STUDY COACHING

READING TECHNIQUES. LEARNING BY

DOING!

Test your active reading skills with the PQ4R-Method!

HOW TO DO THIS:
…read a suitable text or a text passage from the course book which is currently relevant for your

module/exam. Choose the text passages which you decided to work on during the step: ”well prepared!“

(What is your reading aim?)

YOU WILL NEED:

 your current course book from the module/exam or a text passage from it

 a pen and highlighters in different colours

 an extra sheet of paper or a note pad

 or: a laptop or tablet

 time to practice: 1 - 1,5 hours

Tip: You’re editing your course book online? Then it’s best to familiarise yourself with the digital
highlighting and comment functions.

HOW IT WORKS:
 You like working online? Then you can type in your notes digitally! You prefer writing on paper? In this
case you can always print out your documents.

 Choose a suitable study environment (see “well prepared!“) and take your time!

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 The suggested time to complete each task is just a benchmark for your orientation, which may vary
depending on the length and content of your text. The set time can help you to not get lost in detail. If
you need more time, that’s fine!

PREVIEW: GET AN OVERVIEW OF THE TEXT

SCAN THE SCRIPT

 Table of contents – How many chapters are there?

 Guide through the course book

 Overarching learning objectives

 Introductions to the chapters

 Summary of chapters per chapter

For this task you will need about 5-10 minutes.

Your overview:

Tip: You can also create a mind map to get an overview of the course book. Take a little more time
for this.

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QUESTIONS: WHAT QUESTIONS REGARDING THE TEXT ARE MOST IMPORTANT?

THINK OF…

3–5 detailed (structual) questions about the text/text passage.

Note them down and place them next to your text.

For your orientation and practice you can use the following example questions:
1. What is the main topic/focus of the text?
2. What core messages can be derived from the text?
3. Which technical terms and definitions are most important?
4. Which text passages include examples to illustrate theories?
5. Which topics need additional resources for clarification/better understanding of the text? (e. g.
additional study material, exchange with fellow students or tutors)

For this task you will need about 10 minutes.

Your questions:

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READ

READ THE WHOLE TEXT PASSAGE...

and think about the questions you have worked on previously. Try to answer these questions while reading the
text carefully. It can also be helpful to highlight important details in the text and note down keywords. These
keywords can be useful if you want to write a summary later.

STEP 1: Look into questions from the part: ”Questions“ .

STEP 2: Read the text and identify important text passages: keywords and highlighted sections.

STEP 3: Answer questions from the part “Questions“ with keywords.

For this task you will need about 15-20 minutes.

Notes:

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REFLECT:

Dive into the text and link about how you can link the new content with your previous knowledge. Try to create
associations and bridges to connect the core messages of the text. Also, look at the text critically.

Tip: Think about possible fields where you could apply what you have read. Think about how you could
use the acquired knowledge from the text in your future job?

For this task you will need about 10 minutes.

Your notes:

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RECITE:

Put your text and your notes away.

Try to remember the structure of the text and rephrase the core messages in your own words. First, without
looking into your notes. By this you are not only training how to freely rephrase a text but how to answer
different types of questions in your exam, like “Open Questions”.

You’re not sure what to note down for a specific text passage? Highlight this knowledge gap to replace it with the
correct answers later, once you’ve checked your notes with the course book.

For this task you will need about ca. 20 minutes.

Focus of the text in your own words:

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REVIEW

In this step you will look at your text again, taking into account all the previous steps, and gathering all the
information.

− Did you find answers to all your questions regarding the text?
− Do you have new questions regarding the text?
− Did you understand the text/content?
− Could you repeat all the main aspects of the text in your own words?

Yes? Well done! Now you’re ready to:

write your own summary of the text, with the help of your work from the previous steps.

Tip: If you cannot answer all questions with “yes” just go back to the previous step.

For this task you will need about 15-20 minutes.

Your short summary (about 100 words):

One essential sentence:

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