DEVELOPMENTAL we have for reading”.

So, in the classroom, in students’

reading activities, the writer is sure that they have
READINGS 1 many purposes, among others are to graduate from
their school and to provide themselves with the
What is Reading according to knowledge to continue their studies whatever their
experts? purposes are. In order to achieve the goal, the
comprehension ability in reading is needed.
Reading is the process of looking at a series of written
symbols and getting meaning from them. When we According to Harmer (2007: 99) reading is useful for

read, we use our eyes to receive written symbols language acquisition. Provided that students more or

(letters, punctuation marks and spaces) and we use less understand what they read, the more they read,

our brain to convert them into words, sentences and the better they get at it. 

paragraphs that communicate something to us. According to Grellet (2004:7) reading is a constant
Reading can be silent (in our head) or aloud (so that process of guessing, and what one brings to the next is
other people can hear). often more important than what one finds in it. In

Reading is a receptive skill - through it reading, the students should be taught to use what

we receive information. But the complex process of they know to understand unknown elements, whether

reading also requires the skill of speaking, so that we these are ideas or simple words.

can pronounce the words that we read. In this sense, According to Day and Bamford (1998:12) reading is
reading is also a productive skill in that we are both the construction of meaning from a printed or written
receiving information and transmitting it (even if only to message. It means the construction of meaning
ourselves). involves the reader connecting information from the

According to (Tarigan (1990:7) in Jaenal 2010) written message with previous knowledge to arrive at

argues that reading is a process that is carried and meaning and understanding.

used by readers who want to get the message According to Cline et.al (2006: 2), states that reading
delivered by the author through the medium of words is decoding and understanding written texts. Decoding
or written language. requires translating the symbols of writing system

According to (Oka (1983:15) in Jaenal 2010) if (including Braille) into the spoken words which they

viewed in terms of differences in scope, it can be represent. Understanding is determined by the

distinguished three kinds of meaning to read: purposes for reading, the context, the nature of the

Understanding the first is a narrow sense, namely the text, and the readers’ strategies and knowledge.

sense that regards reading it as a process of written According to Olson and Diller (1982:42), what is
symbols recognition. Into this process included the meant by reading comprehension is a term used to
recognition of words carefully, in a wide range, and identify those skills needed to understand and apply
quickly. information contained in a written material.

