Hawley Center

Mastering Textbooks

Reading assignments at the college level often involve challenging material. There are, however, certain strategies that will make difficult and/or lengthy texts easier for you to read, thus allowing you to understand and better remember the information you are reading.

  • Do your reading assignments either before or after they are lectured on or discussed in class, but pick the method that works best for you. Reading your assignments before they are lectured on should help you understand the lecture better, and it will also make the lecture a way of reinforcing what you have already learned. However, some students like to listen to the lecture and then read the material when they are able to understand it better. Figure out which style of reading helps you understand the material the best.
  • Read actively, highlighting and underlining carefully to simplify later review for exams. Also, make notes or write questions in the margins as you go. In addition, it is helpful to take notes on a separate sheet of paper as you read. This will keep you involved in the reading and provide you with an additional resource for review. The biggest mistake students make when they read is to just open the book and start reading passively.Make yourself work as you read to ensure that you are understanding the material. Otherwise you are just going through the motions of reading without getting much out of it.
  • Read flexibly, adjusting your speed and intensity to the difficulty of the material and to your ability.
  • Read critically to identify authors' biases and to distinguish facts from opinions; you don't have to believe everything that you read.
  • Test your understanding of textbook material frequently. To do this, close your book after finishing a section and restate in your own words the general content of that section. If you have problems doing this, go back and reread the section until this is easy for you to do.
  • Study visual aids like pictures and charts along with the text to increase your understanding of the topics covered.
  • Talk to other students in your class about the reading to help reinforce what you understood from it. Talking about what you read is a great way to test for understanding and also a great way to review what you have learned.
  • Read with a dictionary on your desk or in your lap and look up words you don't know. This will help you understand the reading more thoroughly, in addition to improving your vocabulary overall.


SQ3R -- A Strategy for Reading Textbooks and Other Difficult Materials

Learning a standard textbook reading method, such as SQ3R, may help you develop more productive reading habits.

S = Survey. Before starting a chapter assignment, survey any headings or subheadings. If the chapter has a preview or summary, read it. Skim first sentences, and look at any graphics and their captions. The entire survey should take a few minutes. Surveying will allow you to collect your thoughts and focus on your reading.

Q = Question. After surveying, reread the headings and mentally come up with questions about the material being covered. This keeps your reading involvement active.

R1 = Read. The next step is to read in order to answer your questions. Read everything: the main text, tables, graphs and captions. Pay special attention to highlighted or bold-face words. Also, make notes in the margin or on a separate sheet of paper, and highlight or underline important parts. Stop reading after each section or after several pages, depending on the complexity of the material.

R2 = Recite. After each section, mentally recite the answers to your questions, or if no answers were stated, rephrase the information in your own words. If you cannot do so, reread the section and try again.

R3 = Review. After finishing the entire reading assignment, ask and answer questions about the reading as a whole. Next, quickly glance over your margin notes or other notes to review each part. It is best to review after the first reading and again before the test, with other brief reviews in between.

Last Updated: 11/18/11