College Study Techniques- Highlighting- SQ3R- Annotation

E. Buchanan English 72

Writing as a Learning Tool

While in college, you will be expected to learn large amounts of textbook material (and not just in our class).

Did you know that rereading to learn IS NOT an effective strategy?

Instead of rereading, it is better to write.

Along with helping you retain what you have learned, writing is also good for reading comprehension (comprehension means ability to understand).

The Advantages to Writing While Reading

Writing focuses your attention If you write while you read, you will be forced to keep your mind on the

topic.

Writing focuses you to think Highlighting or writing forces you to decide what is important.

The Advantages to Writing While Reading

Writing Tests Your Understanding One of the truest measures of understanding is your ability to explain an

idea in your own words.

When you have understood an idea, you will be able to write about it, but when an idea is unclear or confusing, you will be at a loss for words.

The Advantages to Writing While Reading

Writing helps you remember what you have read.

Research studies indicate that information is recalled more easily if it is elaborated on.

To elaborate means to do something with great care and detail.

Elaboration involves expanding and thinking about the material by drawing connections and associations, seeing relationships, and applying what you have learned.

Writing is a form of elaboration.

Writing While Reading

Over the course of this semester, you will be introduced to several reading strategies that will help you retain the information you will be learning during your years in college.

At the end of the semester you will be asked which reading strategy(ies) you plan to use (or have used) in your other classes.

Highlighting

The easiest and fastest way to mark important facts and ideas is to highlight them using a pen or highlighter.

Many students do not like to mark their textbooks because they want to sell them at the end of the semester.

However, highlighting really helps you learn.

It is especially helpful with classes that are difficult for you, especially those in a content area, such as Psychology, Anthropology, History.

Let’s read an article about Honduras

Honduras

Okay STOP Reading!We are going to now take a PowerPoint Quiz Write the answers at the bottom of the page. PLEASE do not ask your neighbor for help!

1. Where is Honduras?a. in the north-central part of Central America

b. in South America

c. right below Mexico

2. Which bodies of water are part of Honduras’ coast?a. Atlantic and the Red Sea

b. Caribbean and Pacific

c. Gulf of Mexico and Atlantic

3. During its first millennium, who inhabited Honduras? a. Aztecs b. Mayans c. Cherokee

4. How many people died in the “football war”?a. 5,000 b. 1 million c. 278,283

5. In 1821, who did Honduras declare their independence from?a.Mexico

b.Spain

c.Guatemala

Highlighting

What do you think the purpose of this quiz was?To show you the importance of highlighting

properly.

Highlighting

You do not want to highlight too much, while at the same time, you do not want to highlight too little.

The important thing is to highlight properly.

Why are we learning about Honduras?

After all, this is not a World History class.Has anyone purchased Enrique’s Journey?If so, has anyone started reading it?If so, where does Enrique come from?Exactly, Honduras

Background Information

While learning about highlighting, you also engaged in another reading strategy called Pre-reading.

We are now going to learn about a second reading strategy called SQ3R

SQ3R: Survey, Question, Read, Recite, and Review

Survey: Preview the material

Become familiar with the overall content and organization of the material.

Read the title, subtitle, subheadings, first and last paragraphs, pictures, charts, and graphics. Note words in italics and bold.

Take a moment to glance over the reading (just look at the items above, do not try to read everything).

Question: Ask Questions Before You Begin Reading

What do you want to know? Turn headings and subheadings into

questions and/or read questions if provided.

Read

Read the paragraphs in small chunks. This may be one or two paragraphs at a

time or the material under each heading.Answer the questions you created.

Recite

Say the answer to each question.Stop after each section and try to remember the answer to your question.

Review

Look over the reading selection againLook over the notes you have written. Review what you learned and write a

summary in your own words

Annotation

What is Annotation?

To annotate is to add notes, comments, symbols, etc. to a reading.

Annotating is a useful tool for improving reading comprehension and for remembering the assigned text.

Pass out: Annotation Guide

Annotation

Keep it simple. You are trying to connect with the reading in

some way. Use the tools that work best for you. Make the reading personal. Try to find some way to connect with the material.

Let’s Practice

Incorporate all three strategies: highlighting, annotation, and the SQ3R reading strategy to read the article “Why You Should Participate in Class.”

For Homework

Highlight/SQ3R/AnnotateBrainology Article