1

Unit 2
Context Clues

Context Clue

Context =
Context Clue =

1. Definition
Difficult words or technical terms and words with specific meaning are often clearly defined in the
text.(

Signal Clues: Verb to be (is, am, are), mean, define, be called, called, to be, refer to
Examples of Definition
1.
archeologist
An archeologist is an expert in ancient things.
2.
feed
To feed the pig means to give food to the pig.
3.
purchase
To purchase means to buy something.
4.
nightingale
A small, reddish brown migratory bird that sings sweetly is called a nightingale
2. Restatement / Explanation
String of words that follow an unknown word or expression sometimes restate or explain what
the difficult word means. (

Signal Clues: or, in other words, that is, that is to say, punctuation marks like commas [,] dashes
[-] and brackets [()]
Examples of Restatement
1.
Despondent
He felt despondent, in other words, he was very sad.
2.
crowd
There was a crowd, or mob, near the park yesterday.
3.
hop
Children like to hop-they like to jump when they play

2
3. Example / Illustration
Examples and pictures given in the text usually suggest the meaning to unfamiliar words. (

Signal clues: such as, for example, for instance, like, including
Examples of Example / Illustration
1.
alloy
We get an alloy by melting two or more metals together, for example, brass is an alloy of
copper and zinc.
2.
modern
Modern clothing such as shirts, ties, suits, dresses, and skirts are worn in the workplace.
4. Contrast / Comparison
Sometimes connectives showing comparison or contrast indirectly help define an unknown word.
(

Signal clues: but, however, while, unlike, nevertheless, in contrast, conversely

Examples of Contrast
.
1. talkative
Joey is talkative, but his brother doesnt like to talk at all.
2. nervous
Mother was nervous, conversely, father was quite and gentle.
5. Inference
Sometimes the topic of a text may not be stated directly. You must look for clues and try to guess
what the words, phrases, and passages are about. (

Examples of Inference
Dave had trouble removing the last spark plug from the cars engine. He wanted to check all of the
plugs before he began working on the faulty carburetor.
What does Dave do?
a. He is a rancher.
b. He is a butcher.
c. He is a carpenter. d. He is a mechanic.

Unit 3
Topic and Main Idea

Topic ( )

(Topic) (Title)

(Topic)

(Topic)

(Topic)

(Topic)

(Topic)

(Topic)

Main Idea ()

(Main Idea)

(Topic)

main idea

main idea

main idea

1.

Main Idea

2.

Topic

main idea

Topic Main Idea

3.

4.
( )
5.

Unit 4

Skimming and Scanning

Skimming

(general information)

Skim

1.

2.

gist (main idea)

3.
4.

paper

Scanning

Skimming

Scanning

Scan

23

Scan

1.

2. Scan paragraph

3.

4.