According David Nunan (1989:33) “Reading is not an

invariant skill, that there are different types of reading
skills that correspond to the many different purposes
Skills Required in Reading
1. Decoding
Decoding is a vital step in the reading process. Kids
use this skill to sound out words they’ve heard before
but haven’t seen written out. The ability to do that is
the foundation for other reading skills.
Decoding relies on an early language
called phonemic awareness. (This skill is part of an
even broader skill called phonological awareness.)
Phonemic awareness lets kids hear individual sounds
in words (known as phonemes). It also allows them to
“play” with sounds at the word and syllable level.
Decoding also relies on connecting individual sounds
to letters. For instance, to read the word sun, kids must
know that the letter s makes the /s/ sound. Grasping
the connection between a letter (or group of letters)
and the sounds they typically make is an important
step toward “sounding out” words.
What can help: Most kids pick up the broad skill
of phonological awareness naturally, by
exposed to books, songs, and rhymes. But some kids
don’t. In fact, one of the early signs of reading
difficulties is trouble with rhyming, counting syllables,
or identifying the first sound in a word.
The best way to help kids with these skills is through
specific instruction and practice. Kids have to be taught
how to identify and work with sounds. You can
also build phonological awareness at home through
activities like word games and reading to your child.
2. Fluency
To read fluently, kids need to instantly recognize
words, including ones they can’t sound out. Fluency
speeds up the rate at which they can read and
understand text. It’s also important when
encounter irregular words, like of and the, which can’t
be sounded out.
Sounding out or decoding every word can take a lot of
effort. Word recognition is the ability to recognize
whole words instantly by sight, without sounding them
out.
When kids can read quickly and without making too
skill many errors, they are “fluent” readers.
Fluent readers read smoothly at a good pace. They
group words together to help with meaning, and they
use the proper tone in their voice when reading
aloud. Reading fluency is essential for good reading
comprehension.
What can help: Word recognition can be a big
obstacle for struggling readers. Average readers need
to see a word four to 14 times before it becomes a
“ sight word” they automatically recognize. Kids with
dyslexia, for instance, may need to see it up to 40
times.
Lots of kids struggle with reading fluency. As with other
being
reading skills, kids need lots of specific instruction and
practice to improve word recognition.
The main way to help build this skill is through
practice reading books. It’s important to pick out
books that are at the right level of difficulty for kids.
3. Vocabulary
To understand what you’re reading, you need to
understand most of the words in the text. Having a
strong vocabulary is a key component of reading
comprehension. Students can learn vocabulary
through instruction. But they typically learn the
meaning of words through everyday experience and
also by reading.
kids What can help: The more words kids are exposed to,
the richer their vocabulary becomes. You can
help build your child’s vocabulary by having
frequent conversations on a variety of topics. Try to
include new words and ideas. Telling jokes and playing
word games is a fun way to build this skill.
Reading together every day also helps improve
vocabulary. When reading aloud, stop at new words
and define them. But also encourage your child to read
alone. Even without hearing a definition of a new word,
your child can use context to help figure it out.
Teachers can help, too. They can carefully choose
interesting words to teach and then give explicit
instruction (instruction that is specialized and direct).
They can engage students in conversation. And they
can make learning vocabulary fun by playing word
games in class.
For more ideas, watch as an expert explains how to
help struggling readers build their vocabulary.
4. Sentence Construction and Cohesion
Understanding how sentences are built might seem
like a writing skill. So might connecting ideas within
and between sentences, which is called cohesion. But
these skills are important for reading comprehension
as well.
Knowing how ideas link up at the sentence level helps
kids get meaning from passages and entire texts. It
also leads to something called coherence, or the ability
to connect ideas to other ideas in an overall piece of
writing.
What can help: Explicit instruction can teach kids the
basics of sentence construction. For example,
teachers can work with students on connecting two or
more thoughts, through both writing and reading.
5. Reasoning and Background Knowledge
Most readers relate what they’ve read to what they
know. So it’s important for kids to have background or
prior knowledge about the world when they read. They
also need to be able to “read between the lines” and
pull out meaning even when it’s not literally spelled out.
Take this example: A child is reading a story about a
poor family in the 1930s. Having knowledge about the
Great Depression can provide insight into what’s
happening in the story. The child can use that
background knowledge to make inferences and draw
conclusions.
What can help: Your child can build knowledge
through reading, conversations, movies and TV shows,
and art. Life experience and hands-on activities
also build knowledge.
Expose your child to as much as possible, and talk
about what you’ve learned from experiences you’ve
had together and separately. Help your child make
connections between new knowledge and existing
knowledge. And ask open-ended questions that
require thinking and explanations.
You can also read a teacher tip on using animated
videos to help your child make inferences.
6. Working Memory and Attention
These two skills are both part of a group of abilities
known as executive function. They’re different but
closely related.
When kids read, attention allows them to take in
information from the text. Working memory allows
them to hold on to that information and use it to gain
meaning and build knowledge from what they’re
reading.
The ability to self-monitor while reading is also tied to
that. Kids need to be able to recognize when they don’t
understand something. Then they need to stop, go
back, and re-read to clear up any confusion they may
have.
What can help: There are many ways you can help
improve your child’s working memory. Skillbuilders
don’t have to feel like work, either. There are a number
of games and everyday activities that can build
working memory without kids even knowing it.
To help increase your child’s attention, look for reading
material that’s interesting or motivating. For example,
some kids may like graphic novels. Encourage your
child to stop and re-read when something isn’t clear.
And demonstrate how you “think aloud” when you read
to make sure what you’re reading makes sense.
Significance of Reading
Despite the fact that some middle and high school
students have not mastered it, reading comprehension
(the ability to understand written text) is seldom taught
in the upper grades. Mr. Dupree, however, is
convinced that it is important for him to teach reading
comprehension strategies to students who have not
yet acquired these skills. During the course of his
research, he learns that when students comprehend or
understand written text, and combine their
understanding with prior knowledge, they are able to
perform the reading-comprehension skills listed in the
table below:
benefit from the science textbook and, ultimately, to
succeed in his class.
Although it’s important to ask students questions about
what they read, doing so is not the same as teaching
them how to comprehend what they have read.
Unfortunately, many middle and high school students
haven’t learned effective strategies for comprehending
expository text and for navigating this type of
information. In addition, a lack of sufficient background
knowledge and content-specific vocabulary also
impede students’ ability to comprehend the subject
matter.
Although reading comprehension is complex, students’
comprehension of texts may be influenced by several
major factors:
The reader — This includes the reader’s cognitive
capabilities, motivation, knowledge, and experiences.
The text — This includes the wording of the text and
the way that the information is selected, described, or
presented.
The instructional activity — This includes the
purpose of the activity, the nature of the activity itself,
the operations performed to process the text, and the
outcomes of the activity.

Reading Comprehension Skills The environment or context — This includes the

classroom environment, especially the native
Identify simple facts presented in written text (literal language, culture, and ethnicity of the reader, the
comprehension) teacher, and the other students.

