SQ3R

Created: 2024-02-12 14:35:21 - Touched: 2024-12-09 15:14:34 - Status: Stable

What it is

SQ3R is an acronym describing a process for better retaining information read from a textbook. It stands for Survey, Question, Read, Recite, Review. This multi-step process offers advantages over reading through the text of a chapter from start to finish linearly. The survey step is similar to developing a qfocus as in QFT, and the question step is similar to generating the questions in QFT. Read is just what it sounds like. Recite is to try to recall the information you've read without the aid of looking at the material (being able to recite it from memory). And review is to keep the material fresh by looking at it again in the future.

How to do it

  1. Identify the chapter you need to study
  2. Skim through the chapter, making note of section headings, bolded terms, diagrams and other topics of interest.
  3. As you identify each landmark in step 2, form a question around it. For example, the word "transitive" may be bolded in the chapter on addition, so a question might be "what does the term transitive mean, and how does it apply to addition?"
  4. With the questions in mind, read through the text of the chapter. Read for the content directly, as well as looking for the answers to the questions formulated in step 3. At the conclusion of this step, you should have found an answer to each of your questions.
  5. When you think you have a good handle on the material, put the book away. Do your best to recall the contents of the chapter, in order and in detail. Try to phrase the information in your own words. If you find you can't describe it adequately, or you can't remember what comes next, or you find afterwards looking at the text that you skipped important points, study the areas where your recitation was lacking, and repeat the process.
  6. At the start of each study session, review your notes generated by the above steps, going back to the beginning of the course. Make sure you can still recite the information in full detail without missing anything. Also review material before exams etc.

Some guides suggest adding additional R's in there, covering things like writing down notes after the recitation step. I don't see a need to add extra R's in there just for fun.

When to apply it

Any time that you're about to start a new chapter in a textbook or read through an article. If combining with QFT, use SQ3R after you've completed QFT.

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