Punctuation marks, pictures, examples, and the overall logic and context of a sentence or passage can provide clues to determine the meaning of unfamiliar words. Punctuation like dashes, commas, parentheses, and quotation marks separate parts of a sentence and can signal the definition of an unknown word. Pictures can also help illustrate what something means. Examples given of an unfamiliar term show its application in specific cases. Examining how an unknown word fits into the overall structure and flow of ideas in a sentence or passage allows reasoning about its definition based on common sense and logic. These various context clues from an author can help a reader deduce the meaning of new vocabulary.

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Chapter 1: The Basic of Reading Skills
Learning New Words
PRINT CLUES - Punctuation an d pictures
Punctuation marks - dashes ( - ), commas ( , ), parentheses ( ), and quotation
(" ") - can help you learn new words.
We are consumers - we pay money for the goods and services we use.
Some writers believe we are moving toward an amoral world - one in popular in
America.
Ravioli, dough filled with meat or cheese, is as popular as spaghetti in many
Italian restaurants.
Many of the big companies are increasing their fringe ~enefit~thosepyou receive in~ition to salary. J
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Most English teachers try to get students to avoid using cliches
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expressionsl '~ =----­ ~
The movie was especially good because it had Dolby stereo tan electronic noise
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r;l~~tystemjf .v.The ~~man pulled the "gold" glasses out of his pocket. He was sure
he coulc(find a sucker to auy hese f~kes for a lot of money.
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Night is the time when many animal fora-~-e-,-o-r-s2ch, f~d')
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Picture sometimes helps you to learn what something means.
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Joffe, Irwin L. (1994). Opportunity for skillful reading.(i
h
ed.) California: Wadworth
Vogel, Lee. (1993). Fundamentals of college reading: strategies for success. (2nd ed.) New Jersey: Prentice-Hall

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t.ea rnnu, New Words
CONTEXT CLU ES
W he n yo u arc rea ding and enco unte r a n unfamil ia r word, ask yo urself", "What
would this word have to mean in order for it to make sense in this sentence?" You
can figure o ut th e meaning by using CONTEXT CLUES.
CONTEXT CLUES co ns ist of words in a sen te nce or paragraph that enable
read ers to reason out the meaning of unfam ilia r wo rds. Con tex t is w ha tever surro unds
something e lse. In th is case, the co ntext of an unfa m ilia r w ord is the rest of th e se ntence
and the rest of the pa ragraph in which it appears. Aut hors bu ild in these clues to hel p
you und erstand the material you a re reading. Con tex t clues are not a lwa ys pe rfect clues,
of co urse, but t hey often ena ble reade rs to ma ke a co rrect, ed ucated guess about a
word's m eaning.
Direct Definition: A direct definition is a clue that defines the meaning by
restating or expl aining another word. Signal clues a re: be, m ean, be defined, be called,
refer to, or, ill other words, or that is.
Some accounts leav e the interest earned in the account. The depositor will then
ea rn interest on th e interest, which is called co m po unding. The interest earned~
@ co m po und interest. (",.) '=­
A tal i? money-that people and bus inesses pay to the government.
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A reces§-Lon( otGo ntractio n~is a ownturn In ec on omic actrvrtv. (
- - ~ ~ ~ ~ ~C~Llce
Many older people develop chronic disease;-di seas:fiih at last a long time and
are difficult to treat. ] ~~
-- -h' r;:- ­The weathe r seem-,s to -be-cycI'lea,I w ICII means.....,t hat we can expect the same
patterns to occur ellery season.
A co ntrast cl u e consists of a word or phrase that means th e opposite of the
word you are trying to figure out. Recognizing that certain words often signal an
antonym or contrast clue ca n help you to und erstand new words. Authors often use
words and phrases, s uch as, while, whereas, but, y et, however, altho ugh, even though,
nevertheless, yet, on the other hand, on the contrary, rath er than, as opposed to, unlike ,
except, in contr: me ,.. others, '''' not .", e tc. to signal a change in the direction of
-
-
thought.
Joffe, Irwin L. (1994). Opportu nity for skillful reoding.(i
h
ed.) California: Wadworth
Vogel, Lee. (19 93). Fundamentals ofcollege reading: strategies fo r success. (2nd ed.) New Jersey: Prentice-Hall

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• . Doctors believe that smokin cigarettes is pern iciou.=./o your health . They~ ::qne{
Of19'nq think drin king j am u . .:;:-d C-'n roUS '..;d
dO~'6rang~digenOUS to Southern Ca lifo rni but oreign to lJew York farms.
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She usually is a laggar . howe er, oday she was energetic and worked hard.
They are several ways to win an argume nt. so~m a~
others are truthful, fair , and honest.~ -~
-=Example: Example clues consi st of one or mo re exam ples that authors include to
illustrate the m eaning of th e unfamiliar word. Examples aloe typically in troduced by for
example, to illustrate, for instance, such as, included are and like. Remember, thoug h, that
an example is not th e same as the definition or synonym. Rather, the exampl e is sim ply a
clue that can help you r eason out the meaning of an unknown word. If th ere is more
than one example, try to determine what the examples have in common.
In Japan, people use landmlf.:: their direction. ~' they talk about
hotels, markets, and bus stops.
'lB~m3nyms, uch as '~ho"y and' oly' are difficult to spell correct ly unless you
know which me ni g is being used. '"
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Job satisfaction in the workplace may depend upon manY~~SUCh as ay,
Rromotion, prestige, and peers.
The hou se was immaculate. There was no dust, the floors shone, and the
windows sparkled.
Clues from the Logic of the Sentence or the Passage: One of th e most common
ways in whi ch context provides clues about the m eaning of an unknown wo rd is
through lo gi c or general r easoning about the content of a sente nce or about the
relationship of id eas w ithin a sentence or th e wh ol e passag e.
They had arrived in the city with great hop e for their futur . But othing had
gon e right. He couldn'Lflad work aiiaSne could only ind part-n -ark at night.
The children had rouble 'n their new SChool. ~, they dejectedly returned ~"d.ly
home em d.is<ifpoI Att>d17")lAtlhqpP'ly
The sky darkened and large drops of rain hit th e wi~. The wind started to
blow and":Jhe .trlees emp""ti:-e"'d'--:th-e'":"ir branches of th e ew- leaves that remained.
. 1"-. r n t7l. , --===­With such menacmg weather, we knew we had to change plans. L-.- t: I
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The peopl e at th e funeral began to hum Ui~ It was the
ever heard. -__====~
Joffe, Irwin L (1994). Opportunity for skillf ul reading.(i
h
ed.) California : Wadworth
Vogel, Lee. (1993). Fundamen tals of college reading: strategies for success. (2nd ed.) New Jersey: Prentice-Hall