Make judgments about the written text’s

content (evaluative comprehension)

Connect the text to other written passages and

situations (inferential comprehension)

Mr. Dupree recognizes that these three reading-

Factors Affecting Reading Power
comprehension skills are necessary if students are to
Background knowledge plays an essential role in
reading comprehension. In an effort to comprehend a
text, students rely on their background knowledge to
link what they already know to the text they are
reading. Background knowledge includes both a
reader’s real-world experiences and literary
knowledge. Drawing parallels between background
knowledge and texts helps students become active
readers, improving their reading comprehension.
Vocabulary
Whether or not students have mastered vocabulary
skills affects their reading comprehension. Students
must be able to comprehend a familiar word and its
relationship with other words within a text. Mastering
vocabulary includes recognizing a word’s part of
speech, definition, useful context clues, and how it
functions in a sentence. These vocabulary strategies
can help improve comprehension.
Fluency
Reading with fluency allows students to retain
information with accuracy, expression and increased
speed. The ability to read fluently develops through
reading practice. As students become fluent readers,
they will spend less time trying to decipher the
meaning of words and more time considering the
overall meaning of the sentences. Over time, fluent
readers will develop the ability to insightfully respond to
a text.
Active Reading
Beginning readers often rely on skilled readers to
guide them through a text. However, as readers
develop, they will be able to monitor their own reading
comprehension. Students can actively guide their own
reading by targeting comprehension problems as they
occur. Students can troubleshoot comprehension
problems by recalling what they read, asking
themselves questions or evaluating the text.
Critical Thinking
Students can actively respond to a text more efficiently
when they possess critical thinking skills. As students
read, they can determine the main idea and supporting
details, the sequence of events and the overall
structure of the text. Students will also be able to
identify literary devices and their effect on the text.
Having critical thinking skills help to deepen a student’s
comprehension of a text, resulting in a positive reading
experience.
Developmental Reading Stages
STAGE 1: THE EMERGENT PRE-READER
(TYPICALLY BETWEEN 6 MONTHS TO 6 YEARS
OLD)
During the initial phase of the reading development
process children sample and learn from a full range of
multiple sounds, words, concepts, images, stories,
exposure to print, literacy materials, and just plain talk
during the first five years of life.
STAGE 2: THE NOVICE READER (TYPICALLY
BETWEEN 6 TO 7 YEARS OLD)
During the second phase of the reading development
process children are learning the relationships
between letters and sounds and amongst printed and
spoken words. The child begins to read stories with
high-frequency words and phonically regular words
and uses emerging skills and insights to “sound out”
new one-syllable words.
STAGE 3: THE DECODING READER (TYPICALLY
BETWEEN 7 – 9 YEARS OLD)
During the third phase of the reading development,
process children are beginning to read familiar stories
and text with increasing fluency. This is accomplished
by consolidating the foundational decoding elements,
sight vocabulary, and meaning in the reading of stories
and selections that the child is already familiar with.
Throughout the history of English experts have
proposed many models to try to classify its speakers.
However, not all linguists agree in which one is the
best. But before starting to explain any the model we
need to be aware of the fact that this is a three group
model. That is, one that classify speakers as:

STAGE 4: THE FLUENT, COMPREHENDING

READER (TYPICALLY BETWEEN 9 – 15 YEARS
OLD)

During the fourth phase of the reading development

process, reading is used to acquire new ideas to gain
new knowledge, to experience new feelings, to acquire
new attitudes, and to explore issues from multiple
perspectives. Reading includes the study of textbooks,
reference works, trade books, newspapers, and
magazines that contain new ideas and values, new
vocabulary and syntax.

STAGE 5: THE EXPERT READER (TYPICALLY
FROM 16 YEARS AND OLDER)
During the fifth phase of the reading development
process, the learner is reading from a wide range of
advanced materials, both expository and narrative,
with multiple viewpoints. Learners are reading broadly
across the disciplines, including the physical, biological
and social sciences as well as the humanities, politics
and current affairs.
 ENL: English as a native language, these are
native speakers born in a English-speaking
country, having then this language as their
mother tongue.
 ESL: English as a second language, these are
the non-native speakers who have learnt
English almost at the same time as their mother
tongue.
 EFL: English as a foreign language, these are
the non-native speakers w
ho learnt English in a country where English is
not usually spoken.

