MOOC USSV101x | Hard Reading, Good Writing | Introduction - Hard Reading

Summary

The video script emphasizes the importance of reading, thinking, and writing in college, particularly for humanities and social sciences. It acknowledges the challenge of comprehending complex texts and assures students that difficulty is common. The script encourages learning and practicing strategies to improve academic skills, highlighting that everyone can overcome these challenges with the right approach.

Takeaways

• 📚 Reading, thinking, and writing are fundamental activities in college classes, especially in the humanities and social sciences.
• 🧠 These skills are not innate; they are learned and improved through practice and the use of effective strategies.
• 📚 College reading often involves scholarly articles and texts that require a different approach than casual reading.
• 📘 Academic writing is a skill that can be developed, and it's distinct from everyday writing.
• 🤔 Encountering difficult texts is a common experience for college students, and it's not a sign of personal inadequacy.
• 📚 The ability to understand complex texts is a skill that can be learned and is essential for academic success.
• 🔍 When faced with a hard reading assignment, it's important to approach it with the right mindset and strategies.
• 🤓 Everyone encounters challenging texts, and it's a shared experience among students, which can be reassuring.
• 🛠 Developing skills to interact with difficult texts is crucial, as it prepares students for academic challenges.
• 📈 Incremental improvement is the goal when learning to read and write at a college level, emphasizing the importance of continuous practice.
• 🔑 Strategies for dealing with hard reading are widely applicable and can assist students with a variety of challenging texts.

Q & A

What are the fundamental activities in many college classes according to the script?

The fundamental activities in many college classes are reading a text, thinking about the text, and then writing about it.

Why is the cycle of reading, thinking, and writing important in the humanities and social sciences?

The cycle of reading, thinking, and writing is important in the humanities and social sciences because it forms the basis of understanding and analyzing scholarly material in these fields.

What does the script suggest about the nature of reading, thinking, and writing in a college setting?

The script suggests that reading, thinking, and writing in a college setting are learned skills that require practice and are not innate abilities.

What is the script's perspective on encountering a hard reading assignment in college?

The script indicates that encountering a hard reading assignment in college is very likely and is a common experience for students.

How does the script reassure students who struggle with understanding difficult texts?

The script reassures students by stating that struggling with difficult texts is a common experience and not an indication of their inability to perform academically.

What does the script suggest students should do when faced with a difficult text?

The script suggests that students should learn specific skills to prepare for and interact with difficult texts.

What strategies does the script offer to help with hard reading assignments?

The script offers strategies that can help almost anyone with almost any kind of hard reading, although it does not specify the strategies in the provided transcript.

Why is it important to practice reading, thinking, and writing skills according to the script?

It is important to practice these skills to achieve incremental improvement and to be better prepared for academic tasks in college.

What is the script's view on the inevitability of encountering a challenging text in college?

The script views it as a virtual certainty that students will encounter a challenging text in college.

What is the script's advice for students who feel they cannot understand a text despite reading it multiple times?

The script advises students not to worry about being incapable but to learn skills that will help them when they need to interact with a difficult text.

How does the script describe the process of learning to read scholarly articles or write academic essays?

The script describes the process as one that involves employing good strategies and practicing with the goal of incremental improvement.