Which one of the following most accurately expresses the main point of the passage?
Shulaon September 17, 2023
Advice on Science passages
Science passages are very hard for me, especially ones like this with many jargon. I study a Social Science major in college, and I barely read any sciency texts like this. I barely have any knowledge of bio, physics, chem... Is there any advice you can give me to improve on Science passages? Thank you so much!
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I think there are three concrete things to help with tough science passages like this one. First, I think it's important to remember that this really isn't about the science. Despite the concepts not being as familiar, the passages are all either constructing arguments about concepts or narrating a story about concepts. Whether the concepts are science, art, history, or whatever, our job is to understand what the author thinks.
Second, I think it's critical to focus on the why and the what, and less about the how. That is, we need a good high level understanding of what the thing in question is, and why the author is telling us about it, but the exact mechanics are less important.
Third, i think it's critical to try to visualize the things discussed when possible. For this passage I would try as hard to make a mental map when they were discussing a body of water.
Finally, don't get intimidated by unfamiliar terms, as try to read more texts about science written for the popular audience. Most newspapers have a science section.
