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College & University InformationHow To Find The Meaning Of Words As You Read
by:
Frank Gerace
Vocabulary Building and Reading Comprehension
The meaning of unknown words which you move across in your reading sometimes can be acknowledged by their surroundings, that is, their contexts. The context of the sentence can tell us the part of speech of the unknown word. Exploitation the context of the paragraph to define unknown words can besides helpful.
Although it takes practice, it is the easiest and most efficient way to identify words. Often, exploitation the context is the only way to numbers out the meaning of the word as it is used in the sentence, passage, or chapter.
Consider the word "bar". Bar is a common word. But without encompassing words, you don't cognize if it describes soap, a place that serves beer, a sand formation at the beach, a way to lock the door, or...
Readers often have trouble because they identify the literal but incorrect meaning of a word once
they should identify the way it was used in the passage. The following sections wish give you more explanation and several exercises on how to get help on the meaning of unknown words by checking their part of speech and their place in context.
A. Exploitation The Part of Speech of the unknown word as a help in reading.
One consideration in exploitation the context is to determine the unknown word's part of speech. The words about the unknown word give you clues. Once you cognize if the word is a noun or if it is an adjective, it often is enough for you to continue reading showing intelligence
without having to finish to look up the meaning of the word. After coming across the word a few more times, you wish cognize its meaning more firmly than if you had simply looked it up.
In the following sentences, identify the part of speech of the italicized words by writing N if the word is a noun, V if the italicized word is a verb, Adj if the italicized word is an adjective, or Adv if the italicized word is an adverb.
Example: She likeable
to wear red and always wore jewelry ready-made of carnelian. Ans. N
1. The dirty old man gave the young woman a salacious look.
2. The president prayed for the sagacity to do the right decision in the face of galore alternatives.
3. The man looked at the rusty old appliance and wondered how its mechanism worked.
4. The dying man selected
his son to obtain his property.
5. The brindle dog barked loudly.
6. The father caressed his crying child with great tenderness.
7. "Dont patronize us; we are not children!" aforesaid the angry autochthonal leaders to the politicians.
8. John was a nice emanuensis, always taking dictation right and typewriting up all of his employers correspondence.
9. The boy was defeated by the paltry numbers he received as an inheritance once
his gramps died.
10. The young boy ran clumsily down the hill with his arms and legs flap all over.
B. Exploitation Another CLUES GOTTEN FROM THE TEXT ITSELF
Knowing the part of speech of the unknown word is not the only way to numbers out its meaning. There are another clues to the meanings of unknown words. They are found directly inside
a sentence, paragraph, passage, or chapter. Being able to recognize these clues helps you define new words in context. These clues are found right in the text and can be words or punctuation marks or specific words or phrases.
You use them to compare words or to identify unknown words that mean the same or the opposite of words you already know. The clues can besides be used to define unknown words that are examples of a group.
There are five another clues that wish help you: 1. Punctuation clues, 2. Definition clues, 3. Contrast clues, 4.Comparison clues, and 5. Example clues.
Of these types, the most important are the Contrast clues and the Comparison Clues. The another clues are really obvious and are given here simply for the sake of completeness. The reader should concentrate on the Contrast and the Comparison clues.
The five text based clues are useful but the most powerful tool is the Framework based clue. This is the use of information from your own experience, common sense, and the context in which you find the difficult word. There wish be examples of this tool at the end of the paper.
1. Punctuation Clues
Punctuation clues are given once
the unknown word is set off by commas, parentheses, brackets, or dashes. The information contained inside
the punctuation marks sometimes means the same or nearly the same as the unknown words. Or, the unknown word mightiness be set off from its meaning by punctuation marks. Information set off by punctuation marks may clarify rather than define the word. Finding these clues is not foolproof.
Example of Punctuation Clue: Nicotine, a colorless and oily drug in tobacco, stains the teeth of chain smokers. Explanation: The words between the commas-a colorless and oily drug in tobacco-define plant toxin .
Punctuation Exercise: Underline the punctuation clue that tells you the meaning of the italicized word.
1. The soldiers advanced down the small deep-sided flume (a narrow valley) into an ambush.
2. The philosopher Mathematician helped to establish doctrine (the separation of mind and body).
3. Metamemory -knowledge simply about one's memory processes-is helpful in portion us store and recall information.
4. Adjunct aids-techniques used to assist students' comprehension of reading materials-have been found to be quite useful.
