Why Good Writers Rule the World

00:11:59
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7gTVIxQNGZs

Summary

TLDRIn this lecture, the speaker discusses the significant benefits of improving essay writing skills, starting with the immediate advantages such as better grades and enhanced academic success. They explain how strong writing skills open up educational and professional opportunities, as many students lack these skills and face academic penalties. Moreover, writing skills are crucial in professional settings for effective communication, which is necessary for career advancement. Good writing goes beyond formal essays to include a wide range of communication needs, highlighting its role in advocating personal beliefs and goals. The lecture also delves into the more abstract but profound impact of writing skills, particularly the concepts of 'deep reading' and 'deep writing,' which are integral to accessing and contributing to complex societal dialogues and historical legacies. These skills are vital for understanding and engaging with the deep texts that inform modern civilization, advocating that individuals should develop these skills not only for personal advancement but also for contributing meaningfully to societal progress. The speaker also clarifies that reading fluency is not a prerequisite for engaging in deep thinking or writing, emphasizing inclusivity for those with reading challenges.

Takeaways

  • 📝 Essay writing skills lead to better grades and academic success.
  • 📈 Strong writing skills offer professional advancement opportunities.
  • 💬 Good communication is crucial in various workplace scenarios.
  • 🧠 Deep reading and writing enhance critical thinking.
  • 🌐 Writing contribute to societal and historical dialogues.
  • 📚 Deep writing constructs complex ideas accessible to deep readers.
  • 👥 Enhanced writing aids personal advocacy and empowerment.
  • 🎓 Academic opportunities expand with improved writing skills.
  • 🔍 Deep writing requires understanding complex concepts.
  • 🕊️ Good writing encourages effective persuasion and communication.

Timeline

  • 00:00:00 - 00:05:00

    Initially, the lecture planned to discuss the four benefits of improving essay writing skills. However, the lecturer opts for a grander title as the topic justifies broader significance. The lecture underscores the apparent importance of essay writing skills in high school and college, influencing grades and academic success. Beyond academic settings, these skills are vital in professional development, enhancing writing and communication competencies for emails, reports, and more complex tasks. The skills extend to personal empowerment and advocacy, supporting individuals in promoting their views persuasively. Hence, the discipline and art of essay writing are foundational for both personal and professional arenas.

  • 00:05:00 - 00:11:59

    The lecturer introduces the concept of "swimming in the deep end," an analogy for engaging deeply with complex and abstract thinking, reading, and writing. Deep reading involves understanding texts with intricate ideas, demanding focus and engagement, akin to swimming underwater to grasp exotic ideas. This requires a background in deep thinking—following and constructing reasoning chains with abstract concepts. Deep writing, integral to this triad, involves crafting texts requiring deep thought and access by committed readers. Developing these interdependent skills—thinking, reading, writing—empowers one to unlock and contribute to deep cultural and historical dialogues. Ultimately, essay writing isn't just about academic prowess but engaging with the world's intellectual and cultural legacy. This approach allows contributors to society's broad achievements.

Mind Map

Mind Map

Faqs

  • What are the obvious benefits of improving essay writing skills?

    The obvious benefits include better grades in school, increased academic success, and enhanced professional opportunities.

  • Can strong writing skills benefit people in the workforce?

    Yes, good writing skills translate into effective communication skills that are crucial for professional advancement and various work tasks.

  • What is deep writing and why is it important?

    Deep writing is the ability to express complex ideas in text, accessible only to deep readers. It fosters deep thinking and communication.

  • How do essay writing skills contribute to personal empowerment?

    Good writing skills enable individuals to be better advocates for their beliefs, translating into effective persuasion and communication.

  • What is deep reading and how does it relate to deep thinking?

    Deep reading involves understanding complex texts and ideas, requiring focus and deep thinking to grasp the logical flow of ideas.

  • What is the relationship between deep reading, deep thinking, and deep writing?

    These are interconnected cognitive activities that develop best when practiced together. They enable comprehension and contribution to complex texts.

  • Why are deep reading and writing skills significant in historical context?

    They have been essential in the development of modern society by allowing the communication and evolution of complex ideas across history.

  • How do writing skills relate to societal contributions?

    Good writing skills help individuals contribute to societal dialogues and advancements by articulating and sharing new ideas.

