Tips for Success
Have you ever read something, then realized that you really did not read it at all but merely looked over the words? It is important that when you read you actually understand what you are reading. This is called reading comprehension, and it applies to any type of literature, be it fiction, nonfiction, drama, or poetry. Of course, it is important to have good reading comprehension skills to help you in your school work and tests. As you grow older, you will find that reading comprehension is just as important. You will be asked to read and sign off on contracts. If you cannot understand what you are reading in a contract, how are you supposed to know whether or not to sign the document? Reading comprehension is a basic skill that you will need your entire life, almost on a daily basis.
Roots and Affixes
Understanding higher-level vocabulary is an integral part of performing well academically. There is really no way to memorize the roughly ten thousand words used by literate, English-speaking adults. The best methodology for improving your vocabulary, and therefore your performance in class and on standardized tests, is to understand how to break down words into roots and affixes and how to look for additional hints in the text around words called context clues.
These prefixes and suffixes are considered derivational affixes. The term derivational affix means that these add-ons to the root change the meaning and/or the part of speech of the root. Understanding this can help you to recognize whether a new word has a similar meaning as a related word. Suffixes may also be inflectional, such as with -ing, -ed, and -s. These do not always change the meaning of a root, but they may confuse your ability to immediately recognize a word you already know. Remembering that thousands of difficult words are really only made of small parts with simple meanings can make it easier to decode new words.
Obviously, not all English words are formed from Latin. Other languages have had an impact on this language as well. Many of our most unusually formed words come from Anglo-Saxon roots. There is no simple method for learning these roots; therefore, using and understanding context clues is a secondary strategy.
Understanding Vocabulary and Context Clues
Being able to complete a sentence tests your ability to understand vocabulary and to use context clues. You can use context clues to help you understand difficult words by looking at the surrounding words in the sentence. For instance, look at the sentence below.
The engineer developed a plan to fix the drainage problem in the school parking lot.
If you want to know what the word “developed” means in the sentence, you can look at the context clues surrounding it. First, you see that word “engineer.” You know that an engineer is a person who designs and builds structures or systems. You also see in the sentence the words “plan,” “fix,” and problem.” Putting these words together, you know that the “engineer” did something to a “plan” in order to “fix” a “problem.” You could figure out that the word “develop” may mean “design” in this context as that is what an engineer does.
Do you see how looking at surrounding words in a sentence can help you figure out the meaning of an unknown word? The bad news is that context clues are not anything you can memorize because you must be able to search for them and find them on your own. The good news is that with standardized testing, words in passages and questions are chosen with great care. Difficult words ashould be accompanied by heavy context clues.
Test-Taking Strategies
Tests can take many forms. They can be essay or multiple-choice. They can be taken on paper, on computers, or even completed physically or verbally. There are specific testing strategies that may help you score well on tests. These strategies can help you in English, in your other classes, and even on tests you may have to take beyond your schooling. Click on each of the numbers in the interactivity to learn strategies that can help you succeed on tests. To begin, click on the player button.
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Tips for Success Review
Practice using your context clues, roots and affixes, and test-taking strategies. Click on the player button to get started.