SQ3R method
The SQ3R method is a five-step way to read a textbook chapter so it actually sticks: Survey, Question, Read, Recite, Review. Instead of reading start to finish, you skim first, turn headings into questions, read to answer them, say the answers out loud, and review.
Most people read a chapter once, hit the end, and remember almost nothing. SQ3R fixes that by making you do something at every step instead of just staring at the page. You skim to see the shape of the chapter, make questions out of the headings, then read with a goal: find the answers. That little bit of effort is what turns reading into remembering.
The step people skip is Recite. It feels slow to stop and say the answer in your own words, so they keep reading instead. But that out-loud part is the whole point. If you can't explain it without looking, you didn't actually learn it yet, and better to find that out now than in the exam.
Sara has a biology chapter on cell respiration. She skims the headings and pictures first, then turns "The Krebs Cycle" into "What happens in the Krebs cycle?" She reads to answer that one question, closes the book and says the answer out loud, then reviews all her questions at the end.
- 1Survey: skim the headings, pictures, and chapter summary before reading a single paragraph.
- 2Question: turn each heading into a question you want answered.
- 3Read: read one section at a time, looking for the answer to its question.
- 4Recite: close the book and say the answer in your own words. Jot a quick note.
- 5Review: go back through all your questions and answer them again from memory.