Effective Reading

Breaking down the article

The SQ3R method is a reading strategy that has been designed to aid with the understanding and retention of information. It can help to make your reading more efficient and effective by creating an active engagement between yourself and the text.

There are 5 steps to this strategy:

1. Survey the text:

This is the same as 'getting to know your reading'. Skim the text paying attention to the following:

• Titles and sub-headings - these indicate the primary content within a piece of text and support your navigation of the reading.
• Images/graphs - highlight key content.
• Introductions, conclusions and any summaries - may help to identify the purpose of the article, as well as highlighting key debates, challenges and outcomes.

The aim of this step is to get a general idea of what you are going to read and should take about 10 minutes.

2. Question the text:

Generate a series of questions that you want to answer when you read the text. This step helps improve your concentration by making your reading (and notetaking) more purposeful.

If you're struggling to come up with some questions, try thinking about how the headings/subheadings could be changed into a question by considering the following: who, what, why, how, etc. For example: "Teaching reading to undergraduates" becomes "How did the researchers approach teaching reading to undergraduates?"

3. Read the text:

Pay specific attention to answering your questions. The purpose of this step is to develop understanding - make notes (see "Active note taking" [insert hyperlink to notetaking guide] for more information) and be prepared to reread anything you don't understand.

4. Recite

Repeat the information you have learned. This begins the process of transferring information from your short-term memory to your long-term memory. This step also helps you to clarify if you've understood everything that you've read.

5. Review 

This is your opportunity to return to the text and address any gaps in your understanding. Consider - have you answered all your questions? Is there anything that you don't understand about the reading/something in your notes?

Returning to the reading and reviewing your notes also helps long-term retention of information, which makes this a really great method of reading for both assignments and revision/exams.