SQ3R is one useful technique for extracting the maximum amount of benefit from your reading time. It helps you to organize the structure of a subject in your mind. It also helps you to set study goals and to separate important information from irrelevant data.
SQ3R is a 5 stage active reading technique. The stages are:
Survey : Look over the piece of writing to establish its purpose (what is it trying to get across to the reader?) and to get the main ideas.
Question : Create questions to ask yourself. Base them on headings and sub-headings. This helps your mind engage and concentrate.
Read: to answer the questions, to fill in the information around the mental structures you've been building.
Recall/Recite : Remember the answers in your own words, put them in a different form, say them out loud etc to retrain your mind to concentrate and learn as it reads
Review : Go over what you’ve learned within 24 hours, then in a couple of days to refine your mental organization and begin building memory.
If you use SQ3R, you will significantly improve the quality of your study time