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  • 00:00:00
    the first title that I wrote for this
  • 00:00:01
    lecture was four benefits of improving
  • 00:00:04
    your essay writing but as I was working
  • 00:00:06
    through it I realized that this
  • 00:00:07
    undersold the importance of what I was
  • 00:00:09
    talking about so I'm going with this
  • 00:00:11
    more grandiose title in this lecture I'm
  • 00:00:13
    going to talk about the benefits of
  • 00:00:14
    improving your essay writing skills and
  • 00:00:16
    I'm going to start with the most obvious
  • 00:00:18
    benefits the ones that are most pressing
  • 00:00:20
    in people's minds when they come looking
  • 00:00:22
    for help with their writing and then
  • 00:00:24
    expand outward to benefits that are a
  • 00:00:26
    bit more abstract but arguably much more
  • 00:00:28
    important because they have to do with
  • 00:00:30
    the role that deep reading and deep
  • 00:00:32
    writing have played in building the
  • 00:00:34
    modern world as we know it that's where
  • 00:00:36
    I'll connect the skills involved in
  • 00:00:38
    essay writing to my grandiose title and
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    why it is that good Writers Do indeed
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    rule the world the first benefit of
  • 00:00:45
    improving your essay writing skills and
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    the most obvious is that essay writing
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    is required in high school and college
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    and good essay writing skills translate
  • 00:00:53
    into better grades greater success in
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    school overall and everything that
  • 00:00:58
    follows from that the fact is that most
  • 00:01:00
    students don't have strong essay writing
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    skills and they get penalized for this
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    over and over again as they move through
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    the school system students only have a
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    few classes where they're given focused
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    instruction in essay writing if they
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    ever get any at all but they're often
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    required to write essays in many classes
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    and the essay requirements become much
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    more demanding as they move through high
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    school and into college I think we
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    seriously underestimate the long run
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    Downstream cost of not being able to
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    write essays with good essay writing
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    skills academic opportunities open up
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    smart kids who can't write often avoid
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    the advanced placement classes in high
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    school which can derail their academic
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    aspirations right from the outset with
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    good writing skills students will feel
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    more confident taking these advanced
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    placement courses they're consequently
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    more likely to attend college or
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    university they're more likely to
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    graduate with a degree go on to a
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    post-graduate academic or professional
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    program and eventually enter the
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    workforce and land a job that is
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    professionally reward boing and pays a
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    living wage now none of this is news of
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    course it's what every student is told
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    over and over what's less often disuss
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    is how writing skills can benefit people
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    who are already in the workforce it's
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    true once you get out of school you
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    probably won't be asked to write formal
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    academic essays but the skills required
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    to write a good academic essay translate
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    into other skills that are important for
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    professional advancement in many work
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    environments essay writing skills
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    translate into General writing
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    communication skills that can improve
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    how you write anything from emails to
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    Memos to reports to working company
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    documents to press releases and Company
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    blog posts to mission statements and
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    policy recommendations and training
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    manuals and advertising copy and
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    performance reviews the list of
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    situations where a job might require
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    writing skills is practically endless
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    Beyond merely being able to write good
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    effective writing skills that can
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    communicate complex ideas and arguments
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    in a clear and compelling way is
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    incredibly valuable for professional
  • 00:03:04
    advancement why because that kind of big
  • 00:03:07
    picture thinking and communication and
  • 00:03:09
    decision-making is what people in higher
  • 00:03:11
    positions are paid to do in many fields
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    and professions at some point good
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    writing and communication skills become
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    a requirement for advancing any further
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    in the field at the very least they open
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    up opportunities that won't be available
  • 00:03:25
    to workers who don't have these skills
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    so it's a serious mistake to think that
  • 00:03:30
    you'll stop being punished for your poor