5. The deluge, a flood of rain, vulnerable
to drown the little town.
2. Definition Clues
Definition clues join the unknown word with the word(s) that rename it or tell its meaning. The clues precede or follow words that are or act like linking verbs. A linking verb shows no action but indicates being.
Examples of these verbs are: is, was, are, means, i.e. (that is), involves, is called, that is, or resembles.
For example: The mansion's plaza resembled a large uncovered patio. Explanation: The word resembled joins plaza with its meaning so it is a clue that lets us cognize that a plaza is a large uncovered patio.
Definition Exercise: Use definition text-based clues to find the meaning of the italicized word. Underline the word (or words) that tells you the meaning of the italicized word.
1. The art, science, or profession of teaching is called pedagogy.
2. Divergent thinking is generating galore several ideas in order to solve a problem.
3. Conservative behavior involves cautious or conventional actions.
4. The seasonal wind of the Indian Ocean and southern Asia is a monsoon.
5. Criterion means a standard or rule by which a judgment is formed.
6. A open-air market is an open-air marketplace in North Africa.
3. Contrast Clues
With contrast clues, you use the opposite of acknowledged information to determine the unknown word. Connecting words like however, yet, on the another hand, instead of, but, while, and though join the unknown word with another word that is its opposite.
Example of Contrast Clue:
My sister is extremely neat in appearance piece she is frowsy in her housekeeping.
Explanation: The word "while" indicates that frowsy means the opposite of neat. Thus, frowsy means sloppy or messy.
Contrast Exercise: Determine the meaning of the italicized word by exploitation contrast text-based clues. Exercise Example: Though the patron asked for a solemn poem, the writer wrote doggerel.
1.The tumor was benign; nevertheless, the doctor distinct to treat it as if it could injure the patient.
2.Some business disputes can be settled out of court; on the another hand; others require litigation.
3. At 1st the labor union leaders and the mill owners argued simply about pay schedules and benefits; however, they finally came to a compromise.
4. Gina's leg muscles continuing
to atrophy because of her injury, but she exercised to build up their strength.
5. Sanchez acquiesced to Jane's demands instead of standing his ground and defensive
his viewpoint.
4. Comparison Clues
Comparison clues indicate that two or more things are alike. A comparison is possible because the acknowledged and unknown words have similarities. Words like similarly, as well as, both, and likewise show you that comparisons can be made.
Examples of Comparison Clue:
Miss Johnson is a prim, modest woman; likewise, galore of her friends are really proper.
Explanation: Likewise is used to compare prim to proper. Proper means respectable. Thus, prim has a similar meaning.
1. The Greek jar
was ready-made of alabaster; similarly, the Roman lamp was besides of a translucent, white stone.
2. Taking out the garbage was an burdensome task; likewise, washing dishes can be a hard job.
3. Repartee, as well as another kinds of amusing conversation, unbroken
the talk show from becoming boring.
4. Birds are oviparous; similarly, fish and reptiles lay eggs that hatch outside of the body.
5. Several accountants and CPAs are necessary for a large companys fiscal office.
6. The old chair was protected by several camp-made antimacassars and another coverings.
5. Example Clues
Example clues tell you an example of an unknown word follows. You derive the meaning of the unknown word by crucial what the examples have in common. Example clues are normally introduced by the following words and phrases: such as, such, other, for example, and like.
Example of "Example" Clue: Potentates-such as kings, queens, and emperors-are really powerful and affluent people. Explanation: Since kings, queens, and emperors are the rulers of countries, potentates are rulers.
"Example" Clue EXERCISE: Underline the words that explain the italicized words.
Canines, such as collies, pugs, and poodles, are nice pets.
Edifices, such as skyscrapers and condominiums, are found in cities.
Various means of conveyance-for example, cars, subways, and ships are used worldwide.
Nickels, dimes, dollars, and another kinds of legal tender are used to purchase goods.
Many folk enjoy feeding mollusks, like clams and snails.
Fiduciaries, like lawyers and bankers, were chosen to manage the young heir's money.