Kachru Model “The Three

Circles of English”

 The Inner Circle is made up the traditional
bases of English and its speakers are the ones
in charge of providing the norms. These places
are where the norms are created and from
which they spread to the other circles. Some
of the countries that conform the Inner Circle
are USA, UK and Canada.
 The Outer Circle represents the places where
they speak official non-native varieties of
English because of their colonial history. The
speakers of these places are the ones who
challenge the norms and develop them and are
mainly ESL Some of the countries that belong
to this circle are India, Pakistan and Egypt.
 The Expanding Circle is made up
by EFL speakers where English is not usually
spoken. In this circle the speakers have to
follow the rules stablished by the Inner Circle
and developed by the Outer one. Some
examples of countries that belong to this circle
are China, Russia and Brazil.
The video “The Spread of English” offers an extended
explanation of how the model works. It shows how
colonization, history, and politics played a role in the
spread of English in the different countries. The Inner
Circle as was explained before is made up by the
countries who belong to the first diaspora. These
countries are were the linguistic and cultural bases of
English are traditionally located. The Outer Circle is
conformed by the second diaspora thanks to the
colonization of different places in Asia and Africa by
the British Empire. One of the most important things to
take into account regarding this circle is that the
English varieties spoken there are usually in constant
contact with other languages. This is causes the
English variety to be influenced by those other
languages and in some cases to incorporate some of
their features. This is why the Outer Circle is norm-
developing, because the contact with other languages
prompts changes in its vocabulary and sometimes in
its grammar. The Expanding Circle was never
colonized by the British Empire and therefore English
is not a language spoken by a significant number of
people in the country.
However, we also have to take into account that
this model also presents some problems because it
does not take into account ecosystems in its
classification but nations. Because of this Kachru is for
instance only including Standard English without
analysing the numerous other varieties of UK. The
same thing happens regarding the Outer Circle.
Secondly, we have the problem that he only takes into
account pidgins and creoles that are considered official
in their different countries. This leaves many of
speakers out of his model as well. And lastly, he does
not considers the notion of proficiency important, and
therefore a native speaker who left school at an early
age and does not know many of the grammar rules of
the language is considered to be a better speaker than
for example a English teacher from Spain who is more
prepared
 American Vs British English -t (e.g. burnt, dreamt, -ed (e.g. burned, dreamed,
leapt) leaped)
History
-ence (e.g. defence, -ense (defense, offense,
The British actually introduced the language to the
offence, licence) license)
Americas when they reached these lands by sea
between the 16th and 17th centuries. At that time, -ell- (e.g. cancelled, -el- (e.g. canceled, jeweler,
spelling had not yet been standardised. It took the jeweller, marvellous) marvelous)
writing of the first dictionaries to set in stone how these
-ise (e.g. appetiser, -ize (e.g. appetizer,
words appeared. In the UK, the dictionary was
familiarise, organise) familiarize, organize)
compiled by London-based scholars. Meanwhile, in the
United States, the lexicographer was a man named -l- (e.g. enrol, fulfil, -ll- (e.g. enroll, fulfill, skillfull)
Noah Webster. Allegedly, he changed how the words skilful)
were spelled to make the American version different
from the British as a way of showing cultural -ogue (e.g. analogue, -og (e.g. analog, monolog,

independence from its mother country. monologue, catalogue) catalog)

In terms of speech, the differences between American

*Note that American English
and British English actually took place after the first
also recognizes words
settlers arrived in America. These groups of people
spelled with –ogue
spoke using what was called rhotic speech, where the
‘r’ sounds of words are pronounced. Meanwhile, the -ou (e.g. colour, -o (e.g. color, behavior,
higher classes in the UK wanted to distinguish the way behaviour, mould) mold)
they spoke from the common masses by softening
their pronunciation of the ‘r’ sounds. Since the elite -re (e.g. metre, fibre, -er (e.g. meter, fiber, center)

even back then were considered the standard for centre)

being fashionable, other people began to copy their

-y- (e.g. tyre) -i- (e.g. tire)
speech, until it eventually became the common way of
speaking in the south of England.    

Vocabulary differences
Spelling differences
British and American English have some spelling
The Americans and the British also have some words
differences. The common ones are presented in the
that differ from each other. The table below lists some
table below.
of the everyday objects that have different names,
depending on what form of English you are using.
British English American English

-oe-/-ae- (e.g. anaemia, -e- (e.g. anemia, diarrhea, British English American English
diarrhoea, encyclopedia)
trousers pants
encyclopaedia)
flat apartment
 The British are also more likely to use formal speech,
such as ‘shall’, whereas Americans favour the more
bonnet (the front of the hood
informal ‘will’ or ‘should’.   
car)

Americans, however, continue to use ‘gotten’ as the

boot (the back of the car) trunk
past participle of ‘get’, which the British have long
lorry truck since dropped in favour of ‘got’.

university college
‘Needn’t’, which is commonly used in British English, is

holiday vacation rarely, if at all used in American English. In its place is

‘don’t need to’.
jumper sweater
In British English, ‘at’ is the preposition in relation to
crisps chips
time and place. However, in American English, ‘on’ is
chips French fries used instead of the former and ‘in’ for the latter.

trainers sneakers

fizzy drink soda

Philippine English
postbox mailbox
English language as used in the Philippines, a state of
biscuit cookie South-East Asia consisting of more than 7,000 islands.
The 1980 census counted the number of Filipinos with
chemist drugstore
some competence in English as around 65%: some
shop store 35m people. Ability ranges from a smattering of words
and phrases through passive comprehension to near-
football soccer
native mastery.
 
