Chapter 1:Acquiring the Keys to Academic Success From this chapter, youll learn 1. about SQ3R, a tested and flexible system for reading textbooks. 2. why

Chapter 1:Acquiring the Keys to Academic SuccessChapter 1:Acquiring the Keys to Academic Success

From this chapter, you’ll learn1. about SQ3R, a tested and flexible system for

reading textbooks. 2. why paraphrasing is critical to understanding

and remembering what you read.3. why summarizing should be part of your tool

box of academic skills.4. how the World Wide Web can help you get

the background knowledge you need.

copyright Laraine Flemming 2012

Using SQ3R: A System for Studying Using SQ3R: A System for Studying

SQ3R stands for

1. Survey the chapter to get an overview.2. Question to focus concentration.3. Read to answer the questions.4. Recall to test your understanding.5. Review to see how all the sections or

pieces fit together.

copyright Laraine© Flemming 2012

Step 1:Surveying to Get an Overview Step 1:Surveying to Get an Overview

To survey, read the following:

1.Title and Introductory material

2.Headings and opening sentences of chaptersections

3.Visual aids such as pictures, charts, graphs, tables, highlighted words, and marginal notes

4.End-of-chapter summaries and questionscopyright Laraine© Flemming 2012

Survey Goals Survey Goals The Four Goals of a Survey Are1. to get a general overview of the

material.

2. to determine how difficult or easy the text might be to read.

3. to get an idea of what’s important.4. to determine how many study

sessions it will take to read the chapter.

Copyright Laraine Flemming 2012copyright Laraine Flemming 2012

Step 2: Ask Questions for FocusStep 2: Ask Questions for Focus

Using questions to guide your reading can help you

• remain mentally active while reading.• maintain your level of concentration.• keep you alert to key passages in the

chapter.

copyright© Laraine Flemming 2012

How to Form QuestionsHow to Form Questions

Your questions can be based on

• headings, key words, pictures, or graphics in the chapter.

• comparisons to other writers on the same subject.

• your own personal experience.


Step 3: Read in ChunksStep 3: Read in Chunks

When you read a textbook, remember to• read it in chunks of no more than 10 or 15

pages.• write or diagram while you read.• periodically paraphrase, or sum up in your

own words, what you have just read.• vary your assignments, especially if you are

studying for more than an hour.


A Word to the WiseA Word to the Wise

There is a lot of new research about studying coming out of cognitive science* laboratories.Some of it confirms what people have said for years. Some of it contradicts long held beliefs.Here’s what’s been confirmed:


*cognitive science: the formal study of how we think, learn, and remember

Distribute Reviews Over TimeDistribute Reviews Over Time

• When it comes to remembering, Distributed Practice is definitely the way to go. If you want to remember something, study it. Leave it alone for a while. Then go back and review it, preferably in a different way. Your brain has to struggle a bit to remember what it learned before. The struggle to remember forges a neural pathway in your brain that stores the information long term.

• When it comes to remembering, Distributed Practice is definitely the way to go. If you want to remember something, study it. Leave it alone for a while. Then go back and review it, preferably in a different way. Your brain has to struggle a bit to remember what it learned before. The struggle to remember forges a neural pathway in your brain that stores the information long term.


What Hasn’t Been ConfirmedWhat Hasn’t Been Confirmed

• For years, study skills books have suggested that students find one place to study and then work consistently in that room. However, newer research suggests the opposite. Study in different locations. Again, the goal is to make the brain struggle a bit. As it absorbs the change in place, it is matching the information you are trying to learn to a new context, or setting, and that’s all to the good.

copyright Laraine© Flemming 2012

For More Information on Changes in Study AdviceFor More Information on Changes in Study Advice

• For more about what’s the same and what’s different in study skills, consider looking this article up on the Web: Benedict Carey, “Forget What You Know About Good Study Habits.” nytimes.com


Write while ReadingWrite while Reading

Writing while reading is critical because it helps you

1. remember what you read.2. check your comprehension.3. maintain concentration.


