|
| |
THE ART OF
READING —
Seeking to Understand
Textbooks are often read in
the same way pleasure books are read--begin with the first page of the chapter
and read to the end of the chapter, without stopping. While this method is fine
for novels and mysteries, it is not likely to result in the level of
understanding and retention needed for most textbooks. To enhance understanding
and retention of material that you read, SQ3R* process is helpful. It provides a
different method of reading textbooks that will most likely. It’s not a quicker
way to read a chapter in a textbook but it is likely to reduce the amount of
time one will need to spend studying the material immediately prior to the test.
This is so because more time is spent actually understanding the chapter when it
is read initially. Study time then becomes deepening your understanding of the
material.
* SQ3R is an acronym coined by
F. P. Robinson, 1946, in a book entitled “Effective Study”
OVERVIEW OF SQ3R
As the acronym SQ4R suggests,
the process has five steps.
They are. Survey, Question,
Read, Recite, and Review
SURVEY
This step helps you gather the
information necessary to focus on the chapter and formulate questions for
yourself as you read the chapter. It’s not necessary to have answers to your
questions at this step of the process. The answers will come later in the
process. This step should take no more than 5 - 10 minutes but is very
important.
| Read the
title |
This helps your brain begin to focus on the topic of the chapter. |
| Read the
introduction and / or summary |
This orients you to how this chapter fits the author's purposes. It also
provides you with an overview of the author's statement of the most
important points. |
| Read each
boldface heading and sub-heading |
This helps you to create a framework for the chapter in your mind before you
begin to read. This framework provides a structure for the thoughts and
details to come. |
| Review any
graphics |
Charts, maps, diagrams, pictures and other visual aids are there to make a
point. Publishers will not include these items in the book unless they are
deemed to significantly add to the text. |
| Review any
reading aids in the chapter. |
This includes italics, chapter objectives, definitions and study questions
at the end of the chapter. These aids are there to help you sort, comprehend
and remember. Use them to your advantage. |
QUESTION
Now that you have surveyed the
entire chapter to build a framework for understanding the chapter, it’s time to
begin the reading process. This step and the next two, read and recite, are
repeated over and over as you read the chapter.
| Turn
boldface headings into one or more questions and write down your questions
on the left third of a piece of paper. |
As you read this section, you will be looking for the answer to your
questions. For example, if you are reading a book to help you to improve
your study skills and the heading is "use a regular study area", the
questions you might ask are "why should I have a regular study area" where
should my regular study area be located?" |
| Why do I
need to take time to do this step? |
When your mind is actively searching for answers to questions, it becomes
engaged in the learning process. This will help you to remember and
understand the information. |
READ
Reading the section fills in
the information around the mental structures you have been building by surveying
the chapter and developing questions about the section.
| Read one section as time |
As you read the section, look for the answers to your questions and note
them down, in your own words, on the right two-thirds of your piece of
paper. |
| Add more questions, if necessary |
A
single question is probably adequate for a section that is only a few
paragraphs; however, for longer sections, you may find that you need to add
a question or two. |
| Don't get bogged down with the
details. |
Well-written textbooks often provide examples to further explain the main
ideas. As you read the section, try to separate the details from the main
ideas. Use the details to help you to understand the main ideas but don't
expect yourself to memorize every detail provided in the chapter.
|
RECITE
Reciting material as you go
retrains your mind to concentrate and learn as it reads.
| When do you
recite? |
At the end of each section of the chapter. |
| How do you
recite? |
Look at the question (s) you wrote down before you read the section. Cover
your answers with a piece of paper and see if you can answer the questions
from memory. |
| What if you
can't recall the answers to your questions? |
Reread the section or the part of the section that has to do with that
question. |
When you can answer your
question (s) about this section, go back to step two, "question." Develop and
write down your question (s) for this section, read the section and then recite
again. Proceed through the chapter repeating these three steps.
