Why do journal articles have to be such hard work?

I know it can feel like that when you start reading them for the first time.
In fact it can on occasions still feel like that even in your final year. But the academics who write this stuff aren't a different species; they aren't even brainiacs remember. It's just because they've had lots of practice at writing in this particular style.

Your part in this dance between reader and writer is to learn the steps to reading journals. Which you mostly achieve with a combination of background research (you wouldn't try and drive an F1 car without having had some time in a Mini first!) from books and sheer dogged determination.

I'd also like to recommend a book that may help you get to grips with journals.

It's only in paper and we have loads of copies at the moment. The book itself is quite small, written with a very light touch and incredibly useful.

It's called How to Read Journal Articles in the Social Sciences and it's by Cho.
Chapters 4 and 5 are particularly useful I think.