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Reading a Textbook Using SQ4R Study Method

  • Survey the Chapter

    (A warm-up activity, increases your interest, motivation, and confidence to learn new information)

      1. Read the title of the chapter.
      2. Read the introduction carefully.
      3. Read the chapter objectives carefully.
      4. Read the chapter headings and subheadings.
      5. Examine the visual aids (charts, graphs, diagrams, photos, cartoons, etc.).
      6. Read the marginal notes.
      7. Glance at the terms in bold or italic letters.
      8. Read the chapter study questions. Read the summary carefully.

  • Write Questions

    (To help concentrate on what you are reading)

      1. Ask who, what, why, which, when, where, or how.
      2. Write the questions in a notebook in a 2½" margin on the left.
      3. Write a question for each heading and subheading.

  • Read the Information One Paragraph at a Time

    (This gives the memory time to process the new information)

      1. Find the topic sentence with the author's main idea.
      2. Look for supporting details for the topic sentence.
      3. Read actively to answer the questions you posed.
      4. Reread difficult passages.
      5. Use a dictionary to define unfamiliar words.

  • Select a Form of Note Taking to Record Information

    • (Writing is a motor skill, which forms a channel into your memory)

    1. Write the answers to the questions that you posed from each heading and subheading.
    2. Write and define words that are bold or italic onto flash cards.
    3. Make hierarchies or visual maps to help you understand the information.

  • Recite the Important Information from the Paragraph

    (Activates the auditory channel into your memory)

      1. Reciting requires you to explain the information clearly.
      2. Recite in your own words, if you cannot recite it, you do not understand it.

  • Review the Information Learned in the Chapter

    (Will put the information into long-term memory)

      1. Answer the questions at the end of the chapter.
      2. Answer the questions you wrote.
      3. Study and recite from the notes you took in the Record step.
      4. Write a summary of the chapter in your own words.
      5. Frequent reviews will shorten study time for final exams