Chapter 1
Foundational Reading Comprehension Strategies
Course: Gre
Subject: Gre Verbal Reasoning
Chapter: Vocabulary And Word Meaning
Introduction: The Detective Work of Reading
Imagine you're reading a challenging text, and you encounter a word you've never seen before. It's like a locked door in your path. You have no dictionary. What do you do?
The answer lies in the words around it—the context. Every word exists within a web of surrounding words, phrases, and sentences that provide clues to its meaning. Skilled readers act as detectives, using these clues to unlock the meaning of unfamiliar words without ever reaching for a dictionary. This skill not only saves time but also builds vocabulary naturally through reading. This lesson will teach you the most effective strategies for using context to determine word meaning.
What Is Context?
Context refers to the other words, phrases, and sentences that surround a word in a text. These surrounding elements provide a framework that can help you infer the meaning of an unfamiliar word. By paying attention to how a word is used and what other words accompany it, you can often determine its definition with remarkable accuracy.