Article 1: Coping with Difficult Words

 Pre-read before a lecture so you can anticipate some of the new words
 Use a glossary or a specialist dictionary e.g. nursing dictionary
 Used an advanced learner’s dictionary. These dictionaries use the most frequent words in English in
their definitions so they are easier to understand than most other dictionaries.
 Make your own dictionary of new words.
 Try to break the words up into parts.
 Guess from parts of the word, e.g. anti is against, ante is before
 Leave the word out and leave the rest of the sentence to see if you can guess its meaning from the
context.
 Think about your subject. How could the word relate to something you are expected to know about?
 Ask a tutor/friend/native speaker to explain words.

Article 2: Techniques in Dealing with Difficult Words

 The first step is to note the word mentally, or make a pencil mark in the margin, and read on. Going on
prevents further interruption of the author’s thought. It also gives you the chance to find out whether
the rest of the passage makes the meaning clear enough for your purposes. It is more important to go
enjoying the book than to find out how the dictionary defines every new word.
 The second step is to return to troublesome words after completing a passage, and try to work out
what each one means. Saying the word aloud may help you to recognize it as one you have heard and
then to recall how it was used. If this fails, you can often make an intelligent guess based what you
have learned from reading the whole passage.
 The third step, using the dictionary, it is important for two kinds of words. The first group consists of
words which must be understood to understand the whole passage adequately and second group
consist of words you know you have met before but still do not fully understand. If you come across a
word three times, then clearly it is word you should master.

Article 3: Dealing with Difficult Words

 Is it necessary to know the exact meaning of a particular word? Often a rough meaning is enough (does
the word has a positive or negative meaning?). Remember that the purpose of reading an academic
text is to get information and it is possible to understand the text without knowing the meaning of the
word.
 Look for definitions. The author may know a particular word may be new so explains. The author may
also be using the words in a new, or unusual way so will need to explain how it is being used. This will
be done by using a definition, an explanation, an example or by using a synonym (a word with the
same meaning). The phrase “called”, “known as”, “is the name applied to”, “in other words”, “that is”,
“is said to be” are often used.
 You can used the context. You can make use of other words, phrases, sentences, and information
around the problematic word. Using this information, you can find information about the meaning of
the word as well as grammatical information. (a) Grammatical information can be obtained from the
place of the word in the sentence. (b) Information about the meaning of a word can come from the
meaning of other words in the context.
Prove that you have understood the three articles by doing the Comparing and Contrasting Graphic Organizer
below.
Article 1: Article 2: Article 3:
Coping with Difficult Techniques in Dealing Dealing with Difficult
Words with Difficult Words Words

Most Striking Technique/Tip

Easiest Technique/Tip to Do

Most Difficult Technique/

Tip to Do

Technique/Tip that Needs

Further Discussion

My Realizations/Comments/
Insights Gained