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    writing skills once you've left school
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    because in most cases you won't your
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    prospects will continue to be limited in
  • 00:03:38
    ways that others with better writing
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    skills will not but the benefits don't
  • 00:03:42
    stop there from a personal SL life
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    success perspective good writing skills
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    can help you to be a better advocate for
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    the causes and goals that matter to you
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    because good writing skills especially
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    argumentative writing skills will
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    translate into good persuasion and
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    communication skills generally
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    think about the woman who writes a
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    letter to the editor of the local
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    newspaper about a safety concern in the
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    park or the man who stands up in a town
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    hall meeting and gives a forceful
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    argument about how the city needs to
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    support local schools or the teen who
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    lobbies for better relations between the
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    police and the community or the parents
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    who want their children to really
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    understand why they hold the values they
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    do this is about being an effective
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    advocate for the beliefs and values that
  • 00:04:27
    are most important to you good writing
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    skills translate into good communication
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    skills and good communication skills
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    translate into personal empowerment and
  • 00:04:35
    greater ability to Advocate effectively
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    for what you believe in now I'm going to
  • 00:04:39
    jump up another level and talk about a
  • 00:04:41
    more abstract but also more profound
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    benefit of learning how to write well
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    the expression I use for this is
  • 00:04:48
    swimming in the deep end what do I mean
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    by the deep end well it's a metaphor
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    obviously but I'm using it in the same
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    way that we often talk about deep
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    thinking versus shallow thinking or
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    being a deep reader versus a shallow
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    reader a deep thinker is someone who can
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    get their mind around complex and
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    potentially abstract Concepts who can
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    follow a chain of reasoning that employs
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    those Concepts and who can construct
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    chains of reasoning that employ those
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    Concepts shallower thinkers are less
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    able to think using abstractions less
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    able to follow longer chains of
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    reasoning and less able to construct
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    such change for themselves a deep reader
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    is someone who can read and understand a
  • 00:05:30
    text that contains this kind of depth a
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    text that is intended to lead the reader
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    through a series of potentially complex
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    or abstract ideas that have a logical
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    structure and that are organized to
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    communicate a larger point this kind of
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    reading is much more demanding than just
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    understanding The Words and sentences
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    being used this kind of reading requires
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    an ability to focus and attend to the
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    flow of ideas that the text is conveying
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    without distraction for an extended
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    period of time deep reading requires
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    both a focused immersion in the
  • 00:06:02
    conceptual World created by the text and
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    an ability to understand and engage with
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    the logical flow of ideas that is
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    present in the structure of the text now
  • 00:06:13
    notice how I just talked about a focused
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    immersion in the conceptual world of the
  • 00:06:17
    text and a logical flow of ideas these
  • 00:06:20
    water metaphors are very natural at
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    least to me so what's a shallow reader
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    well a shallower reader is someone who
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    has more difficulty understanding more
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    abstract Concepts a harder time
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    following chains of reasoning that use
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    those Concepts and in general a harder
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    time staying focused and immersed in the
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    conceptual world of a text long enough
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    to extract the deeper argument or
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    narrative that you can only access by
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    attending to the flow of ideas and
  • 00:06:48
    letting the narrative play itself out
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    for me when I think about deep reading I
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    have this image of being able to dive
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    deep enough underwater where the most
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    exotic and interesting ideas and