Write while ReadingWrite while Reading

Use any or all of these writing strategies:• Underline key words in sentences.• Use boxes, stars, and circles to highlight key

names and dates.• Take marginal notes, jotting down central points.• Mark important passages with double bars, stars,

or asterisks.• Identify, maybe with a “P” or “TP, ” ideas for

term papers.copyright© Laraine Flemming 2012

Step 4: Recall after Completinga Chapter SectionStep 4: Recall after Completinga Chapter SectionRecalling right after reading can be done in a number of ways. You can

1. mentally recite the general point and a few details without looking at the text.2. write out answers to questions you posed during your survey.3. cover up the text and write a summary of

the material.Copyright ©Laraine Flemming 2012

Step 4: Recall after Completinga Chapter SectionStep 4: Recall after Completinga Chapter Section

You can also 1. make rough diagrams or drawings.

2. ask a classmate to quiz you on the material.

3. use any other method you can think of to see how much you remember.



The rate of forgetting is fastest right after you finish reading. Recalling by repeating what you just read in your own words slows down the rate of forgetting so you forget less.


Another Word to the WiseAnother Word to the Wise

As soon as you start a study session,identify how many pages you plan to read. This is particularly important if you are reading a long chapter. Chopping the chapter into several ten- or fifteen-page assignments will make it seem more manageable, and you won’t give up on it. Consider reading different parts of the chapter in different locations, but do a review before starting a new section.


Step 5: Review Right After Completing the Chapter Step 5: Review Right After Completing the Chapter

The review step of SQ3R• takes place right after you finish the entire

assignment.• focuses on how parts of a text fit together to

develop a general point.• should either confirm or force you to revise

some of your initial predictions about a chapter or article.


The Goals of the First ReviewThe Goals of the First Review

Reviewing right after you complete the assignment

• helps anchor new information in your memory.

• gives you a sense of what passages might need a second reading.

• lets you focus more on the overall objective, or point, of the material


Methods of ReviewMethods of Review

1. Look at all the major headings and try to recall the general point introduced.

2. Work with a friend who asks you questions about the headings.

3. Use the headings to make an outline and write down what you remember about each one.


Create Diagrams that Highlight Relationships Among Parts of the Chapter

Three central factors aroused American fury against British rule and contributed to the Revolutionary War

Copyright© Laraine Flemming 2012

A Word to the Wise

Few strategies for reading—and for that matter forlife—apply to every single situation. Adapt yourreading strategies to the material. For instance, ifyou’re reading a passage that has strong visualimagery, take notes with diagrams or drawings. However, switch to an outline if you think the material doesn’t easily lend itself to pictures. In other words, BE A FLEXIBLE READER, changing strategies to suit the material.


A Word on Multi-Tasking

Copyright ©Laraine Flemming 20012

Don’t Do It! At the Very Least Don’t Do It While Studying !


Staying Focused is Essential Staying Focused is Essential None of the techniques for masteringyour textbooks will be effective if , while studying, you are texting and checking your cell, RSS feed, or Twitter (unless what you are looking at or checking isrelated to the assignment. That might work).

For the record, most studies of multi-taskingsuggest we only think we are getting more accomplished by juggling tasks simultaneously.


Multi-Tasking and Studying Don’t MixMulti-Tasking and Studying Don’t Mix

According to a group of Stanford University researchers, multi-taskers are “suckers for irrelevancy. Everythingdistracts them.” The Stanford researchers say that themore people multi-task, the more they lose the ability to separate the significant from the insignificant. (For more

specific details about the study, see the reading in your text.)

.


A Word to the Wise

It might surprise you to hear that reading too slowly can be as ineffective as reading too quickly, in part because reading the assignment can take so long, it becomes agonizing. Slow your rate way down only when you feel completely lost. Otherwise push yourself to keep going at around 200-250 words per minute. If a passage doesn’t seem completely clear, mark it for re-reading (RR). And make sure you really do re-read.


Another Word to the Wise, This Time about Paraphrasing and SummarizingAnother Word to the Wise, This Time about Paraphrasing and Summarizing

It’s absolutely true that paraphrasing and summarizing while you read will take more time than just reading without note-taking. BUT THAT’S ONLY IN THE SHORT-TERM. The more time you spend thinking about what you read while you are doing it, the less time you will have to waste later on trying to remember the material when it’s time to study for exams. Remember, the brain likes a work out when it’s learning new things. Otherwise it gets lazy and forgetful.


