Embedded Files
Lesson Overview
Lesson Overview
As you begin this lesson, you may be wondering why you need an introduction to reading and writing in college. After all, you have been writing and reading since elementary school. You may also be thinking, why is a college writing course even necessary?
Regardless of your field of study, honing your writing skills—and your reading and critical-thinking skills—gives you a more solid academic foundation. Communication is a highly sought after skill in any career, and this class will help you improve that skill.
Reading, Writing & Expectations in College vs. High School
Reading, Writing & Expectations in College vs. High School
In college, academic expectations change from what you may have experienced in high school. The quantity of work you are expected to do is increased. When instructors expect you to read pages upon pages or study hours and hours for one particular course, managing your work load can be challenging.
The quality of the work you do also changes. It is not enough to understand course material and summarize it on an exam. You will also be expected to seriously engage with new ideas by reflecting on them, analyzing them, critiquing them, making connections, drawing conclusions, or finding new ways of thinking about a given subject. Educationally, you are moving into deeper waters. A good introductory writing course like this one will help you swim.
The table below summarizes some of the other major differences between high school and college assignments and expectations for most classes.
High School
Reading assignments are moderately long. Teachers may set aside some class time for reading and reviewing the material in depth.
Teachers often provide study guides and other aids to help you prepare for exams.
Your grade is determined by your performance on a wide variety of assessments, including minor and major assignments. Not all assessments are writing based.
Writing assignments include personal writing and creative writing in addition to expository writing.
The structure and format of writing assignments is generally stable over a four-year period.
Teachers often go out of their way to identify and try to help students who are performing poorly on exams, missing classes, not turning in assignments, or just struggling with the course. Often teachers will give students many “second chances.”
College
Some reading assignments may be very long. You will be expected to come to class with a basic understanding of the material with no in-class time for reading.
Reviewing for exams is primarily your responsibility.
Your grade may depend on just a few major assessments. Most assessments are writing based.
Outside of creative writing courses, most writing assignments are expository.
Depending on the course, you may be asked to master new forms of writing and follow standards within a particular professional field.
Although teachers want their students to succeed, they may not always realize when students are struggling. They also expect you to be proactive and take steps to help yourself or reach-out for help. “Second chances” are less common.
Keep in mind that the table above is a generalization and not all classes will reflect this. My classes, for instance, fall somewhere in between much of what is described in the high school and college columns.
This lesson will set you up for not only success in our course, but success in many of your college classes because of the communication and academic expectations you will face.
Learning Objectives
Learning Objectives
By the end of this lesson, you will be able to:
Understand the expectations for reading and writing assignments in college courses.
Understand and apply general strategies to complete college-level reading assignments efficiently and effectively.
Recognize specific types of writing assignments frequently included in college courses.
Understand and apply general strategies for managing college-level writing assignments.
Identify strategies for successful writing.
Demonstrate comprehensive writing skills.
Identify writing strategies for use in future classes.
Lesson Sections
Lesson Sections
This lesson covers the types of reading and writing assignments you will encounter as a college student. You will also learn a variety of strategies for mastering these new challenges—and becoming a more confident student and writer.
This lesson about the basics of reading and writing in college is divided-up into two sections, which are listed below. You may access these sections in the menu on the left (or the top-left by clicking the three lines if viewing on a mobile devices).
General Writing Strategies
General Reading Strategies
Please, work-through each of these informational sections to learn the concepts of this lesson before checking your understanding of the material through the "comprehension quiz" provided in our class's Canvas shell.
While progressing through the sections above, if you find yourself confused or need additional clarity, please feel free to reach-out through any communication option available to our class (listed in the Home and Syllabus tabs in our class's Canvas shell) that best suits your needs and comfort.
Page updated
Report abuse