IN THIS CHAPTER YOU WILL LEARN: Why it is important to develop a college-level vocabulary

1. CHAPTER 2 DEVELOPING A COLLEGE VOCABULARY: A NEW WORLD OF WORDS • IN THIS CHAPTER YOU WILL LEARN: • Why it is important to develop a college-level vocabulary • How to understand words from the way they are used in • context • What word-structure clues are and how to use them • How to use a dictionary pronunciation key • What figurative language is and how to interpret figures of • speech

2. Why is it important to develop a college-level vocabulary? • The most important reason to develop a college-level vocabulary • is so that you can understand your college textbooks. • Increasing your vocabulary will make your college work easier • in other ways besides reading. • Increasing your vocabulary will make your speaking • and writing more precise and more interesting. • Your increased vocabulary may result in an increased salary. • Research tells us that the size of a person’s vocabulary correlates with his or her income: the larger your vocabulary, • the larger your income is likely to be.

3. How can you develop a strong vocabulary? Every time you read, you have an opportunity to expand your vocabulary. The more you read, the better your vocabulary can become—if you develop an interest in words and their meanings.

4. Four things you can do to develop and expand your understanding of words and their meanings when you read: 1. Use context clues. Figure out the likely meaning of a word from clues provided by the surrounding words and sentences. The word might be completely unfamiliar to you, or it might be a common word that has some meanings you are unaware of. 2. Use word-structure clues. Determine a word’s meaning by examining any prefix, root, or suffix it contains.

5. Four things you can do to develop and expand your understanding of words and their meanings when you read: 3. Use a dictionary. Determine a word’s pronunciation and the precise meaning as it is used in the passage you are reading. 4. Know how to interpret figurative language. Understand the nonliteral meaning of words and phrases when they are used in figures of speech.

6. What are context clues and how do you use them? Context clues: Words in the sentence or paragraph that help the reader deduce (reason out) the meaning of an unfamiliar word. Such words are called context clues because context means “whatever surrounds something else.” In this case, it refers to the rest of the sentence and the paragraph in which the unfamiliar word appears.

7. When you encounter an unfamiliar word when you are reading, ask yourself, “What would this word have to mean in order for it to make sense in this sentence?” For words with more than one meaning, context clues can also help determine which meaning the author intends. Using context clues is the first strategy you should use when you encounter an unknown word. Even though context clues enable you to make an educated guess, they do not always allow you to determine the precise meaning of a word.

14. What are word structure clues and how do you use them? Word structure clues, or word-part clues: Roots, prefixes, and suffixes that help you determine a word’s meaning. Affixes are word parts that are added to roots. Prefixes and suffixes are affixes.

15. Word structure clues can often be used to confirm the meaning suggested by the context of the sentence. Word-structure clues can help you remember the meaning of the word. Word structure clues allow you to enlarge your vocabulary by learning “families” of related words that come from the same root. Knowing prefixes, roots, and suffixes can help you improve your spelling.

16. The more prefixes, roots, and suffixes you know, the more you will be able to use this vocabulary-building strategy. It is worth your time to memorize common word parts. Root: Base word that has a meaning of its own. Prefix: Word part attached to the beginning of a root that adds its meaning to the root or base word. Suffix: Word part attached to the end of a root word that changes the word’s part of speech or inflection.

17.   To use word-structure clues, examine an unfamiliar word to see if it has a word part that you recognize that gives you a clue to its meaning. Think of roots and affixes as puzzle parts that can help you figure out the meaning of unfamiliar words.

18. How do you use a dictionary pronunciation key? Being able to use a pronunciation key is important, because when you need to remember words, one of the most helpful things you can do is learn their correct pronunciation and say them aloud. Most dictionaries have an abridged (shortened) pronunciation key at or near the bottom of each page. A complete pronunciation key appears at the beginning of every dictionary.  Pronunciation key: a păt a pāy âr care ä father ĕ pet ē be ĭ pit ī tie îr pier ǒ pot ō toe ô paw oi noise ou out ŏŏ took ōō- boot ŭ cut yōō abuse ûr urge th thin ththis hw which zh vision ə about Stress mark: ΄

19. What is figurative language and how do you interpret figures of speech? Knowing how to interpret figurative language is yet another way to develop your understanding of words’ meanings and interpret an author’s message correctly. Figurative language: Words that present unusual comparisons or create vivid pictures in the reader’s mind. Figurative language is also called figures of speech.

20. Because figures of speech do not literally mean what they say, your job is to interpret their meaning. If you take the words literally, you will misunderstand the author’s meaning. When you encounter figurative language, think about what the author is trying to convey by presenting a comparison or creating a vivid mental image.

21. Four common types of figurative language: 1. Metaphor A figure of speech suggesting a comparison between two seemingly dissimilar things, usually by saying that one of them is the other (rather than saying it is simply “like” something else.) On the surface, the two things seem very different from each other, yet they are alike in some significant way. The reader must figure out the way in which they are similar.

22. Four common types of figurative language: 2. Simile A figure of speech presenting a comparison between two seemingly dissimilar things by saying that one of them is like the other. A simile is usually introduced by the words like or as. When you encounter a simile, you must first determine which things are being compared. To interpret the author’s meaning, you must determine the important way in which the author considers them to be similar.

23. Four common types of figurative language: 3. Hyperbole A figure of speech using obvious exaggeration for emphasis and effect. To interpret the hyperbole correctly, you must understand the point of the exaggeration.

24. Four common types of figurative language: 4. Personification A figure of speech in which nonhuman or nonliving things are given human traits.

29. Careful readers ask themselves, “Is the author using figurative language?” If the answer is yes, they ask these additional questions: “Are two things being compared, and if so, how are they alike?” (metaphor and simile) “Is there an obvious exaggeration?” (hyperbole) “Are human traits being given to nonliving or nonhuman things?” (personification)

30. Things to keep in mind when developing your • college-level vocabulary: • Certain punctuation marks in a sentence • can signal a definition. • Commas , , • Parentheses ( ) • Brackets [ ] • Dash -- • Colon :

31. Things to keep in mind when developing your college-level vocabulary: 2. The most common and helpful roots, prefixes, and suffixes in English come from Latin and ancient Greek. English is a Germanic language, but it has thousands of words derived from Latin and ancient Greek. Today, the English language contains a considerable number of terms in technology, science, and medicine that are derived from Latin and Greek. Knowing common Latin word parts also makes it easier to learn Spanish, French, Italian, Portuguese, and Romanian.

32. Things to keep in mind when developing your college-level vocabulary: 3. A word’s etymology (origin and history) indicates the word parts it was created from, including Latin or Greek ones. A word’s etymology tells its origin and history. Dictionaries usually give the etymology of a word in brackets before or after the definition. An etymology can be helpful because it tells the meaning of the original word parts on which the current word is based. This can help you to understand and remember the word’s meaning more easily.

33. Things to keep in mind when developing your college-level vocabulary: When you look up a word in the dictionary, make it a habit to examine the word’s etymology. Over time, you will expand not only your vocabulary, but also your knowledge of word parts. The more word parts you know, the easier it will be to develop your vocabulary.

34. AFTER READING THIS CHAPTER, YOU SHOULD KNOW: • Why it is important to develop a college-level vocabulary • How to understand words from the way they are used in context • What word-structure clues are and how to use them • How to use a dictionary pronunciation key • What figurative language is and how to interpret • figures of speech