REVIEW
The review step helps you
refine our mental organization of the material in the chapter and begin to build
memory. We learn through repetition. This step provides another opportunity for
repetition of the material and therefore will enhance our recall of the
information.
| How do you
review? |
Once you’ve
finished reading the entire chapter using the survey, question, read and
recite steps, go back over all your questions. Cover the answers to the
questions you’ve developed and written down and see if you can still recite
them. |
| What if some
of the answers have been forgotten? |
Reread the section of the chapter to refresh your memory, recite the answer
after you've written it down and then continue your review process.
|
|
SQ4R
Ellie Vendetti, Professor
of English at Capital Community College prepared SQ4R based on SQ3R. This
includes one additional ‘R’ for ‘Rite referring to writing before reviewing.
Overview of SQ4R:
An important part of the
college experience is learning to learn. SQ4R is one strategy that can help
you get the most out of your textbook reading. Pursued systematically and
consistently, SQ4R will assure that you don’t just “do it,” when it comes to
your reading assignments; you will derive as much as you possibly can out of
the experience.
Survey:
(Overview: quickly look
through the chapter for the main idea or the author’s unifying theme)
-
Table of Contents
-
Introduction/Summary;
first sentence of each paragraph
-
Headings (memorize if
possible)
-
Pictures, charts,
diagrams, etc.
-
Vocabulary lists,
notated print, captions, etc.
Question:
(Establish a purpose.
Begin to think about the material.)
-
Turn headings and
subheadings into questions.
-
Read all questions
within the chapter/text.
-
Try to guess at the
answers.
Read:
(To answer the questions)
-
Carefully read (in
manageable chunks) to answer questions.
-
Correct incorrect
guesses from early questioning.
-
Note important details
and relationships of ideas.
Recite:
(Answers to questions with the book closed)
-
State orally answers to
questions.
-
State key facts and
concepts.
-
Reread any areas which
are unclear.
‘Rite:
(Take notes!)
-
Take accurate notes on
basic concepts.
-
Prepare a study sheet
for exams.
-
Use outline, idea line,
split paper method, etc.
Review:
(At short intervals)
-
Review notes.
-
Be able to answer all
questions.
-
Predict test questions
and answer them.
|
WHEN TO USE SQ3R
No technique is useful 100% of
the time. Now that you’ve learned another study strategy, it is important to
decide when to use it. Different study strategies work best in different
situations.
| SQ3R is
useful with many textbooks but for which ones is it less likely to be
useful? |
SQ3R is probably
less useful with textbooks that focus on helping you solve problems. For
instance, it may not be useful to employ SQ3R with math textbooks. Focusing
your energy on solving mathematical problems using the information in the
chapter is probably a better use of your time. Two other types of textbooks
for which SQ3R may be less useful is beginning foreign language texts or
texts for English class. The focus of beginning foreign language texts is
often vocabulary, verb tense and sentence construction. Books for English
class may be novels and the purpose of reading may be focused more on the
“big picture” than on the content of a particular section or chapter. |
|
Now that you know when NOT
to use SQ3R, when should you use it? |
SQ3R is an
excellent technique to use with textbooks that provide a lot of information
and require you to learn the material in depth. Textbooks in many
disciplines such as biology, psychology, and sociology fall into this
category. |
IMPROVING READING
SPEED
It is safe to say that almost
anyone can double his speed of reading while maintaining equal or even higher
comprehension.
The average college student
reads between 250 and 350 words per minute on fiction and non-technical
materials. A “good” reading speed is around 500 to 700 words per minute, but
some people can read a thousand words per minute or even faster on these
materials. What makes the difference? There are three main factors involved in
improving reading speed:
(1) the desire to improve,
(2) the willingness to try new techniques and (3) the motivation to
practice.
Assuming that you have the
necessary vocabulary and comprehension skills, here are suggestions to improve
your reading speed.
