Always Read the Introductions to Things

Wisdom for Students Getting Started

Sue Fisher, Wizened Language Wiz

I sing of glossaries and introductions, of maps and charts and tables of contents and a student too eager to start who ignored them all.

The following story falls into the “true confessions” department and my willingness to tell it is because of how great a lesson there is in here.

It was my first week of freshman year in college and I had just had my very first Greek class. I was so excited because I had been dying to take ancient Greek since ninth grade and it was finally happening. Growing up in the days before the internet, I had absolutely no knowledge of ancient languages or even what the word inflection meant and in the first class we really hadn’t done much beyond learning the alphabet and discussing course mechanics and some background on ancient Greece.

For our translation homework we were given our marching orders and a syllabus and sent on our way. I got back to my dorm room and looked at the syllabus and noted that there was some reading and YES! my very first translation assignment. I couldn’t wait. I dug right in – to the translation that is.

To this day that fifteen-line translation with most of the vocabulary provided took me longer than any other translation I’ve ever done, and this is saying something, considering I took Greek through the 900-level in grad school.

“How could this be?” you might ask. The answer is simple. I didn’t follow the instructions. Had I read the introduction first, as I had been tasked to do, I would have read the explanatory information about just how inflected languages work. I would have explored the glossary and the maps, resources provided to help with the translation, and I would have cut my work time at least in half if not more so.

After hours of struggle and dismay that I wasn’t up to the task of learning an ancient language, I somehow stumbled back to the introduction and read about what inflected languages are and how they worked. Suddenly everything made sense and translation came easily. The lesson in this story is obvious. As you are all starting your new semester (or new anything), opening those books, getting your initial marching orders, please keep my story in mind. Not only is imperative to really follow directions, but it is also a good idea to really explore all your new books. Start at the very beginning. See if there is a table of contents and any maps or charts. You might not need them yet, but when the time comes, you’ll know they’re there. Check the back of the book. Is there an index? What about a glossary? Are there more charts or tables or maps or illustrations there that you should keep in mind? An exploration of your book will take you no more than ten minutes but can save you oodles of time later. Plus, you’re likely to find something in there that is interesting.

Most importantly, though, especially as you move on to college, it will be assumed that you have done this. Instructors will expect you to be familiar with your books and will assume that you are using all the resources within them. They may even ask homework or exam questions with this in mind. Failure to fully know and use your books can cost you unnecessary points and time.

So go forth and explore your books; read those introductions and italicized things. Be eager but be wise. The time and anguish you save will be your own.