Successful University Study

The SQ3R strategy (adapted from Robinson, 1978) shows you how to be an effective "active reader".

Survey
Before you read, survey the text: the title, headings, sub-headings, the introduction, conclusion, summary; captions, charts, graphs, maps.

• From your survey you should have an idea about what content will be new, and what is already known to you.
• Which parts of the text are more important?
• From your survey work out how the ideas presented in the text fit together.  Which ideas fit with your purpose for reading?

Question
Turn the headings, sub-headings into questions you think the section should answer.

• So, ‘The stages of childbirth’ would become ‘What are the stages of childbirth? ’or ‘What happens in each of the stages of childbirth?’

Read
Read the sections with your questions in mind. Look for answers. Make up new questions if necessary.

• Some texts will require more effort than others to comprehend.  You may even need to consult other sources to make meaning.  That is okay.  University is meant to be challenging.
• Monitor, monitor, monitor… How well am I understanding this text?
• If you get bogged down, it may help to go to the next section.  Often your questions will be answered later in the text.  You can then go back to the tricky parts.
• Don’t judge your progress by the number of pages read!!!  Ask yourself the following questions.
• Am I understanding what I am reading?
• What questions have I not been able to answer?  Why?
• Do I have any problems with this?  Where can I go for help?
• How does this reading fit with other readings/lectures?  How is my understanding developing and changing?
• What new questions do I have?

Recite/Recall
After each section, stop and think back to your questions.

• Can you answer them from memory? If not, look back at the text.
• Summarise each section as you go in your own words.
• Some people find using multiple senses helps with learning – seeing, speaking, hearing, writing, drawing...

Review
Once you have finished the whole chapter/article, go back over all the questions formed from all the headings. Can you still answer them? If not, go back and refresh your memory.

• It comes as a surprise to many students that all the ideas presented in a course are related to each other.  By reviewing often, this relationship between ideas should become clear.  You should be able to see how the ideas all fit together.
• You might like to think of each course as a jigsaw puzzle.  As you progress, you collect puzzle pieces during lectures, tutorials and readings.  By regularly reviewing the pieces, you are able to put the puzzle pieces together to view the bigger picture.