Background

Grammar differences Filipino experience of Western colonialism and its

Aside from spelling and vocabulary, there are certain
grammar differences between British and American
English. For instance, in American English, collective
nouns are considered singular (e.g. The band is
playing). In contrast, collective nouns can be either
singular or plural in British English, although the plural
form is most often used (e.g. The band are playing).
linguistic effects has been unique, in that there have
been two colonizers in succession: Spain from the 16c
and the US from 1898, when English arrived in the
islands. It spread rapidly, to the detriment of SPANISH,
because it was the new language of government,
preferment, and education. Incentives to learn English,
included recruitment into the civil service and study in
the US. In 1935, US-educated pensionados (scholars)
became leaders of the Senate and the House of
Representatives as well as members of the cabinet.
English was used universally in the elementary-school saw her yesterday) and past perfect for present perfect
system set up by the colonial government, which (He had already gone home He has already gone
brought in American teachers. Education was the last home). (3) Use of the continuous tenses for habitual
government department to be indigenized, with US aspect: He is going to school regularly He goes to
superintendents still functioning under the school regularly. (4) Use of the present forms of
Commonwealth government before the outbreak auxiliary verbs in subordinate noun clauses rather than
of World War II. In the Philippines there are some 85 past forms, and vice versa: He said he has already
mutually unintelligible though genetically related seen you He said he had already seen you; She
languages of the Malayo-Polynesian family, such hoped that she can visit you tomorrow She hoped that
as TAGALOG, Cebuano, Ilocano, Hiligaynon, Waray, she could visit you tomorrow; He says that he could
and Bicol. These languages of the home serve visit you tomorrow He says that he can visit you
as SUBSTRATES whose features have variously tomorrow. (5) An apparent reversal of the norms for
influenced the development of Philippine English. the use of the definite article: He is studying at the
Manuel Quezon University; I am going to visit United
Pronunciation
States. (6) Verbs that are generally transitive used
(1) Philippine English is RHOTIC, but the local /r/ is an intransitively: Did you enjoy?; I cannot afford; I don't
alveolar flap, not an AmE retroflex. (2) It is like.
syllabletimed, following the rhythm of the local
Vocabulary and idioms
languages; full value is therefore given to unstressed
syllables and SCHWA is usually realized as a full (1) Loans from Spanish: asalto a surprise
vowel. (3) Certain polysyllables have distinctive stress party, bienvenida a welcome party, despedida a
patterns, as with elígible, establísh, cerémony. (4) farewell party, Don/Doña title for a prominent
Intonation is widely characterized as ‘singsong’. (5) man/woman, estafa a fraud, scandal, merienda mid-
Educated Filipinos aim at an AmE accent, but have afternoon tea, plantilla faculty assignments and
varying success with the vowel contrasts deployment in an academic department, querida a
in sheep/ship, full/fool, and boat/bought. (6) Few mistress, viand (from vianda provisions for a journey) a
Filipinos have the /æ/ in AmE mask; instead, they dish served to accompany rice in a Filipino meal.
use /ɑ/ as in AmE father. (7) The distinction between (2) LOAN-WORDS from
/s, z/ and /ʃ, ʒ/ is not made: azure is Tagalog: boondock (from bundok) mountain (compare
‘ayshure’, pleasure ‘pleshure’, seize ‘sees’, cars ‘karss’ the AmE extension: the
. (8) Interdental /ɵ, ð/ are often rendered as /t, d/, so boondocks), carabao (from kalabaw) a water
that three of these is spoken as ‘tree of dese’. buffalo, kundiman a love
song, sampaloc (from sampalok) the fruit of the
Grammar
tamarind, tao man (as in the common tao). (3) LOAN
The following features occur at all social levels: (1) TRANSLATIONS from local usages: open the
Loss of the singular inflection of verbs: The family light/radio turn on the light/radio (also found in
home rest on the bluff of a hill; One of the boys give a IndE), since before yet for a long time, joke only I'm
report to the teacher every morning. (2) Use of present teasing you, you don't only know you just don't
perfect for simple past (I have seen her yesterday I realize, he is playing and playing he keeps on
playing, making foolishness (of children)
misbehaving, I am ashamed to you I am embarrassed
because I have been asking you so many favours. (4)
Local NEOLOGISMS: agrupation (from
Spanish agrupación) a group, captain-ball team
captain in basketball, carnap to steal (kidnap) a car,
cope up to keep up and cope with (something), hold-
upper someone who engages in armed
holdups, jeepney (blending jeep and jitney, AmE a it. Pambata talaga kasi ang Pasko,’ Donna says. [‘That
small bus) a jeep converted into a passenger vehicle.
Written models
Because of the influence of reading and writing and
the academic context in which English is learned, local
speech tends to be based on written models. Filipinos
generally speak the way they write, in a formal style
based on Victorian prose models. Because of this,
spelling pronunciations are common, such as ‘lee-o-
pard’ for leopard, ‘subtill’ for subtle, and ‘worsester-
shire sauce’ for Worcestershire sauce. Style is not
differentiated and the formal style in general use has
been called the classroom compositional style. When
style differentiation is attempted there may be effects
that are comical from the point of view of a native
speaker of English: ‘The commissioners are all horse
owners, who at the same time will appoint the racing
stewards who will adjudicate disputes involving horses.
Neat no?’ (from a newspaper column).
Code-switching
A register has developed for rapport and intimacy that
depends on CODE-MIXING AND CODE-
SWITCHING between Filipino and English. It is largely
confined to Metro Manila and other urban centres and
