SQ4R Method

Here's how:

• Define your need and purpose:
  • need: how many sources, what type (academic, popular journal, movie, documentary, etc), due date, how big is the final product (500 words or 1500 words; a 5 minute presentation or a 50 minute presentation)
  • purpose: are you simply trying to describe? or do you need to persuade, compare, entertain, etc.
• Scan or skim the source quickly to determine whether it is relevant
• Question: list several questions you have about the text: turn titles, section headings, sub-headings and topic sentences into questions and then look for the answers
• Read the material to find the answers to your questions
• Recite (or explain) what you have discovered to yourself or a buddy: listen to yourself as you are explaining your learning: you may find that you've understood something that was not clear when you were just thinking about it
• Record main ideas
• Review: this is the metacognitive piece: have I learned what I needed to? What else do I need to investigate? What do other sources say about what I've learned? Do they agree or disagree?