READING AND

WRITING SKILLS
Lesson 1.1: Familiarizing Words
CONTEXT CLUES
- are words, phrases, and
sentences that surround an
unfamiliar word and help you
recognize the meaning of an
unknown word.
 MOST COMMON TYPES
OF CONTEXT CLUES
1.Synonyms
2.Antonyms
3.Examples
4.Definition
5.Explanation
MOST COMMON TYPES OF CONTEXT CLUES

● Synonyms
used when the text has words or phrases that are
similar in meaning to the unknown word.
Example:
The narrator in the poem was euphoric at his
son's victory, for he cried out triumphantly when
the boy came home.
euphoric
- victorious; triumphant; very happy and excited
MOST COMMON TYPES OF CONTEXT CLUES

● Antonyms
words that reveal the opposite meaning in
relation to the unknown word.
Example:
Although Mary was willing to play in the snow,
Jack was reluctant because he was so cold.
reluctant
- not willing to do something
MOST COMMON TYPES OF CONTEXT CLUES

● Examples
are specific details in a text that are used to
clarify the meaning of a word.
Example:
Projectiles include those items that are shot
forward such as a cannon shell, bullet, or rocket.
projectiles
- things (such as bullet or rocket) that are shot
from weapon
MOST COMMON TYPES OF CONTEXT CLUES

● Definition
is usually signalled by a form of the verb to be
(am, is, are, was, were) or by commas or dashes.
Example:
The prisoner was in a state of wrath—a feeling
of intense anger.
wrath
- extreme anger
MOST COMMON TYPES OF CONTEXT CLUES

● Explanation
words or phrases that explain the unfamiliar
word's meaning.
Example:
An evanescent ring surrounded the moon as it
rose. It was there for a moment, and then it
disappeared.
evanescent
- lasting a very short time; brief; momentary
FIGURES OF
SPEECH
 Why do we need to study figures of
speech?

Knowing figures of speech helps

you better understand a poem or
story. In other words, it helps you
read between the lines.
COMMONLY USED FIGURE OF SPEECH

● Simile
is identified by the use of “like,” “as,” “similar
to,” and the like. They compare dissimilar
objects that share certain characteristics.
Examples:
1. When he walked into the room, the entire
audience looked up, like flowers turning
towards the sun.
2. His headache was as painful as a root canal
without the benefit of laughing gas.
COMMONLY USED FIGURE OF SPEECH

● Metaphor
directly refers to the object being described as
being or previously being the object it is
compared or connected to.
Examples:
1. The boom of his voice, all thunder and
lightning, echoed through the entire hall.
2. The dog was a jack-in-the-box, trying to jump
up on the visitors.
COMMONLY USED FIGURE OF SPEECH

● Hyperbole
An obvious exaggeration intended
to amuse or used for emphasis.
Examples:
1. I’ve been waiting for ages.
2. I ate a ton of chips for lunch
COMMONLY USED FIGURE OF SPEECH

● Alliteration
The repetition of the same or similar
sounds at the beginning of words.
Examples:
1. She sells seashells by the seashore.
2. I am the living legacy to the leader
of the band.
COMMONLY USED FIGURE OF SPEECH

● Personification
Giving nonhuman things or
abstract ideas human qualities.
Examples:
1. The leaves are dancing in the
wind.
2. The rock gurgled.
COMMONLY USED FIGURE OF SPEECH

● Apostrophe
To address something/someone who is
absent, dead or unable to answer.
Example:
Little flower, why are you smiling?
COMMONLY USED FIGURE OF SPEECH

● Metonymy
One word is substituted for another with
which it is closely associated.
Examples:
1. "The B.L.T. left without paying.”
- (waitress referring to a customer)
2. The pen is mightier than the sword.
- The word “pen” is used for the written word and
“sword” is used for military power.
COMMONLY USED FIGURE OF SPEECH

● Oxymoron
Two directly opposite words placed
together.
Examples:
1. Pretty ugly
2. Bitter sweet
COMMONLY USED FIGURE OF SPEECH

● Onomatopoeia
Words are used to imitate sounds.
Examples:
1. Buzz
2. Hiss
3. Splat
4. Thump
 Let’s Practice!
Name the figure of speech in each of the following
sentences.
1. She was a picture sitting there in her pretty pink dress.
2. You stupid door, why don’t you just stay shut for a change?
3. The days of our lives are like the sands slipping through the
hourglass.
4. She’s lost a ton of weight on that new Jenny Craig diet.
5. I was so hungry I ate the whole refrigerator.
6. The suits on Wall Street walked off with most of our savings.
 Let’s Practice!
Name the figure of speech in each of the following
sentences.
1. Oh Shakespeare, I wish you could help me with this
poetry.
2. The buzz saw snarled and snapped in the wind.
3. He is like a bull in a china shop.
4. The little dog laughed.
5. The honeybee buzzed.
6. I love jumbo shrimp.
 Answers:
1. She was a picture sitting there in her pretty pink dress.
Metaphor, Alliteration
2. You stupid door, why don’t you just stay shut for a change?
Apostrophe
3. The days of our lives are like the sands slipping through the
hourglass. Simile
4. She’s lost a ton of weight on that new Jenny Craig diet.
Hyperbole
5. I was so hungry I ate the whole refrigerator. Hyperbole
6. The suits on Wall Street walked off with most of our savings.
Metonymy
 Answers:
1. Oh Shakespeare, I wish you could help me with this
poetry. Apostrophe
2. The buzz saw snarled and snapped in the wind.
Personification, Alliteration, Onomatopoeia
3. He is like a bull in a china shop. Simile
4. The little dog laughed. Personification
5. The honeybee buzzed. Onomatopoeia
6. I love jumbo shrimp. Oxymoron
 ESSENTIAL LEARNING

A text is a connected discourse, which

means that all ideas in the text must
be related in the sense that they would
express only one main idea, or that
the text must have unity by
combining all ideas to emphasize
central idea.