used extensively in motion pictures and on television
and radio as well as in certain types of informal writing
in daily newspapers and weekly magazines. Examples:
(1) ‘Peks man,’ she swears, ‘Wala pang nangyayari sa
amin ni Marlon. We want to surprise each other on our
honeymoon.’ [‘Cross my heart,’ she swears. ‘Nothing
yet has happened between Marlon and me …’] (from a
movie gossip column).(2) Donna reveals that since she
turned producer in 1986, her dream was to produce a
movie for children: ‘Kaya, nang mabasa ko ang Tuklaw
sa Aliwan Komiks, sabi ko, this is it. And I had the
festival in mind when finally I decided to produce
is why when I read the story “Snake-Bite” in the Aliwan
Comic Book, I told myself, this is it ….
Because Christmas is really for children’] (from a
movie gossip column).
Social issues
Philippine English is currently competing in certain
domains with the rapidly spreading and developing
Filipino, which is in a process of register-building
sometimes called intellectualization. Filipino is not fully
developed for academic discourse, especially in the
sciences, and there is an ongoing debate on the use of
Filipino instead of English for school work and official
purposes. There is also conflict between the learning
of Filipino for symbolic purposes and the learning of
English for utilitarian, largely economic, purposes. The
two official languages are propagated through a
bilingual education scheme begun in 1974:
mathematics and science continue to be taught in
English although it is envisaged that when possible the
teaching of these subjects at certain grade levels shall
be in Filipino. The print media are dominated by
English, but television, radio, and local movies are
dominated by Filipino.
English in the Philippines shares patterns of
development and constriction with English in Malaysia.
From a situation similar to that of Singapore, where a
premium is placed on learning English and using it
extensively, the Philippines has now moved on to a
stage at which English is used only in such domains as
academic discourse and international relations.
Philippine English has developed a vigorous literature.
It is in the process of standardization, with a variety no
longer marked by regional accents associated with
regional languages, but a converging variety that
originates in Manila. This form is propagated largely
through the school system, the mass media, and
tourism. Because of code-switching, it seems unlikely
that a colloquial variety of English alone will develop.
The future is open, without clear trends. On the one
hand, code-switching may end up in code-mixing,
resulting in a local creole. On the other hand, the need
for international relations, the dominance of the print
media, and the continued use of English in education
may exercise a standardizing role, making it possible
for the Philippine variety to be mutually intelligible with
other varieties of English. It is also possible that the
present system of bilingual education will be converted
into a purely monolingual Filipino scheme in which
English is taught as a foreign language and becomes
available only to an élite.
Expanding Vocabulary
Use New Words
Use a word immediately after you learn it. Try to make
a game out of using a new word as soon as you learn
it.
Read Every Day
Once you’re out of school, word drills and assigned
reading become things of the past. While these were
tools for building your vocabulary repertoire while you
were young, it doesn’t mean you should abandon
reading. Try to read a well-written and edited essay,
magazine article, book or news article every day.
Nonfiction and technical books will quickly teach you
new ways to think and speak with words you may be
unfamiliar with, but any type of reading will help you
along.
Learn Roots
Learn the roots of words. Most words in the English
language are built from a common root, prefix, and
suffix, usually with an origin in the Greek or Latin
language. Once you learn a root, you’ll begin to
understand more words that use the same root. For
example, -duc- (Latin root word) means to lead or to
make, such as in the words produce or deduce.
Use a Thesaurus
Keep a thesaurus handy. As you write, keep a
thesaurus handy and use it when you find yourself
using a word too often, or using a word that you know
doesn’t quite convey the right meaning. This will help
you better express yourself, and you’ll also learn a new
word in the process.
Develop Practical Vocabulary
This means you should start by learning words that
express what’s important to you for the task at hand. A
good example of this is learning trade language or
words you use often in a hobby or vocation. Rather
than immediately turning to cliches or jargon that’s
tossed around, look for clearer words to express to
peers what you’re writing about.
Learn New Words Every Day
To improve your vocabulary quickly, make an effort to
learn at least one new word every single day. There
are plenty of ways to do this, such as a Word of the
Day calendar or email list, or simply picking a word
from a thesaurus or dictionary.
Look up Words You Don’t Know
How often do you come across words that are
unfamiliar as you read? Don’t just gloss over them;
take the time to look them up, and if you don’t have the
time right then, write them down and look them up
later.
Keep a Journal
Journaling won’t just help you develop your writing
style, it will also help you improve your vocabulary. Try
to use new or interesting words you’ve learned recently
into a journal entry for the day or the week.
Identify Empty Words
You’re probably familiar with empty words in your
speech (such as “uh” or “um”), but your writing
probably has empty words as well. Look for these
empty words in your writing that do not offer any
substance to your reader and replace them with
something more appropriate. The same principle
applies to phrases and sentences, so make sure that
you haven’t used six or seven phrases to say
something that could be better communicated in one
sentence filled with carefully-chosen words.
Diversify Your Reading List
