Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Context Clues
Context Clues
are hints that an author gives to help define a difficult or unusual word within a book. The clue may appear
within the same sentence as the word to which it refers or it may follow in the next sentence
The five types of context clues are:
1. Definition/Explanation Clues
Example: "Haberdashery, which is a store that sells men’s clothing, is becoming more common today.”
2. Restatement/Synonym
Example: "Lou was sent to the haberdashery to find a new suit. He needed to wear one for his uncle’s
wedding."
Because the sentence says that Lou would find a suit at the haberdashery, then it must be a place where clothes for
men are sold.
3. Contrast/Antonym Clues
Sometimes a word or phrase is clarified by the presentation of the opposite meaning somewhere close to its
use. Look for signal words when applying context clues.
Example: "Lou wanted to go to the haberdashery, but Ann wanted to shop at the boutique.”
The signal word but tells the reader that an opposite thought is going to be stated.
4. Inference/General Context
Clues Sometimes a word or phrase is not immediately clarified within the same sentence. Relationships,
which are not directly apparent, are inferred or implied. The reader must look for clues within, before, and
after the sentence in which the word is used.
Example: “The haberdashery was Lou’s favorite place. He loved shopping for nice suits. The people who
worked there were so kind and helpful.”
5. Punctuation
Readers can also use clues of punctuation and type style to infer meaning, such as quotation marks (showing
the word has a special meaning), dashes, parentheses or brackets (enclosing a definition), and italics
(showing the word will be defined).
Examples: Tom's father was a haberdasher, or men’s shop keeper, in the story.
Steps
1. Establish short-term and long-term goals for studying. ...
It will be easier to create and manage your schedule if you know what you want to achieve
at the end. This will also help you identify areas that you need to focus on.
2. List all the subjects you need to study. ...
Perhaps the first step in creating your study schedule is to list all of the subjects and
courses you need to study for. Putting your obligations on paper will help you get a better
idea of what you really have to do. If you have specific exams to study for, list these instead
of courses.
3. Figure out what you need to do for each subject or exam. ...
Now that you’ve written down all of the different subjects you need to study for, you need to
figure out what you need to do for each course. While your time commitment and other
obligations for a specific class might vary per week, chances are you’ll find out that over the
long-haul, you’ll need a certain amount of time per subject.
4. Prioritize your list. ...
After you’ve made a list of all the subjects or exams you need to study for and figured out
what you need to do for each, prioritize the list. Ranking each class in importance will help
you figure out what subjects you need to devote the most time to and which subjects should
get your best time slots.
5. Divide your available time during the week into study blocks. ...
Before you go on, you need to divide up your available time during the week into study
blocks. After you do this, you can go and assign your blocks to a subject.
6. Reserve time for non-academic activities. ...
While blocking off time for each subject, you also need to make sure that you are reserving
time for family, friends, and rest. This is because you won’t be able to succeed at your
studies unless you create a healthy balance between your personal life and your academic
life
7. Fill in your study blocks.
Once you’ve got your schedule blocked out and you know what you need to schedule, fill in
your schedule. Write down which subject you are studying in each session. This will help
keep you on track, create checkpoints for the material, and allow you to organize your
textbooks and study materials ahead of time.
CONSIDERING YOUR SCHEDULE AND PERSONALITY
1. Assess your current schedule
Your first step in creating a study schedule is to assess your current schedule and the
way you currently spend time. Assessing your current schedule will enable you to take a
good look at how you use time and to help identify where you can be more efficient and
what activities you might be able to cut.
2. Take into account your learning style
While figuring out how you spend time is one of the most important parts of creating
your schedule, you also need to figure out how you actually study. Figuring out how you
study can help you determine if you can have overlap in activities. It will also help you
figure out how you can use time you don’t normally use. Ask yourself a few questions.
3. Reflect upon your work ethic
Although you might design yourself an awesome schedule, your schedule will mean
relatively little if you don’t commit yourself to studying. As a result, you need to spend a
little bit of time reflecting upon your work ethic.
She angered me with her inappropriate comments, rumor-spreading, and disrespectfulness at the formal
dinner table.
Example 1
She made me angry when she was rude at dinner.
This paraphrase is an example of a rewording which shortens and simplifies while
maintaining the same meaning.
Example 2
Her impoliteness, gossiping, and general lack of respect at dinner infuriated me.
This rephrasing maintains the same meaning but is rearranged in a creative way.
Example 3
I was mad when she started spreading rumors, making inappropriate comments, and disrespecting other
guests at our dinner.
Another paraphrase, this rewording properly and interestingly rearranges the information
provided in the original sentence.
Original Sentence:
The boy quickly ran across the finish line, seizing yet another victory.
Paraphrase:
The quick boy seized yet another victory when he ran across the finish line.
In this example, many parts of speech are changed: the adverb quickly becomes the
adjective quick, and the verb phrase with the gerund seizing becomes the verb seized.
B. Change of Structure
This type of paraphrasing involves changing the sentence’s structure, sometimes creating
a passive voice from an active voice and vice versa. The change in structure can be used
to reflect the writer’s interpretation of the original quote. Here is an example of change of
structure paraphrasing:
Original Sentence:
Puppies were adopted by numerous kind souls at the puppy drive.
Paraphrase:
Many kind souls adopted puppies during the puppy drive.
In this example, the object of the sentence (kind souls) becomes the subject with an
active voice (adopted) rather than a passive voice (were adopted).
C. Reduction of Clauses
Reduction of clauses paraphrases reduce the number of clauses in a sentence, which can
be interruptive or confusing, by incorporating the phrases into the sentence. Here is an
example of reduction of clauses paraphrasing:
Original Sentence:
While I understand where you’re coming from, and truly respect your opinion, I wish you would express
yourself more clearly, like Clara does.
Paraphrase:
I understand where you’re coming from and respect your opinion, but I wish you would be more like Clara
and express yourself more clearly.
D. Synonym Replacement
Synonym replacement paraphrasing is one of the simplest forms of paraphrasing:
replacing words with similar words, or synonyms. Here is an example:
Original Sentence:
The older citizens were honored with a parade for those once in the military.
Paraphrase:
Senior citizens were honored with a march for veterans.
In this example, many synonyms are used: older citizens are senior citizens, a parade
becomes a march, and those once in the military refers to veterans.