Back to the on-screen lesson ·
Hold on to a letter with PQRST, and to a call or conversation by saying the details back and writing them as you say them.
Paper packet. Every task here also exists on screen, where it is checked automatically; answers written on paper are not assessed by Nydus. When you are back at a device, enter your answers there.
You will hold on to what you read with the five PQRST steps, and to what you hear by saying the details back to the speaker and writing them as you say them.
The notebook from the last lesson holds what you write in it. This lesson is about getting the right words into it from a letter you read or a call you hear. The letters and calls here are invented, except for one real fact about the IRS. The practice is optional and is not treatment; it does not test anyone. Tell your own clinicians about anything new or changing.
| Term | What it means |
|---|---|
| PQRST | Preview, Question, Read, State, Test: five steps for remembering something written. |
| Preview | Skimming who it is from, the heading and anything in bold. |
| State | Saying or writing the answers in your own words, aloud if you can. |
| Test | Answering the same questions later without looking, then checking. |
| Say-back | Summarizing aloud to the speaker what you heard, so they can correct it: So, to check I have it… |
Two aids. For reading, a small card kept with your letters that says: Who is it from? What must I do? By when? What happens if I don't? Those four questions fit almost every letter, bill or notice, so you never start from a blank page. For listening, the capture pad from lesson 1, next to the phone and in your pocket, so you can write while you say it back — and a habit of asking can I just read that back to you? before any call ends.
A letter read once, or a call heard once, usually leaves only a feeling that you knew it. That is not because anything is wrong. Reading and listening are mostly taking in; what stays is what you do with the information.
For something written, use PQRST. Preview: skim who it is from, the heading and anything in bold. Question: write the few questions it must answer. Read: read to find those answers. State: say or write the answers in your own words. Test: later, answer the questions without looking, then check.
For something heard, say it back. Before the call or conversation ends, summarize the details aloud to the speaker — so it's Thursday at 10:30, Room B? — and write them as you say them. Then read back what you wrote. The speaker is your check, and they can only correct you while they are still there.
Another way: picture
Think of a restaurant server who reads your order back before walking away. The kitchen gets the right dish because the mistake was caught at the table, not at the pass.
Another way: steps
Written: skim → ask → read → say → test later. Heard: listen → say back → write as you say it → read back → file it tonight.
PQRST was adapted for memory rehabilitation by Glasgow and colleagues (1977) and studied by Barbara Wilson (1987). In small studies of people with memory impairment, it led to better recall of short passages than simply rehearsing them. Recent guidelines for memory rehabilitation after brain injury, INCOG 2.0 (2023), list it with other internal strategies worth teaching to people with mild to moderate memory difficulties. The studies are small, and the benefit is for the material the steps are used on.
Two broader findings explain why the steps help. Colin MacLeod and colleagues (2010) found that words read aloud are remembered better than words read silently — the production effect — which is why State and say back are done aloud. And Roediger and Karpicke (2006) found that practicing recall of a passage beat rereading it a week later, which is the Test step.
PQRST takes five or ten minutes, so keep it for what matters: a letter with a deadline, a notice about your building, an article you want to discuss with a friend. A flyer for a pizza place does not need five steps.
Say-back takes ten seconds and is worth doing on nearly every call that includes a day, a time, a place or something to bring. If you feel awkward, blame the pen: I'm writing this down — can I just read it back? Almost nobody minds, and people who give instructions for a living, such as pharmacists and dispatchers, often read details back themselves.
If you could not say something back — the speaker was gone too fast — write what you have, mark the gap with a question mark, and put check on the calendar. A known gap is safer than a confident guess.
The Internal Revenue Service says it usually makes first contact with taxpayers by regular mail, and that it does not demand immediate payment by gift card or wire transfer over the phone. So a letter and a call are handled differently.
Work through a fictional case. Pat gets a letter that looks like it is from the IRS. Preview: sender, notice number in the corner, a bold date. Question: What is it about? What must I do? By when? Read: it asks her to confirm her address within 30 days of the letter's date, June 3. State: Confirm my address by July 3, using the phone number printed on the letter. Test: next morning she answers all three from memory and checks.
A week later a caller says he is from the IRS and she owes money today. Pat says back what she heard, writes his name and number on the pad, and ends the call. Her notes and the letter do not match his demand, so she calls the number on the letter instead. Saying back gave her a written record to check against the letter, rather than a feeling of urgency.
"I read it carefully, so I'll remember it." Careful reading is still taking in. Saying the answers in your own words is what makes it stay.
"I'll write it down after I hang up." After the call, nobody can correct you. Write as you say it back.
"Asking to repeat it is the same as saying it back." Hearing it twice does not show what you understood. Saying it back does.
"PQRST is for students." It was adapted for memory rehabilitation and fits a bill or a lease just as well as a textbook.
