SQ3R represents a system of five steps for reading an assigned text.

Step 1. Survey

In this first step, you take no more than a couple of minutes to scan the headings in the chapter you are about to read and read the summary or conclusion of the chapter, if one is available. The purpose of the survey step is to orient you to what you will be reading. It informs you of the main business of the chapter and the author's purpose in writing the chapter. The survey provides you with an idea of the main points that will be covered and the scope of the chapter. In sum, the survey furnishes you with a preliminary sketch of the structure and content of the chapter, and it is a first step in preparing your mind to accept and retain the information presented in the chapter.

Step 2. Question

Now you actually begin reading the chapter. You start by turning the first heading into a question that directs your reading. Reading with a question in mind is active reading. As you read, you are looking for an answer to your question. Your reading is directed by the question, and it helps to organize both the information in the section you are studying and your thoughts about the information. This kind of active or involved reading will increase your interest, comprehension, and retention.

You do not have to spend a great deal of time formulating the question that will direct your reading of a section of a chapter. In most cases, it only takes a few seconds to convert the section heading provided by the author into a question. For example, if you encountered "Fear of Crime Among the Elderly" as the heading of a section of a chapter, your question might be simply "How afraid of crime are the elderly?" Sound simple? It is. Most important, it is also effective.

Step 3. Read

Once you have posed your initial question, read to answer that question. Do not be at all surprised if new questions emerge as you read. Typically, reading to answer one question generates others. It is these questions that will give form and relevance to your reading. They will make your studying more interesting and memorable.

Step 4. Recite

After you have finished actively reading a section, briefly state in your own words the answer to your questions. If you cannot answer your questions, review the section for pertinent information.

It is a good idea, at this juncture, to jot down some brief notes that outline your answers and capture the main points of the section. Robinson calls these notes "working notes" to distinguish them from the extensive verbatim notes many students take while they read. The criteria for working notes are that they must be brief and written (1) only after the section has been read, (2) from memory, and (3) in your own words.

Nieves refers to notes as "self-talk." He recommends that everyone develop a system of note-taking that suits his or her individual needs, but in general, notes should be organized around these three questions:

1. What are the key words and phrases defining the subject? These words and phrases are usually used as headings and subheadings and are words that must be known.

2. What are the facts, definitions, and events to be remembered? These are the main body of the notes; they are to be understood in a general sense but not memorized.

3. What are your thoughts, reactions, and reflections? These reflect what you understood at the time of making notes.

Nieves suggests that you divide your notebook page (or pages if you write across two pages to give yourself more room) into three columns by using the headings "Key Words," "Facts, Definitions, and Events," and "Thoughts and Reactions." He also suggests that you review your notes shortly after you write them, and clarify and reorganize them during the review.

Many authors object to taking notes verbatim from the text. I do not, if it is done sparingly and judiciously, Often authors will write a couple of sentences that make the point of a section of a chapter in a cogent, pithy, and memorable way. It is permissible to copy it into your notes as long as you also briefly state it in your own words.

When you are reading for a research paper, it is entirely proper to copy quotes from sources. Quotes are often used in papers to lend authority to a point or argument; to preserve subtle, powerful, or beautiful language that makes a point that would be lost by paraphrasing; to document a general point with a specific illustration; or to present information in a cogent way that cannot be improved upon. Care should be taken, however, in note-taking for a paper that you do not fall into the trap of copying the majority of your notes from your readings. To avoid this trap, follow this simple rule: before you copy directly from a source, state your purpose for copying the quote, and write the meaning of the quote in your own words.

Step 5. Review

One way to minimize memory decay is to place the material you have studied firmly in your mind by reviewing it. The review should be conducted after you have finished reading the entire chapter. The primary materials to be reviewed are your working notes on each section of the chapter. If your notes have been done right, they should provide both an outline of the main points in the chapter and answers to the questions you posed while reading the chapter.

Reviewing is actually a form of recitation. After you have reviewed your notes, place them aside and try to recall the questions and answers that guided your reading and the main points of the chapter. Then review your notes to see how well you retained the information. If something is not clear in your notes, return to that section of the chapter to clarify the point. Revise your working notes if needed.

The main purpose of using a system of study like SQ3R is to help you become an active reader. It is important to become involved with what you are studying. Otherwise, you read passively and ritualistically.

How many times have you come snoring to the conclusion of an assigned reading without having any idea what it was about? If someone asked you to list the main points of the chapter, you would answer them with the old moon face. Sure you read the chapter. But you read it ritualistically. You just went through the motions. You read it because it was assigned, and you were supposed to read it. Maybe you even felt some satisfaction when you checked it off your list of things to do. You accomplished something. But what did you really accomplish? Nothing that you can recall very clearly!
Reading by the SQ3R method is an aid to studying with right effort. The method helps to keep what you are supposed to be doing in the moment clearly in view. If you are actively questioning while you read, other than the present and to think about doing things other than the task at hand-that is, comprehending and retaining assigned reading materials. Methods like SQ3R help to keep you firmly centered in the task of studying when what life brings you in the moment is something to study.

One characteristic that the SQ3R method shares with right effort is that it may not be easy to apply to your studying at first. Like anything else, you have to practice it before you get good at it, and when you first try it, you feel awkward and inefficient. Don't get discouraged. Or it you do, and keep practicing SQ3R with right effort.