SQ3R: A Reading System

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SQ3R A Reading System

• Based on D.J. Henry,
• The Effective Reader

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OVERVIEW

• Effective, active reading simply consists of
  ASKING YOURSELF QUESTIONS before you read, while
  you read, and after you read, and coming up with
  TENTATIVE ANSWERS to those questions, then
  REVISING your answers as you figure out more.
• Active reading requires WRITING. Write down your
  questions and answers as you go.

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OVERVIEW

• As you read and think about what you read, your
  answers will become more accurate and interesting
  and you will be able to tie more of your reading
  in with your prior knowledge.

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OVERVIEW

• The SQ3R system gives you a number of ways of
  asking useful questions about your reading,
  answering them and remembering the answers. The
  acronym SQ3R stands for
• Survey
• Question
• Read
• Recite
• Review

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S Survey

• BEFORE reading
• Skim the text, looking for titles, headings,
  italicized and bold-print terms
• Read the first sentences of paragraphs
• In longer texts, read the introduction

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Q Question

• AFTER Surveying but BEFORE Reading, ASK YOURSELF
• What is this passage about? What possible main
  point (thesis) might somebody want to argue about
  this topic?

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Q Question (Part II)

• AFTER Surveying but BEFORE Reading, ASK YOURSELF
• What do I already know about this topic?
• What is my goal for reading? Am I looking for an
  overall idea about the topic, or for detailed
  knowledge? What do I need to do with the
  information I will get from this reading?

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R Read

• As you read, ASK YOURSELF
• How does this new information fit in with what I
  already know?
• Do I need to change what I know?
• Why might this information be important to the
  point the writer is trying to make? How is the
  writer using this information rhetorically (to
  persuade me of something)?

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R Read (Part II)

• As you read, ASK YOURSELF
• Where are points where I dont quite understand
  what Im reading? What questions do I have about
  these points? WRITE the questions down.
• Also write questions based on headings,
  subheadings, bolded and italicized words. One
  standard question that often works What is an
  example of this idea or phenomenon?

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R Recite

• As you read
• ANSWER the questions youre asking, and WRITE THE
  ANSWERS DOWN.
• Try to visualize the reading turn on the camera
  in your head.
• Try to restate the ideas in the reading in your
  own words.

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R Review

• AFTER reading, go back and look at your questions
  and answers. Compare them with the writing
  youve just finished. ASK YOURSELF
• Are there important parts of the writing which
  arent covered by my questions and answers? What
  are they?

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R Review

• AFTER reading, ASK YOURSELF
• If there was a test on this material, what might
  some of the test questions be?
• What have I learned? What do I know about the
  topic that I didnt know before?
• How can I extend what Ive learned? What other
  situations can I apply my new knowledge to?