Preview: skim the sender, heading and bold text.
City Water Dept. · Planned work on Elm St. · bold: Oct 9, 8 am–4 pm
Knowing what kind of letter it is tells you what questions to ask.
Question: write the questions it must answer.
What happens? When? What must I do?
Questions turn reading into looking for answers.
Read, then State the answers aloud in your own words.
Water off Oct 9, 8 to 4. Fill jugs the night before. Run the cold tap after.
Saying it in your own words, aloud, is what makes it stick.
Test: next day, answer without the letter, then check.
Answers from memory: Oct 9 ✓, 8–4 ✓, fill jugs ✓, cold tap ✗ → reread that line.
The test shows exactly which detail to look at again.
Listen for the details while writing the keywords.
Pad: Haircut — Tue — 2:15 — new address?
Keywords written during the call are the frame for the say-back.
Say it back and ask about the gap.
So: Tuesday at 2:15 for a haircut — and what's the new address?
The caller hears your version and can fix it or fill the gap.
Write the correction as it comes.
Pad: Haircut — Tue 2:15 → 2:45 (corrected) — 40 Park Ave, Suite 3
One detail was misheard; the say-back caught it before the call ended.
Read the finished note back once, then file it tonight.
Tonight: Today, Tue: 2:45 haircut, 40 Park Ave Suite 3
The note goes into the notebook at the evening review, like any capture.
The building manager says: Pest control comes Friday between 9 and 11; clear under the kitchen sink. Write the keywords.
Pad: Pest control — Fri 9–11 — clear under sink
Keywords first, while she is still talking.
Say it back to her.
Friday, 9 to 11, and I clear under the sink — right?
Saying back lets her confirm or correct it.
What happens to the note tonight?
A fictional call. The community center says: *Your tax-help appointment is Thursday at 10:30 in Room B. Bring last year's return and any W-2 forms.* The caller is about to hang up. What is the reliable move?
A fictional letter dated March 2 says: *Renew your parking permit within 14 days of the date of this letter.* Rita wants a calendar reminder 3 days before the deadline. Complete her worked PQRST notes.
Question: write what the letter must answer.
By when must I renew?
One clear question gives the reading its job.
Read and State: find the deadline and say it.
Renew by March a.
Count the days from the date of the letter, not from the day it arrived.
Put the reminder on the calendar before the deadline.
Calendar, March b: Renew parking permit
Three days' warning leaves time to renew even on a bad day.
A fictional letter from the county library about a card renewal. Five things Rita does with it are listed out of order. Write the PQRST step each one is: **Preview**, **Question**, **Read**, **State** or **Test**.
| Step | |
|---|---|
| Glancing at the sender, heading and bold dates | |
| Writing three questions the letter must answer | |
| Reading each paragraph to find those answers | |
| Saying the answers aloud in her own words | |
| Next morning, answering without the letter |
A fictional message from the city: *Bulk trash pickup is Wednesday the 14th, starting at 7 am. Put items at the curb, not in the alley.* Joe says back: *Tuesday the 14th, from 9, in the alley.* Write the correct value for each row, taken from the message.
| Correct value | |
|---|---|
| Day | |
| Date | |
| Start time | |
| Where items go |
A trial. A fictional notice in an apartment lobby says: *Water will be off **Thursday morning**. Fill a **kettle** and a **jug** the night before. The **elevators** still run.* Say the four key words aloud in your own sentence — that is the State step — then, after a short wait, write them back.
Ask someone to read you the list, then cover it and write what you remember:
A fictional block party. A neighbor gives directions to the new farmers market: *Go left on Oak, two blocks, then right at the church, and it's behind the library.* Write the say-back note, one step to a row.
| Say-back note | |
|---|---|
| Step 1 | |
| Step 2 | |
| Step 3 | |
| Step 4 |
Lesson test: one question per skill, one attempt each, no hints. Your answers are checked when you submit.
A fictional voicemail: *Hi, this is Carla from Main Street Auto. Your car's brakes are ready for a check — can you bring it in Monday at 8, and bring the spare key?* Build the note you would say back and write, one part to a row.
| Note | |
|---|---|
| Who called | |
| About | |
| Day | |
| Time | |
| Bring |
Write the four questions — who from, what to do, by when, what if not — on a card and keep it with your mail. From memory, say what the five letters of PQRST stand for and when the say-back must happen. Next: new names. This is optional practice alongside your own care, not treatment and not a test. If anything about your memory is new or changing, tell your own clinicians. You can stop at any point: close the page and the lesson reopens where you were.
12. Your turn: a conversation at the front desk, step 3
Today, Thu: clear under sink. Today, Fri: pest control 9–11, be home.
At the evening review, each part goes onto its dated page.