If you tend to read the same sort of things day in and
day out, you may not be exposing yourself to a wide
enough range of vocabulary. Diversify the topics you
read to include natural science, Shakespeare,
contemporary literature, politics, history, philosophy or
any other topics you think you may enjoy.
Do Word Puzzles
Word puzzles in the newspaper or a magazine aren’t
just a fun way to fill time, they’re also perfect for
boosting your working vocabulary. Crossword puzzles
are a challenge that get your brain working hard to
search your memory for words you do know but don’t
use, and this can help you move words from your
memory banks into your working set of vocabulary
which will come across in your writing.
Try Word Board Games
There are plenty of word games on the market
designed to improve vocabulary and language skills
without being a bore. Some of these games you may
have played as a child, so it’s time to break them out
again and get to “work.” If you have a friend who could
also use some help — or someone with a great
vocabulary you think will challenge you — invite them
over for a game night.
Vocabulary Learning Strategies
Student-Friendly Definitions
The meaning of a new word should be explained to
students rather than just providing a dictionary
definition for the word—which may be difficult for
students to understand. According to Isabel Beck, two
basic principles should be followed in developing
student-friendly explanations or definitions (Beck et al.,
2013):
 Characterize the word and how it is typically
used.
 Explain the meaning using everyday language
—language that is accessible and meaningful to the
student.
Sometimes a word’s natural context (in text or
literature) is not informative or helpful for deriving word
meanings (Beck et al., 2013). It is useful to
intentionally create and develop instructional contexts
that provide strong clues to a word’s meaning. These
are usually created by teachers, but they can
sometimes be found in commercial reading programs.
Defining Words Within Context
Research shows that when words and easy-to-
understand explanations are introduced in context,
knowledge of those words increases (Biemiller and
Boote, 2006) and word meanings are better learned
(Stahl and Fairbanks, 1986). When an unfamiliar word
is likely to affect comprehension, the most effective
time to introduce the word’s meaning may be at the
moment the word is met in the text.
Using Context Clues
Research by Nagy and Scott (2000) showed that
students use contextual analysis to infer the meaning
of a word by looking closely at surrounding text. Since
students encounter such an enormous number of
words as they read, some researchers believe that
even a small improvement in the ability to use context
clues has the potential to produce substantial, long-
term vocabulary growth  (Nagy, Herman, and
Anderson, 1985; Nagy, Anderson, and Herman, 1987;
Swanborn and de Glopper, 1999).
Sketching the Words
For many students, it is easier to remember a word’s
meaning by making a quick sketch that connects the
word to something personally meaningful to the
student. The student applies each target word to a
new, familiar context. The student does not have to
spend a lot of time making a great drawing. The
important thing is that the sketch makes sense and
helps the student connect with the meaning of the
word.
Applying the Target Words
Applying the target words provides another context for
learning word meanings. When students are
challenged to apply the target words to their own
experiences, they have another opportunity to
understand the meaning of each word at a personal
level. This allows for deep processing of the meaning
of each word.  understand the relationships among words, such as
Analyzing Word Parts
The ability to analyze word parts also helps when
students are faced with unknown vocabulary. If
students know the meanings of root words and affixes,
they are more likely to understand a word containing
these word parts. Explicit instruction in word parts
includes teaching meanings of word parts and
disassembling and reassembling words to derive
meaning (Baumann et al., 2002; Baumann, Edwards,
Boland, Olejnik, and Kame'enui, 2003; Graves, 2004).
Semantic Mapping
Semantic maps help students develop connections
among words and increase learning of vocabulary
words (Baumann et al., 2003; Heimlich and Pittleman,
1986). For example, by writing an example, a non-
example, a synonym, and an antonym, students must
deeply process the word persist.
Word Consciousness
Word consciousness is an interest in and awareness of
words (Anderson and Nagy, 1992; Graves and Watts-
Taffe, 2002). Students who are word conscious are
aware of the words around them—those they read and
hear and those they write and speak (Graves and
Watts-Taffe, 2002). 
Teachers can promote the development of word
consciousness in many ways:
 Language categories: Students learn to make
finer distinctions in their word choices if they
synonyms, antonyms, and homographs. 
 Figurative language: The ability to deal with
figures of speech is also a part of word-
consciousness (Scott and Nagy 2004). The most
common figures of speech are similes, metaphors,
and idioms.
ANAGRAM
An "anagram" is any word or phrase whose
letters, when they are scrambled, create a different
word or phrase. In other words, anagrams are two
words or two phrases that share precisely the same
letters that appear in a different order. Sometimes such
words or phrases can be a great deal of fun. Other
times there is interest because of some connection in
logic or sentiment between the words that are
anagrams of each other. To be honest, though,
sometimes they're just really lame for anyone who isn't ALLOY = LOYAL
fascinated by language as I am. I offer two lists below. HARDEST = HATREDS =
The first is a brief collection of anagram phrases that ALPS = LAPS = SLAP THREADS = TRASHED
have been circling the internet, and they're fun. The
second, more mundane list, is lengthier. I'll give AMPS = MAPS HATE = HEAT
greater description after the first list:
ANTLER = LEARNT HEIR = HIRE

