“What is your secret?” would be the common student question for their top-of-the-class peers. Normally, the answer would be, “Read.” These words do not inspire, nor do they instruct. They simply tell the student something they already knew and think that they have already tried. The one really useful answer to the question would be to “faithfully practice the SQ3R method: Survey, Question, Read, Recite, Review.”

To Survey would be to get the bird’s-eye-view of what you are going to study before jumping into it. It would be hard to understand the subject you are reading if you do not know what the subject is about.

To Question would be to prepare objectives. These objectives are meant to guide you. With goals in mind, what you are studying would be made easier as you will not scatter your thoughts by jumping from one topic to another.

To Read would be to absorb what you have laid your eyes on and understand it completely. This is different from skimming or running your eyes over the words of the textbook as what many students do. You read to answer the questions you have prepared. It is in here that you gather all the necessary data.

To Recite would be to stop reading periodically and to verbally say all the necessary keywords you have read. Main headings, important ideas and concepts, bold and italicized words and enumerated keywords are the most important things to remember.

To Review would be to simply recall everything you have read. Here, notes would prove to be necessary as they arrange every datum you have gathered from your reading. Also, here you will be able to polish those concepts you have trouble understanding or those keywords you have trouble memorizing.

Master the SQ3R Method to improve your comprehension and studying skills. In doing so, the next “What is your secret?” question might be asked to you.