A. Getting to know your textbook

1. Read the introduction or preface to discover the author's orientation.

2. Read chapter titles to determine the organizational structure.

3. Become familiar with its pedagogical aids.

        a. table of contents

        b. chapter outlines

        c. boldface print for new items

        d. end-of-section or end-of-chapter summaries

        e. questions at beginning or end of chapter

        f. appendixes

        g. glossary

        h. recommended reading list

        i. chapter summaries and learning objectives (in this study guide)

B. The SQ4R method

1. Survey - should take only 5-10 minutes for a 50-page chapter and save 25 percent of study time

        a. chapter title

        b. chapter outline

        c. introduction or first paragraph

        d. section headings

        e. illustrations and their captions

        f.     section summaries

        g. questions at the end of the chapter

2. Question

        a. Write questions you would like to answer from the assignment on 3x5 cards.

        b. Unanswered questions are bothersome, and you will read to answer them.

        c. Reading becomes more purposeful if you have questions to answer.

        d. Cautions:

1) Do not overload yourself with questions and do not make your questions too elaborate.

2) Be flexible; add, omit, or change your questions if necessary.

3. Read

        a. Read until you come to the answer of a question.

        b. Study the answer and try to understand it in your own words.

        c. Go to the next step.

4. Recite

        a . Close the book.

        b. Repeat the answer back to yourself in your own words.

        c. Open the book, and compare your answer to the book's answer.

        d. If it is not acceptable, go back to the last step and repeat it.

        e. If it is acceptable, go to the next step.

5. Write

a. Write the answer to the question (and page number) on the reverse side of the card.

b. Repeat steps 3–5 until you have written all the answers to your questions.

6. Review

        a. Use the cards as flash cards.

        b. Review immediately after finishing the assignment.

        c. Review at least three more times, once immediately before the test.

C. A Note Of Caution about the SQ4R Method: My experience with the SQ4R method leads me to believe that not all students use all six stages to help them study in a goal-directed and systematic manner. For example, you may find that the judicious use of the "recitation" stage is sufficient for you to increase your understanding and performance. In any event, you should consider using some or all of the components, especially if the results of your exams suggest that your previous study methods are not sufficiently effective. Wide individual differences exist among people in almost all aspects of their behavior and mental processes. Studying and test-taking are no exceptions to this theme. Use this opportunity to perform a "study-technique analysis" on yourself that will produce results that can increase your performance not only in this class, but in your other classes as well. The more familiar you are with your mental processes, the more successfully you can use them to your academic advantage.

D. Monitoring your reading to ensure comprehension

1. As you read an assignment, ask yourself the following questions.

a. Do I really understand this, or do I need to read it again?

b. Did I get lost several paragraphs ago?

c. If so, where do I need to begin my review?

d. Am I just reciting by rote or do I really understand this well enough for the test?

2. Your answers to these questions will help to guide your reading habits to ensure that you are actually learning the material, rather than just allowing your eyes to pass over the words so that you can say that you have finished the assignment when you finish reading the last page.

E. Conclusions and advice about reading textbooks

1. Textbooks are expensive, and smart students get their money's worth from them. Therefore: Become familiar with the pedagogical aids in your books. Their purpose is to help you learn in the most efficient manner possible.

2. Active learning produces better understanding and retention than passive learning. Therefore: Give yourself a purpose for reading an assignment (i.e., ask yourself specific questions) and then read the assignment to discover their answers. Do not read an assignment just to get it out of the way.

3. An important part of studying is the active identification of the main points of the material you are trying to learn. This process forces you to discriminate between important and less important material as you read, and helps you to review more efficiently. Therefore: Highlight or underline the important terms, concepts, and relationships in your textbook.

(Hint: Use your highlighter or pen sparingly; using them too much indicates an inability to identify genuinely important information and makes reviewing more difficult.)

4. People learn best when they experience new material in a number of ways (e.g., by seeing it, hearing it, and doing it). Therefore: Reading, reciting, and writing the answers to your questions will help you learn the information in an assignment more effectively than just reading it.

5. Meaningful and personally relevant information is learned more quickly and retained longer than material perceived to be meaningless or irrelevant. Therefore: Before you read an assignment, become familiar with it, understand why you are reading it, and think of ways to relate its contents to your own life experiences (i.e., make it personally relevant).

6. The best way to prepare for any new task—such as a test—is to prepare for that task under the same conditions in which you will engage in it. Therefore: Writing answers to questions you have constructed is an excellent method to prepare for a test.