SQ3R is a read-comprehension method that involves 5 steps:

  1. Survey (skim)
  2. Question (generate questions about the context of the reading)
  • e.g. “What is the chapter about?”
  • “What question is this chapter trying to answer?”
  • “How does the content of this chapter help me?”
  1. Read
  2. Recite
  • Put the source aside and try to recite in my own words
  1. Review
  • review source and see if the recitation is satisfying (if so I can take note, otherwise repeat)

The SQ3R method is developed by Francis P. Robinson, an American education philosopher in his 1946 book Effective Study.