SQ4R: An Effective Reading Strategy

The SQ4R (Survey, Question, Read, Recite, Review, Relate) method has been well-recognised as an effective approach to reading academic texts. It engages the reader during each phase of the reading process: thinking before, during, and after reading. Some EAL students attribute their inability to understand or read a text to the lack of vocabulary or unfamilarity with the subject content.  An EAL student once remarked that "despite knowing all the words, I still can't understand the paragraph". Clearly, a strategy of reading that begins with first looking up all the unfamiliar words in the paragraph is not an effective one.

At first glance, the SQ4R strategy looks like a lot of work but if you persist and keep practising, you will have a very useful tool at your disposal; you will feel you have more control over your reading and you will get more out of the time you spend reading.

SQ4R at a glance

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Source: http://www.mappio.com/mindmap/i-am-a-mind-mapper/sq4r-reading-method