The Importance of Paraphrasing Brief Excerpts While Reading

The Importance of Paraphrasing Brief Excerpts While Reading

Paraphrasing sentences and brief passages while reading serves three purposes:

1.It helps you monitor, or check, your understanding.2.It forces you to think about what you have read. 3.It helps you remember.


1.2 A Word to the Wise

Often when the words are right in front of us, we think we have understood the meaning of a sentence or paragraph. Take the author’s words away, however, and a differenttruth emerges. Our understanding is foggy and vague. That’s why paraphrasing what you read is so critical. Paraphrasing helps you monitor comprehension and avoid self-deception.


Paraphrasing While You ReadParaphrasing While You ReadReading paraphrases aren’t the same as those you do for term papers. They cana. take an informal tone, “Madison was the head honcho when it came to the Constitution.”

b.be grammatically incomplete,” U.S. Pollution Legislation, too much clean up too little prevention.”

c.use abbreviations, 2-toed frogs signs of envir.damage


Paraphrase While You ReadParaphrase While You ReadA good reading paraphrase should1.identify the subject under discussion.2.indicate what the subject did or what was done to it.3.refer to the conditions or causes that

produced the event or situation described (if they are mentioned).4. describe any significant outcome or consequence identified.


The Key Rule of All ParaphrasingThe Key Rule of All Paraphrasing

Change the language, change the order, change the number of the words, but do not change the meaning.


1.2 Reading versus Writing Paraphrases

• For an illustration of how a reading paraphrase compares to one for a term paper, look at these two paraphrases.


1.2 Paraphrase for a Term Paper

• Star athlete Patrick Tillman had a promising career in football, but he walked away from his chance at fame and fortune when he enlisted in the United States Army in June of 2002, determined to help his country make war on terrorism. Tillman was killed in 2004 by “friendly fire” in the mountains of Afghanistan. Initially military officials claimed he had been killed by enemy combatants and awarded him the silver star. The discovery of the truth outraged Tillman’s family and caused a public scandal.


1.2 Paraphrase for Reading Comprehension

• P. Tillman left football to fight terrorists 6/2002.Died friendly fire 2004. Military saidkilled by enemy fire but truth came out.


1.2 Use Questions to Get Started Paraphrasing1. What’s the subject? Patrick Tillman2. What happened to him? He was killed by

friendly fire while on duty in Afghanistan.3. What were the conditions? He was a football

player who wanted to serve his country.4. What was the outcome? Military officials said

he had been killed by the enemy, but it was discovered that he was a victim of friendly care.


1.2 Paraphrasing Pointer1.2 Paraphrasing Pointer

If you are having trouble paraphrasing, think about reversing the order entirely.

When Patrick Tillman died in Afghanistan, a victim of friendly fire, military officials first said he had been killed by the enemy. To help his country make war on terrorists, Tillman had walked away from a promising career in football to enlist in the U.S. military in June of 2002.


1. Don’t try to paraphrase word by word. Look for whole phrases that can be expressed in different language.

2. If you are having trouble getting started, consider reversing the order of information.

3. If you are struggling to paraphrase, ask and answer questions to identify chunks of information, e.g. What’s the subject being discussed? When did the key events occur? Were any specific conditions necessary for these events to happen?

4. Don’t get bogged down trying to paraphrase technical words or phrases. There are some words that have no substitutes, e.g. Clean Air Act, ozone level

1.2 More Pointers on Paraphrasing1.2 More Pointers on Paraphrasing


1.2 A Word to the Wise1.2 A Word to the Wise

If you are really struggling to paraphrasematerial you think you understood, think again. You probably haven’t truly understoodit. You would be better off marking the passage for a second reading before you try to paraphrase it.

copyright ©Laraine Flemming 2012

Summarizing is a Must-Have Academic SkillSummarizing is a Must-Have Academic Skill

Summarizing • tells you what you don’t know. • helps you remember what you read.• makes you sift out the essential from the non-

essential. • is a skill instructors in almost every course will

expect you to have.• is another form of paraphrasing only applied to

longer excerpts that are complete in themselves and with greater emphasis on eliminating details.


When should you summarize?When should you summarize?

