SQ4R

“SQ4R is a method of studying, not reading” (George Washington University, n. d. ”). To those who are not familiar with the term, SQ4R simply means Survey, Question, Read, Recite, Record, and Review. These are the steps that are to be used for this particular method of learning. It emphasizes the habit of reading educational materials more than once because students are able to remember things better when this is accomplished. It is not surprising to find out that most courses require students to read materials a lot.

Reading books, notes, and other sources are important to be able to learn more and understand what the course or subject is all about. Students should never rely only on their professors on what they should or should not learn. Their teachers are only a small part of the learning process. However, a large number of students do not like the idea of sitting around and reading through their books. Moreover, they only find time to read their notes when exams are near. This should not be the case because more often than not, they will have a difficulty remembering what they have read about because of cramming and reading the material only once.

Geography is one of those subjects where students should not only rely to their teachers for the knowledge. Reading is required throughout the course and this is why I prefer to use the SQ4R method in this subject. Through this method, I have learned how to go over things first, try to understand the reading the first time, take important notes, and then try to understand and read the material again. I liked this method because I was able to remember things and significant points better, as I read my sources more than once.

The SQ4R also takes time and so I was able to allot more time in studying as a whole compared to when I was not using this method. In general, I did not have any thing against this method but it might not be applicable to situations where there is not much time left to do all the steps. Studying always takes time. Although there are those who like to do things up until the last minute, it is still advisable to set more time in studying and prioritize reading materials than wasting precious time doing other things that are not important.