SQ3R

8 Tips for Thinking & Learning #7

This advice comes from the excellent book, Pragmatic Thinking & Learning by Andy Hunt.

SQ3R is a strategy for getting more out of what you read. I first came across the strategy in Matthew MacDonald's Your Brain: The Missing Manual. It is one of those things that when you first hear it, it has an unmistakable ring of truth. You know it will help you in your reading. It is, however, work. If you want to retain more of what you read, if you want to have a better understanding, then it should be worth the effort.

Here are the steps:

Survey - Before reading a chapter, skim the table of contents as well as the chapter itself. Pay attention to the headings and subheadings within the chapter.

Question - Before reading a chapter, ask what you think the chapter is about. Ask a question that you would like for the chapter to answer. Do the same thing within the chapter as you read through the different sections. Change the headings into questions.

Read - Read through the book at your own pace. Make sure that you can answer the questions you proposed.

Recite - Put what you have learned into your own words. Write them down, make flash cards, say them out loud, add them to a mind map!

Review - Reread any item that you have questions about. Discuss what you've read with a friend or on a message board. Make flash cards about what you've learned and study them.

As I get older, I find myself having to read slower if I want to digest every word that has been written. I have to reread entire paragraphs occasionally because the second I'm done reading it, I've forgotten it all. SQ3R is a strategy to help retain all of that information. I hope it helps me, and I hope it helps you.

In addition to the two books cited above, I used information about SQ3R available at Wikipedia.