The Role of Speed in the
Reading Process:
Research has shown a close
relation between speed and understanding. For example, in checking progress
charts of thousands of individuals taking reading training, it has been found in
most cases that an increase in rate has been paralleled by an increase in
comprehension, and that where rate has gone down, comprehension has also
decreased. This shows that comprehension is actually better at higher rates of
speed. Such results, of course, are heavily dependent upon the method used to
gain the increased rate. Simply reading more rapidly without actual improvement
in basic reading habits usually results in lowered comprehension.
Factors that Reduce Reading
Rate:
-
Some of the facts which
reduce reading rate:
-
limited perceptual span
i.e., word-by-word reading;
-
vocalization, including the
need to vocalize in order to achieve comprehension;
-
faulty eye movements,
including inaccuracy in placement of the page, in return sweep, in rhythm and
regularity of movement, etc.;
-
faulty habits of attention
and concentration;
-
lack of practice in reading,
due simply to the fact that the person has read very little and has limited
reading interests;
-
fear of losing
comprehension, causing the person to suppress his rate deliberately;
-
poor evaluation of which
aspects are important and which are unimportant;
Since these conditions act
also to reduce comprehension increasing the reading rate through eliminating
them is likely to result in increased comprehension as well.
Basic Conditions for Increased
Reading Rate
A well planned program
prepares for maximum increase in rate by establishing the necessary conditions.
Four basic conditions include:
-
Have your eyes checked. Any
correctable eye defects you may have are taken care of by checking with your
eye doctor. Often, very slow reading is related to uncorrected eye defects.
-
Eliminate the habit of
pronouncing words as you read. If you sound out words in your throat or
whisper them, you can read slightly only as fast as you can read aloud. You
should be able to read most materials at least two or three times faster
silently than orally.
-
Avoid regressing
(rereading). The average student reading at 250 words per minute regresses or
rereads about 20 times per page. Rereading words and phrases is a habit that
will slow your reading speed down to a snail’s pace. Usually, it is
unnecessary to reread words, for the ideas you want are explained and
elaborated more fully in later contexts. Furthermore, the slowest reader
usually regresses most frequently. Because he reads slowly, his mind has time
to wander and his rereading reflects both his inability to concentrate and his
lack of confidence in his comprehension skills.
-
Develop a wider eye-span.
This will help you read more than one word at a glance. Since written material
is less meaningful if read word by word, this will help you learn to read by
phrases or thought units.
Rate Adjustment:
The reader must learn to
adjust his rate to his purpose in reading and to the difficulty of the material
he is reading. This ranges from a maximum rate on easy, familiar, interesting
material or in reading to gather information on a particular point, to minimal
rate on material which is unfamiliar in content and language structure or which
must be thoroughly digested.
Rate adjustment may be overall
adjustment to the article as a whole, or internal adjustment within the article.
Overall adjustment establishes the basic rate at which the total article is
read; internal adjustment involves the necessary variations in rate for each
varied part of the material.
In general, decrease speed
when you find the following
-
Unfamiliar terminology not
clear in context. Try to understand it in context at that point; otherwise,
read on and return to it later;
-
Difficult sentence and
paragraph structure; slow down enough to enable you to untangle them and get
accurate context for the passage;
-
Unfamiliar or abstract
concepts. Look for applications or examples of you own as well as studying
those of the writer. Take enough time to get them clearly in mind;
-
Detailed, technical
material. This includes complicated directions and statements of difficult
principles;
-
Material on which you want
detailed retention.
In general, increase speed
when you meet the following:
-
Simple material with few
ideas which are new to you; move rapidly over the familiar ones; spend most of
your time on the unfamiliar ideas;
-
Unnecessary examples and
illustrations. Since these are included to clarify ideas, move over them
rapidly when they are not needed;
-
Detailed explanation and
idea elaboration which you do not need,
-
Broad, generalized ideas and
ideas which are restatements of previous ones. These can be readily grasped,
even with a scan.
Conclusion:
Keep your reading flexible by
adjusting your rate sensitivity from article to article. It is equally important
to adjust you rate within a given article. Practice these techniques until a
flexible reading rate becomes second nature to you.
Click here to
download this material as PDF
Click here to contact the author of this material
|