Framework Based Clues
To find meanings from text-based clues (like contrast clues, comparison clues, definition clues, example clues), you looked for clues in the sentence itself. A second kind of clue makes not trust on specific words or punctuation marks to indicate meaning. This kind of context clue is called framework-based
Your cognition of the meanings of encompassing words helps you learn the meaning of a word or of a sentence. The background information you find in these frameworks helps you get the meanings of new words. Common sense and your cognition of the parts of speech besides help in shaping unknown words. You combine your experience with what the text contains to determine meaning.
Framework Based Clue Example: The angry driver yelled vehemently during his fight with the another driver. What makes vehemently mean? You cognize what angry means, and you cognize how folk feel once
they argue. From this, you can numbers out that vehemently has thing
to do with strong feeling
or intense feeling. This is an example of exploitation framework-based context to find the meanings of new words. The meaning you find comes from your personal experience.
Sometimes it takes a bit more detective activity to puzzle out the meaning of an foreign word. In such cases, you must draw conclusions based on the information given with the word. Asking yourself questions simply about the passages may help you do a fairly accurate guess simply about the meaning of the foreign word. Each of the sentences below is followed by a question. Think simply about each question; exploitation your common sense and asking yourself a question simply about the sentence you should be able to cognize the correct meaning of the italicized word.
1. A former employee, ireful over having been fired, bust into the plant and deliberately destroyed
several machines. (What would-be be the employee's state of mind?)
2. John always praised his bosses; he always in agreement with what they said. He aforesaid he was simply a nice worker
but his friends aforesaid he was a sycophant. (What behaviors were his friends describing with the word they put on John?)
3. The car wash we organized to raise funds was a debacle -it rained all day.
(How booming would-be a car wash be on a rainy day?)
The 1st sentence provides enough evidence for you to guess that ireful means really angry. Toady in the second sentence means sweet-talker. And a debacle is a complete disaster. (These are not exact lexicon definitions of the words. But by exploitation context clues, but you wish often be accurate enough to do nice sense of what you are reading. And the nice thing is that you save time in your reading because you dont have to look up every word!)
Try to answer the question that follows each item of the list on the another side of this page. Then use the logic of each answer to help you circle the letter of the meaning you think is correct. Note that several of these sentences have been taken from college textbooks. This should prove to you that your new skills in reading wish help you in your college studies. In the futurity you wish be able to do up your own questions to help you.
1. Jamal didn't want to tell Tina the entire plot of the movie, so he simply gave her the gist of the story. (What would-be Jamal say to Tina?)
Answer the question:
..
Meaning of the word:
2. The lizard was so dazed that I wasn't sure if it was alive or dead. It didn't even as blink. (How active is this lizard?)
Answer the question:
..
Meaning of the word:
3. After the accident, I was enraged once
the another driver told the police officer a complete fabrication simply about what happened. He ready-made it seem that I was the only person at fault. (How truthful was the another driver's information?)
Answer the question:
..
Meaning of the word:
4. The public knows really little simply about the covert activities of CIA spies. (What kind of activities would-be the CIA spies be involved in that the public wouldn't cognize more about?)
Answer the question:
..
Meaning of the word:
5. Whether or not there is life in outer space is an enigma. We may ne'er
cognize for sure until we are capable of space travel or aliens really land on our planet. (What would-be we call thing
to which we have no answer?)
Answer the question:
..
Meaning of the word:
6. Suicide rates tend to fluctuate with the seasons, with more higher rates in the winter than in the summer. (What happens to the suicide rate from season to season?)
Answer the question:
..
Meaning of the word:
7. Human beings are resilient creatures-they can often bounce back from negative experiences and adjust well to life. (What point is the author devising simply about the nature of human beings ? Answer the question:
Meaning of the word:
8. A major accomplishment of the field of social science
is dispelling the myths and prejudices that groups of folk have simply about each other. (What would-be teachers of social science
do to "myths and prejudices" that could be considered a "major accomplishment"?)
Answer the question:
..
Meaning of the word:
9. Once
he 1st detected
the news that he had lost the job, Peter showed a pugnacious attitude. But later once
another alternatives were explained to him, he became less hostile. (What attitude would-be you feel once
you lose your job?
Answer the question:
..
Meaning of the word:
Just simply about the author:
Frank Gerace Ph.D has lived and worked in Latin America on Educational and Communication Projects. He presently
teaches English in New Dynasty City at La Guardia College/CUNY. He provides help to parents wanting to have their children speak Spanish at: http://www.bookslibros.com/SpanishForNinos.htm
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