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    Concepts live and stay underwater long
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    enough to experience what exotic
  • 00:07:02
    creatures the flow of the current will
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    bring and where it will carry us a
  • 00:07:06
    shallow reader can't dive as deep or
  • 00:07:08
    stay underwater as long and so they
  • 00:07:10
    can't access the flow of ideas in the
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    way that the Deep reader can now we've
  • 00:07:15
    talked about deep thinking and deep
  • 00:07:17
    reading obviously there's a relationship
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    deep reading requires deep thinking you
  • 00:07:22
    can't successfully access a deep text
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    without thinking deeply yourself but
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    we're leaving something out who wrote
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    that deep text to begin with let's call
  • 00:07:32
    this skill deep writing deep writing is
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    the ability to construct a text that
  • 00:07:38
    expresses deep thinking and that by its
  • 00:07:40
    nature is only accessible by Deep
  • 00:07:43
    reading the Deep writer creates the
  • 00:07:45
    world of exotic ideas chooses their
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    Arrangement and orchestrates their flow
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    it's a profoundly creative act but the
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    creative work of the deep writer is only
  • 00:07:56
    accessible to the Deep reader now I'm
  • 00:07:58
    going to say two things that I think are
  • 00:07:59
    very important the first has to do with
  • 00:08:01
    the relationship between the three types
  • 00:08:03
    of cognitive activity that I've just
  • 00:08:04
    described deep thinking deep reading and
  • 00:08:07
    deep writing are not independent skills
  • 00:08:10
    they're different modes of the same
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    underlying cognitive skill set and they
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    develop best when you devote time to
  • 00:08:16
    exercising each of the modes if I want
  • 00:08:19
    to develop my capacity for deep thinking
  • 00:08:21
    I can study logic and learn new
  • 00:08:23
    vocabularies but I can't get very far
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    unless I work on trying to understand
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    deep texts and and one of the best ways
  • 00:08:30
    to develop your capacity for deep
  • 00:08:32
    thinking and deep reading is to work on
  • 00:08:34
    your deep writing skills by learning how
  • 00:08:36
    to organize your thoughts into
  • 00:08:38
    paragraphs and structure those
  • 00:08:39
    paragraphs into a larger narrative or
  • 00:08:41
    argument you're developing your ability
  • 00:08:43
    to structure your own thoughts and to
  • 00:08:46
    read deeper texts so that's another very
  • 00:08:49
    important benefit of working on your
  • 00:08:50
    writing skills it will help you develop
  • 00:08:53
    the capacity to access deeper texts and
  • 00:08:56
    literally to think deeper thoughts but
  • 00:08:59
    I'm not done yet because I haven't said
  • 00:09:01
    very much about why being able to access
  • 00:09:03
    these deeper texts is important I mean
  • 00:09:06
    who cares right it seems like a lot of
  • 00:09:08
    work and for what so you can impress
  • 00:09:10
    people at cocktail parties with how
  • 00:09:11
    literate you are how big your vocabulary
  • 00:09:13
    is well for me here's the most important
  • 00:09:16
    reason why developing these skills is
  • 00:09:18
    important it's important because the
  • 00:09:20
    modern world as we know it is a product
  • 00:09:23
    of deep reading and deep writing and the
  • 00:09:26
    technologies that democratized these
  • 00:09:27
    skills and made them available to every
  • 00:09:29
    one rather than a small Elite all of the
  • 00:09:32
    major Innovations in Science History law
  • 00:09:34
    politics economics and religion that
  • 00:09:36
    formed the basis of our modern
  • 00:09:37
    industrial Democratic technological
  • 00:09:40
    culture were conceived and communicated
  • 00:09:42
    by people who had these skills written
  • 00:09:44
    texts functioned as the warehouse of
  • 00:09:47
    historical memory they were the mode by
  • 00:09:50
    which new ideas were contributed to
  • 00:09:52
    ongoing dialogues that spanned
  • 00:09:54
    continents in centuries and it's through
  • 00:09:56
    the writing of these texts that
  • 00:09:58
    innovators were worked out their new
  • 00:09:59
    ideas shared them with others and
  • 00:10:02
    ultimately created the institutions that
  • 00:10:04
    made these ideas a reality so when I say
  • 00:10:06
    that learning how to write helps us to
  • 00:10:08
    learn to swim in the deep end I mean
  • 00:10:10
    that it makes it possible for us as
  • 00:10:13
    individuals and collectively as a
  • 00:10:15
    society to unlock learn from and
  • 00:10:18
    contribute to this tremendous historical
  • 00:10:21
    Legacy so like I said at the beginning I
  • 00:10:24
    had titled this video four benefits of
  • 00:10:26
    improving your essay writing and here's
  • 00:10:28
    a summary of the four benefit benefits
  • 00:10:30
    I've tried to show that beyond the
  • 00:10:32
    obvious benefits of getting better
  • 00:10:33
    grades in school there are a lot of
  • 00:10:35
    Downstream benefits that may not be as
  • 00:10:37
    obvious the last point about the
  • 00:10:39
    connection between deep reading deep
  • 00:10:41
    writing and our ability to access and
  • 00:10:44
    contribute to the greatest achievements
  • 00:10:46
    of the modern world is the most abstract
  • 00:10:48
    but also in my view the most important
  • 00:10:50
    benefit my goal on structuring this
  • 00:10:53
    course is to present the key principles
  • 00:10:55
    of essay writing in a way that will not
  • 00:10:57
    only help you write better essays but
  • 00:10:59
    also help you understand and appreciate
  • 00:11:01
    these more abstract connections between
  • 00:11:04
    deep reading deep writing and deep
  • 00:11:06
    thinking now before we move on I want to
  • 00:11:08
    address a possible misconception about
  • 00:11:10
    what I've been trying to say here I'm
  • 00:11:13
    not saying that people who can't read or
  • 00:11:15
    don't read much can't be deep thinkers
  • 00:11:19
    or that the only way to access or
  • 00:11:21
    contribute to the content of a deep text
  • 00:11:23
    is through reading it doesn't follow for
  • 00:11:26
    example that people with dyslexia who
  • 00:11:28
    have difficulties with reading can't
  • 00:11:30
    swim in the deep end as I've turned it
  • 00:11:32
    or can't contribute to the legacy of
  • 00:11:33
    human wisdom and Innovation that I've
  • 00:11:35
    also been talking about they obviously
  • 00:11:36
    can and do there are plenty of brilliant
  • 00:11:40
    authors and scientists who are dyslexic
  • 00:11:42
    we don't want to confuse the cognitive
  • 00:11:44
    activities associated with deep reading
  • 00:11:46
    and deep writing with the superficial
  • 00:11:48
    mechanics of visual symbol processing
  • 00:11:51
    fluency in Reading is not a requirement
  • 00:11:53
    for any of the activities I've been
  • 00:11:55
    talking about I just wanted to make that
  • 00:11:56
    clear before moving on
Tags
  • essay writing
  • academic success
  • deep reading
  • personal empowerment
  • communication skills
  • professional advancement
  • societal contribution
  • deep writing
  • critical thinking
  • education