SQ3R is a deep reading tool to help students study more effectively. It stands for Survey, Question, Read, Recite, Review, with each word being a separate step in the method. You can use the SQ3R method to save time while studying and retain the information you read the first time, without having to reread.
Below you will find a description, an infographic, and examples to help you put this method into practice.
When to Use This Method:
SQ3R works especially well for:
- Lengthy texts
- Reading/Resources that you will be tested on the content
- Texts that have dense or unfamiliar academic language
- Material that you would like to retain long-term
Before you read, spend a few minutes surveying the text by looking at:
- Titles, headings, and subheadings
- Bold or italicized words
- Pictures, graphs, and charts
- Chapter summaries, the abstract, and the conclusion
The purpose of this step isn't to learn the material; it is to preview it so your brain knows what to expect.
Create questions out of the information you gathered in the surveying step. Try starting with the headings or bolded terms if you are unsure of where to begin.
Example: If a heading says "Global Warming," you may change this into the question "What is global warming?" A bolded term says "Algal Bloom"; you may turn this into "How does Algal Bloom differ from Cyanobacterial Bloom?"
This may seem like an easy step to skip, but it matters because these questions give the reading a clear purpose while keeping you focused. If you create these questions, it helps your brain focus on the important information. Asking yourself questions is the difference between scanning without a purpose and reading with a goal.
Begin reading, but try breaking your reading sessions into smaller, manageable sections. Use these strategies along the way:
- Try to answer the questions that you wrote out in the previous step
- Take notes
- Use your own words to describe the information you are reading about (do not copy what the text says)
- Pay attention to ideas that come up repeatedly as these are often key concepts
- Write down your page numbers for eventual in-text citations
- Scan back through the text once finished, to ensure that you didn't miss anything important
When you finish a section, don’t look at the text and try to recall and explain (either verbally or in written format) the main points in your own words, just as if you were teaching this to someone else. This helps to solidify your understanding. If you get stuck, note what you get wrong or cannot recite.
This final step helps you move the recently learned information into your long-term memory. After you have finished the steps above:
- Examine your notes and see if you can answer each question that you developed in step two, "Question".
- Reread the material to address any unanswered questions or gaps in your understanding from the "Recite" step.
- Find a studying strategy (flashcards, online quizzes, handwritten notes, etc) that allows you to review the content again, ideally more than once.
When you try this process, it may take you longer to read initially. However, following the SQ3R technique saves you time overall because it is an effective way to study dense and lengthy texts. If you stick with it and try this method a few times, your studying process will get faster, and this approach will feel like second nature.
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