P REVIEW , R EAD , R ECALL Make your reading more efficient and effective:

PREVIEW READ RECALL

Preview so you can get a main Read actively not passively. Doing so will Recall and quiz yourself so you can
idea of the reading. This will help help you understand the material and remember the information. We
you plan ahead with your reading remember it later. forget much of what we read
and will prepare your brain to within minutes unless we do
 Monitor your attention and
better understand and remember something to actively recall it
understanding regularly so you can
what you’re reading. immediately.
ensure you know the concepts in each
 Spend about 5-10 minutes section.  Turn the heading or first
familiarizing yourself with the sentence into a question and
 Underline key words or phrases, and
reading assignment answer it after you’ve finished
write notes in the margin. Use
reading the section.
 Pay attention to these highlighters sparingly. These actions
elements: title and intro; help you if you need to revisit or find  Close the book after a
subheadings; diagrams, something in the text. paragraph or section and see if
pictures, and charts; any you can explain aloud the
FUN-DAMENTALS

 If possible, take notes on important

summary, questions, or review
at the end of the chapter
 Plan ahead for reading: what
are the main ideas, how long
will it take, what might you
need to note for a test or
FUN-DAMENTALS
concepts while you read or once
you’ve finished reading. Condensing
the material into a “study-able”
package will make it easier to review
later.
concepts and information in
your own words.
 Ask yourself questions as you
read and answer them with the
information from the text (this
is good practice for exams).

 Break up your reading assignment

paper?
into manageable sections. Tackle
them one at a time.

 Take a short break if you’re getting

easily distracted or unable to focus.

Adapted from “PRR: Preview, Read, Recall” - Sanger Learning & Career Center, University of Texas at Austin

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@ the Academic Success Center
success.oregonstate.edu/learning