Spring 2018

Let's practice studying techniques...​

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This is using the SQR4 method. For more information, click here. Also, if you want to see why this practice may be more effective than just highlighting or mindlessly reading, check this TedTalk out!

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Use the handout I have given you. Take out your textbook and a pen. We are going to be focusing on Chapter 7, pgs. 219-220 "Head of State vs. Head of Government."
 

Follow these steps:

• Survey

  • Read all the titles and subtitles, study any pictures, charts or graphs, and, if there are any, read the summary at the end of the section and any study questions. Surveying a chapter in this way gives you the "big picture;” a framework of the main ideas which will help to hold the details together later.​

• Question

  • ​Before beginning to read, take the subtitle of the section (or the first sentence of a paragraph) and turn it into a question. For example, if you're reading part of a chapter called "Functions of the Spinal Cord," ask yourself, "What are the functions of the spinal cord?"

• Read

  • Then read; not passively sliding your eyes over the words, but actively engaging the text, trying to find the answer to your question. Be cautious, however, that you don't end up skimming for the answer to your question and missing other important information​

• Recall

  • Once you've read the section, close the textbook and answer your question, either orally or on paper, in your own words. If you can't answer the question, you should re-read that section until you can. If, after several tries, you still can't answer your question, go on to the next few sections and see if things become clearer. You may find that you need to change your question. For example, you may have first posed the question, "What is the Treaty of Versailles?" for the subtitle "The Treaty of Versailles," but, after reading the section, you may find that a better question is, “Why was the Treaty of Versailles created?" If changing your question doesn't help clarify the reading, it's time to get some help. Your instructor or LRC tutors are good places to start.​

• Review

  • ​In courses where there is a lot of factual material to remember, a regular review period (usually once a week) can be a very effective strategy for retaining information. Integrating a weekly review period into your study routine will help you remember more of the information longer, thereby changing the nature of the studying done at exam time. Rather than relearning material that has been forgotten because you haven't looked at it since reading it or writing it down, preparing for an exam can include a review of familiar material and rehearsal strategies like trying old exams. The secret to making regular review periods effective is to start from the beginning of the course in each review session. The volume of material to review increases as the semester progresses, but the amount of time needed to review older material decreases. After you've reviewed the first week's material a few times, it will take only minutes to skim over it and recall the key points

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