Summarize paragraphs• that offer a number of different examples to

make the same point.• that offer reasons for a controversial point of

view.• that seem absolutely essential to your

understanding of the subject at hand.• that are not heavy in scientific detail (For this kind

of material outlining or mapping may be better).


The Length of a SummaryThe Length of a Summary

Generally a summary is expected to be one-quarter of the original. A good summary should include

1.the author’s main point or idea.2. only those details absolutely ESSENTIAL to

explaining that point or idea.3.only the reasons arguing a point of view, not details illustrating the reasons.


Pointers on Summary WritingPointers on Summary Writing1. It helps to mark the text before you

summarize. Go through it and cross out what you don’t need in your summary. Use pencil just in case you change your mind.

2. Summarizing for your reading notes is different from summarizing for an instructor’s assignment. As with informal paraphrasing, you can cut corners when the summary is just for you. Your sentences also don’t have to flow together.



The purpose of summarizing while reading and summarizing for an assignment are quite different. When you summarize while reading, your goal is to make your brain analyze the material and help your memory hold on to what’s important, while getting it to ignore what isn’t.


Difference Between Summarizing for Reading and Summarizing for an AssignmentDifference Between Summarizing for Reading and Summarizing for an Assignment

• When you summarize for an assignment, your goal is to make someone who hasn’t read the original text get a general idea of what was in it. Thus you need more detail and your sentences need to be tightly connected.


For an illustration of the difference, here’s a textbook excerpt:For an illustration of the difference, here’s a textbook excerpt:To stretch a child’s intellect, demands must be

made, but experiences that are too far beyond the familiar may cause frustration and withdrawal. Therefore, gradually expanding beyond a child’s current level of comprehension is usually most productive. Effective parents typically follow a sort of one-step-ahead strategy adapting their instruction to their child’s current level of ability. Coon, Essentials of Psychology, 121


Here’s a summary appropriate for reading notes.Here’s a summary appropriate for reading notes.

• To help kids expand abilities, teachers should use 1-step ahead strategy, increasing difficulty slowly, so children don’t get frustrated.


Now Here’s A More Formal Summaryappropriate for an Assignment

Now Here’s A More Formal Summaryappropriate for an Assignment

• According to Dennis Coon, author of Essentials of Psychology, anyone wishing to increase children’s intellectual skills should use the one-step ahead approach that effective parents practice. Effective parents expand the difficulty level of tasks slowly, so children don’t get discouraged.


Summarizing for an AssignmentSummarizing for an Assignment

• Remember, when you summarize for an assignment, your goal is make someone else understand the general outline or gist of what you have read.

Thus you need to1. be grammatically correct.2. make clear connections between sentences.3. identify the author and title of the article you are

summarizing.


Using the World Wide Web for Background Knowledge Using the World Wide Web for Background Knowledge

• When you are faced with an assignment

dealing with an unfamiliar topic, use the Web to get basic background knowledge. Study after study shows that knowing something about the topic under discussion makes it easier to understand.


What’s the Right Search Term?What’s the Right Search Term?

Your search term should1.be influenced by the headings in the text.2. be specific enough to exclude topics you don’t

care about.3. usually be a phrase rather than a single word. 4. not be so general, it brings up a host of web

sites that bear no relationship to your topic.

Copyright Laraine Flemming 2012

Pointers on Reading the Web for Background KnowledgePointers on Reading the Web for Background Knowledge

When you get a list of web sites in response to your search term, don’t just start at the beginning and keep hitting links until you find one that seems useful . Do the following instead:

1. Read the captions describing what’s on the sites. 2. Look for language related to your search term or assignment. 3. Based on the descriptions, decide which sites on the list might

be appropriate for your purposes. 4. Click on one of these sites. If it’s appropriate, then read the

information it provides. It it isn’t, go on to the next site where the caption’s language seemed to fit what you were looking for.


Picking the Right Search TermPicking the Right Search Term

• Imagine that you are surveying a chapter that referred to the former dictator of Cambodia Pol Pot in a heading that said“Under Pol Pot’s Iron Hand, 1976-1979.” Which of the following terms would get you the information you needed in the least amount of time?


