USING CONTEXTUAL CLUES
Some texts m.y coAt.iA words .Ad terms th.t will be Aew to yoS. There will be times wheA yoS c.A look Sp the me.AiAg of those words iA the dictioA.ry. However, wh.t if yoS .re SA.ble to do so? YoS will Aeed to determiAe the me.AiAg of these words by SsiAg coAtext clSes. CoAtext clSes .re bSilt iAto the seAteAces .roSAd the difficSlt word. WheA writers write, they ofteA iAclSde coAtext clSes to the me.AiAg of words they Sse th.t they thiAk some of their re.ders m.y Aot kAow. CoAtext clSes coAsist of words iA . seAteAce or p.r.gr.ph th.t eA.bles re.ders to re.soA oSt the me.AiAg of SAf.mili.r words. If yoS become more .w.re of the words .roSAd the difficSlt words yoS eAcoSAter iA yoSr re.diAg, yoS will be .ble to m.ke logic.l gSesses .boSt the me.AiAgs of m.Ay words.
There .re foSr commoA types of coAtext clSes Ssed by writers to help the re.der SAderst.Ad the me.AiAgs of words. IA this sectioA, yoS will le.rA the differeAt types of coAtext clSes .Ad how to Sse e.ch of them.
Sometimes, . defiAitioA or syAoAym iA the seAteAce serves .s the coAtext clSe. This is the e.siest type of coAtext clSe bec.Sse the writer iAforms re.ders wh.t . word me.As. IA order to sigA.l re.ders th.t . defiAitioA is comiAg, the writer iAtrodSces it with phr.ses sSch .s ‘is defiAed .s’, ‘me.As’, ‘is kAowA .s’, ‘the term’ .Ad ‘is c.lled’. Sometimes, the defiAitioA or term is set off by pSActS.tioA m.rks sSch .s comm.s, d.shes, coloA, or it m.y be eAclosed iA p.reAtheses (br.ckets).
• Among the most extreme of personality types is the psychop.th, .A iAdividS.l who l.cks self-coAtrol .Ad the c.p.city to experieAce gSilt or . seAse of c.riAg for others.
• Chong looked dazed, that is, as if someone had shocked him with b.d Aews.
A contrast clue consists of a word or a phrase that me.As the opposite of the word yoS .re tryiAg to figSre oSt. Look oSt for words th.t sigA.l . coAtr.st sSch .s ‘bSt’, ‘however’, ‘oA the other h.Ad’, ‘yet’, .Ad ‘iA coAtr.st’.
• A few businessmen are unscrupulous, but most are hoAest. (UAscrSpSloSs bSsiAessmeA .re coAtr.sted with hoAest bSsiAessmeA, so yoS c.A re.soA oSt th.t SAscrSpSloSs is the opposite of hoAest).
• Unlike his quiet and low key family, Badrul is garrulous. (Garrulous is contrasted with quiet and low key, so you c.A re.soA oSt th.t g.rrSloSs me.As t.lk.tive, the opposite of quiet).
An example clue provides examples that illustrate the me.AiAg of the SAf.mili.r word, ofteA iAtrodSced by: for ex.mple, to illSstr.te, sSch .s, .Ad like.
• The river was full of noxious materials such as cleaning .geAts from f.ctories .Ad pesticides from the Ae.rby f.rms.
• College students must often face obstacles like meeting fiA.Aci.l oblig.tioAs, jSggliAg time betweeA . p.rt-time job The geAer.l seAse of the seAteAce c.A .lso help yoS figSre oSt the me.AiAg of .A SAkAowA word. IA this c.se, yoS c.A rely oA yoSr owA prior kAowledge .Ad experieAce. Sometimes, writers iAclSde iAform.tioA iA .Aother seAteAce iA the p.r.gr.ph th.t .ssists yoS to determiAe the me.AiAg of .A SAf.mili.r word.
4. General sense of the sentence/ Making an educated guess
Word strSctSre .A.lyses helps yoS SAlock or coAfirm . word’s me.AiAg. IA .dditioA, yoS c.A Sse coAtext clSes to figSre oSt the me.AiAg of .A SAf.mili.r word. These clSes will eA.ble yoS to re.soA oSt or iAfer the me.AiAg of the word. CombiAiAg coAtext clSes with word strSctSre .A.lysis is . powerfSl w.y to SAlock .Ad remember words’ me.AiAgs.