How To Study

 　　An aid to systematic¹ study，which has proved of value in American colleges and universities is the system called SQ3R 。The SQ3R stands for：

　　Survey Question Reading Recitation Revision

　　1）Survey 。In brief，this means that instead of picking up a textbook and reading one of the chapters over and over，you should first survey：that is ，find out all you can about the aims and purpose of the book，read the author’s preface ,study the table of contents and the index ,read the chapter summaries (if there are summaries) and skim your way rapidly through the book ,And if the book does not suit your purpose ,search around until you find a better one .

　　2）Question .The second preparatory step—asking questions—is also important .This requires going rapidly through the chapters of the book which you are going to tackle，and jotting² down such questions as occur to you .This is useful because it motivates you and to arrange such knowledge as you already have .And if you persist in maintaining a questioning attitude ,you will in time come to read books critically.

　　3）Reading .Next comes reading properly. The first reading of a chapter in the textbook usually needs to be rather slow and thorough。Most good textbook chapters have a structure of headings and subheadings ，which you need to keep in the back of your mind as you read。Often you must turn back to previous pages to remind yourself of some fact or argument。If the subject is illustrated³ by graphs or by diagrams ，you will often be well advised to copy them out or elaborate them。

　　4）Recitation。A single reading is never enough，even though you read actively⁴ with intent to remember。The next stage in study is therefore recitation。Bacon said：“If you read anything over twenty times，you will not learn it by heart so easily as if you were to read it only ten，trying to repeat it between whiles，and when memory failed，looking at the book。”Recitation here does not mean word for word repetition，or learning by heart。It means outlining the substance of a passage。The outline provides the framework into which more details can be fitted in subsequent recitation。

　　5）Revision。The final step of SQ3R is Revision。Revision should not be regarded as something to be undertaken just before examinations。One of the most practical results of memory experiments is that material that has to be retained over long periods should be studied and re-studied。Memories become stronger and stronger with each relearning，and forgetting proceeds more slowly。

　　You will realize that the amount of time that you give to each of the steps of the SQ3R study technique will depend on the subjects you are studying。The natural sciences，the social sciences，the arts，and practical and vocational subjects differ in their aims and methods，but the SQ3R method can be applied⁵ in principle to all fields of study。

1 systematic   

adj.有系统的，有计划的，有方法的

参考例句：

• The way he works isn't very systematic.他的工作不是很有条理。
• The teacher made a systematic work of teaching.这个教师进行系统的教学工作。

2 jotting   

n.简短的笔记，略记v.匆忙记下( jot的现在分词 )；草草记下，匆匆记下

参考例句：

• All the time I was talking he was jotting down. 每次我在讲话时，他就会记录下来。 来自互联网
• The student considers jotting down the number of the businessman's American Express card. 这论理学生打算快迅速地记录下来下这位商贾的美国运通卡的金额。 来自互联网

3 illustrated   

adj. 有插图的，列举的 动词illustrate的过去式和过去分词

参考例句：

• His lecture was illustrated with slides taken during the expedition. 他在讲演中使用了探险时拍摄到的幻灯片。
• The manufacturing Methods: Will be illustrated in the next chapter. 制作方法将在下一章说明。

4 actively   

adv.积极地，勤奋地

参考例句：

• During this period all the students were actively participating.在这节课中所有的学生都积极参加。
• We are actively intervening to settle a quarrel.我们正在积极调解争执。

5 applied   

adj.应用的；v.应用，适用

参考例句：

• She plans to take a course in applied linguistics.她打算学习应用语言学课程。
• This cream is best applied to the face at night.这种乳霜最好晚上擦脸用。