Picking the Right Search TermPicking the Right Search Term

1. Pol Pot2. Cambodia’s leader Pol Pot3. Pol Pot 1976 …1979

copyright©Laraine Flemming 2012

Focusing Your Search TermFocusing Your Search Term

Although you could get back-ground knowledge for the chapter withall three choices, the term that would lead you directly to the information you need is Pol Pol 1976...1979.


Final Wrap UpFinal Wrap Up

See how well you can describe each of the stepsin SQ3R.


1. S2. Q3. R4. R5. R


Final Wrap Up: Acquiring the Keys to Academic Success

Final Wrap Up: Acquiring the Keys to Academic Success

6. Imagine that you were getting ready to read a chapter titled “Bank Reform in the Twenty-First Century, “ and it was forty pages

long. What’s the first thing you should do and why?


Final Wrap: Acquiring the Keys to Academic SuccessFinal Wrap: Acquiring the Keys to Academic Success

7. The key rule of paraphrasing isa. make sure the paraphrase is shorter than the

original.b. always reverse the order used in the original

text.c. change the language but keep the meaning.d. always provide a footnote for the original

source.Copyright© Laraine Flemming 2012

Final Wrap: Acquiring the Keys to Academic SuccessFinal Wrap: Acquiring the Keys to Academic Success8. How might you paraphrase the following statement? “Matthew B. Crawford has a Ph.D. in political

philosophy. He also owns a motorcycle repair shop in Richmond, Virginia. In his book, Shop Class as Soul Craft, he argues that working with our hands at physical tasks involves a deeper level of thought than many people realize.”

.


Final Wrap: Acquiring the Keys to Academic SuccessFinal Wrap: Acquiring the Keys to Academic Success9. When you write a summary, which is most important?

a. making sure that you correctly paraphrase all of the details in the passageb. being careful about stating the author and source of the original readingc. eliminating everything from the original except for the main idea and most essential details


Final Wrap: Acquiring the Keys to Academic Success


10. Read the paragraph below. Then decide which of the following summaries is most effective.Even the most devoted bird lovers have a hard time loving the Canadian goose. Thus, in July of 2010, remarkably few people complained when the U.S. Department of Agriculture rounded up 400 geese from Prospect Park in Brooklyn and gassed the birds. The fate of the Canadian geese did not tug at human heart strings mainly because the birds don’t migrate. They arrive at a location, like a public park or lake, and take up residence, carpeting the area with their droppings. That’s the reason the U.S. D.A. pulled up the welcome mat in Prospect Park, and it’s probably the only reason so few people cried foul.


Final Wrap: Acquiring the Keys to Academic SuccessFinal Wrap: Acquiring the Keys to Academic SuccessSummary 1: In July of 2010, when the U.S. D. A.

exterminated 400 Canadian geese that had made Brooklyn’s Prospect Park their home, there wasn’t much public outcry because Canadian geese, who do not migrate, tend to destroy whatever environment they inhabit. The geese don’t leave and everything gets covered with their droppings.



So what do you think, is summary 1 a good summary? Cast your vote. But be prepared to explain why you think it meets the criteria for summarizing previously explained here.On to summary 2



Summary 2: In July of 2010, the U.S. D. A. destroyed 400 Canadian geese that had been living in Brooklyn’s Prospect Park. In response to the measures, there wasn’t much public outcry. Canadian geese don’t migrate. Instead they take up residence in parks and by lakes, and their droppings carpet the surroundings. Thus few people had any sympathy for the geese’s plight. They were mainly sick of having them around, and they understood why the U.S. D.A. needed to take such desperate measures.




So what do you think, is summary 2 a good summary? Cast your vote. But be prepared to explain why you think it meets the criteria for summarizing previously explained here.On to summary 3




Summary 3: In July of 2010, the U.S. D. A. destroyed 400 Canadian geese that had been living in Brooklyn’s Prospect Park, but there was almost no public outrage. Canadian geese you see, don’t migrate.




So what do you think, is summary 3 a good summary? Cast your vote. But be prepared to explain why you think it meets the criteria for summarizing previously explained here.


What Do You Think?What Do You Think?


Did the U.S. D.A. do the right thingin gassing the geese? Please be prepared to explain the reasoning behind your answer.

Documents

Chapter 1:Acquiring the Keys to Academic Success From this chapter, youll learn 1. about SQ3R, a tested and flexible system for reading textbooks. 2. why