1. SQ3R: Survey First Exposure to Reading Assignment

2. When you get a textbook reading assignment in your college class, or outside reading assignments like journal articles, do not just plunge into the text. Apply SQ3R process and activities to the assignment. Begin with a SURVEY or a preview of the reading assignment with a sequence of steps listed here. Note the word “sequence” which means you are given multiple interactions with the text before study-reading the text sentence by sentence and paragraph by paragraph. Multiple interactions with the text increases your learning and retaining information.

3. Two more points before looking at the steps of a Survey. Your survey is an important first step, but it is also flexible. If your reading assignment is challenging with unfamiliar words, many new concepts, and packed with information, you may need all of the steps recommended for a Survey. On the other hand, if the material is familiar and the language and style are not as difficult, you may not need all the steps of the Survey. You are a college student (maybe?) and can learn to judge the quality of the survey activity needed to prepare for study-reading.

4. The second point is the matter of how much time to devote to the SURVEY step of the SQ3R process. Again, you will get the feel of how much time is useful; there is no exact formula. However, as a starting rule, plan to spend at least five minutes interacting with the text using several of the Survey steps if the assignment is not difficult. If the reading assignment is more difficult (think Organic Chemistry!) you should plan on more like 15-20 minutes using most if not all of the Survey steps.

5. Following are the steps in the SQ3R SURVEY stage. Use them in this sequence. 1.Read all Introductory material: chapter outline, introductory concepts, key terms list, chapter goals or objectives, focus questions and so forth 2.Read and ponder (think about what you know or how it connects to what you have learned) all headings and sub-headings. 3.Read first sentence of each paragraph in text. 4.Carefully review all visual aids: photos, maps, diagrams, charts and so forth 5.Note all words in bold type or underlined or printed in the margins. 6.Read the summary at the end of the chapter or last paragraph.

6. That’s it for a SQ3R SURVEY. To give a bit of guided practice, please carefully read and review the document titled “Water on the Earth” survey pg1. This text you have seen in an earlier module. It is not a piece of “reader friendly” textbook with pictures, bold print, sub-headings, and introduction or summary. But it is simple for a practice run. I have links in the right margin for you to click on for definitions and a few other comments. I read the first sentence of each paragraph (blue highlight) and skim-read the entire text. The first sentence of the essay seemed to be a general idea that I thought might be the author’s main point (highlighted in red). Take a look.