study smart not hard, the simplest & effective study strategy (SQ3R Method)

    The SQ3R method has been proven way to sharpen study skills. SQ3R stands for Survey, Question, Read, Recite, Review as shown below.

SQ3R Model

 1. Survey 

         Get the best overall picture of what you're going to study BEFORE you study it in detail. It's like looking at a road map before going on a trip. If you don't know the territory, studying a map is the best way to begin.

2. Question

          Ask questions for learning. The important things to learn are usually answers to questions. Questions should lead to emphasis on the what, why, how, when, who and where of study content. Ask yourself questions as you read or study. As you answer , them, you will help to make sense of the material and remember it more easily because the process will make an impression on you. 'l’hose things that make impressions are more meaningful, and therefore more easily remembered. Don't be afraid to write your questions in the margins of textbooks, on lecture notes, or wherever it makes sense.

3. Read

         Reading is NOT running your eyes over a textbook. When you read, read actively. Read to answer questions you have asked yourself or questions the instructor or author has asked. Always be alert to bold or italicized print. The author intends that this material should receive special emphasis. Also, when you read, be sure to read everything, including tables, graphs and illustrations. Often' time-tables, graphs and illustrations can convey an idea more powerfully than written text.

4. Recite

         When you recite, you stop reading periodically to recall what you have read. Try to recall main headings, important ideas, concepts presented in bold or italicized type, and what graphs, charts or illustrations indicate. Try to develop an overall concept of what you have read in your own words and thoughts. Try to connect things you have just read to things you already know. When you do this periodically, the chances are you will remember much more and be able to recall material for papers, essays and objective tests.

5. Review

         A review is a survey of what you have covered. It is a review of what you are supposed to accomplish, not what you are going to do. Rereading is an important part of the review process. Reread with the idea that you are measuring what you have gained from the process. During review, it's a good time to go over notes you have taken to help clarify points you may have missed or don't understand. The best time to review is when you have just finished studying something. Don't wait until just before an examination to begin the review process. Before an examination, do a final review. If you manage your time, the final review can be thought of as a ”fine-tuning" of your knowledge of the material. Thousands of high school and college students have followed the SQ3R steps to achieve higher grades with less stress.

How to be an effective reader?

        We have already noted that reading has a purpose. Also the text material might be difficult on account of several reasons: The language may be unfamiliar to the reader or it may be technical; the concepts may be complex or the vocabulary may be difficult or the sentence structure may be difficult. Reasons such as. these merely indicate that there is very little that the writer and reader share between them. However, difficulty in reading may be due to poor design of the message also. In any case, the reader has to make a sincere effort to decipher the meaning, before he or she arrives at any conclusion. Depending upon the purpose in reading and the difficulty of text material, an effective reader adopts an appropriate strategy and uses a suitable technique of reading. We shall consider some such strategies and then proceed to practice a couple of them.