Reading”.

2. Question

Turn the first heading, or the first sentence of the first paragraph, into a question. (Think of the game show
“Jeopardy!”) This will arouse your curiosity and so increase your active involvement and comprehension, and the
question will make important points stand out while explanatory detail is recognized as such. Turning a heading into
a question can be done instantly upon reading the heading, but it demands a conscious effort on your part to make
this a query for which you must read to find the answer.

3. Read

Read to answer that question, i.e., to the end of the first headed section. This is not a passive plodding along each
line, but an active search for the answer. Underline only key words--never whole paragraphs. Use a dictionary if
necessary to look up unfamiliar vocabulary. The reader should definitely have in mind what he wants to learn as he
reads each section and not just passively read it line by line.

4. Recite
Having read the first section, look away from the book and try briefly to recite in your own words the answer to your
question (aloud, if possible). If you can do this you know what is in the section; if you can’t, skim the section again
and repeat the exercise of reciting. An excellent way to do this reciting from memory is to jot down cue phrases in
outline form on a sheet of paper. Make these notes very brief! Now repeat steps 2, 3, and 4 on each subsequent
headed section. That is, turn the next heading into a question, read to answer that question, recite the answer and
check your accuracy. Read in this way until the entire chapter is completed, taking very brief breaks between
sections as needed.

5. Review

When the chapter or selection has thus been completely read, look over your notes to get a bird’s-eye view of the
points and their relationship to one another. Check your memory by reciting the major points under each heading
and the subpoints under each major point. You can do this by covering up the notes and trying to recall the
information. Review daily during the period of time before your exam.

Summary

These five steps of the SQ3R Method, if applied and practiced, should result in an increase in reading
comprehension, an improved ability to identify important points and better retention of the material. You should
also discover one other worthwhile outcome: happily, test questions will seem familiar, because the headings you
turned into questions are usually the points the instructor will emphasize on exams!