ANY = NAY HOES = HOSE = SHOE

DORMITORY DIRTY PRESBYTERIAN BEST IN
ROOM PRAYER
APE = PEA HOST = SHOT
ASTRONOMER DESPERATION
MOON A ROPE
ARE = EAR = ERA HOW = WHO
THE EYES STARER ELEVEN PLUS ENDS IT
TWO
ARISING = RAISING HUSTLE = SLEUTH
THE MORSE THEY SEE TWELVE
CODE SLOT PLUS ONE
ARM = MAR = RAM HUSTLING = SUNLIGHT
HERE MACHINES
ANIMOSITY COME CASH LOST
ARMS = MARS IDLE = LIED
DOTS ELECTION IN ME
MOTHER IN RESULTS
ARMPIT = IMPART INKS = KINS = SINK = SKIN
LAW IS NO LIES! LET'S
AMITY SNOOZE RECOUNT
ART = RAT = TAR INCEST = INSECT = NICEST
ALARMS
WOMAN ALAS. NO
ARC = CAR INFRINGE = REFINING
A DECIMAL HITLER MORE Z'S
POINT
ARTICLE = RECITAL INSULT = SUNLIT
THE THAT
EARTHQUAKES QUEER
ASH = HAS ITEM = TIME
I'M A DOT SHAKE
IN PLACE
ATTIC = TACIT JEST = JETS

ATE = EAT = TEA KALE = LAKE = LEAK

AYE = YEA KISS = SKIS

Examples of Anagram BAKE = BEAK KITCHEN = THICKEN

ACTS = CATS = CAST FLIER = RIFLE BALM = LAMB LAMP = PALM

ADD = DAD FLESH = SHELF BAR = BRA LASTING = SALTING = SLATING

ADVERB = BRAVED FIST = FITS BARE = BEAR LAYS = SLAY

AFIELD = FAILED FLOG = GOLF BATTLE = TABLET LEAP = PALE = PLEA

AGREE = EAGER FLOW = FOWL = WOLF BEING = BEGIN LESSENED - NEEDLESS

AGREES = GREASE FLUE = FUEL BELOW = BOWEL = ELBOW LICENSE = SILENCE

AIDE = IDEA FORM = FROM BEST = BETS LIAR = RAIL

AIRMEN = MARINE = GENITALS = STEALING BORES = ROBES = SOBER LIMES = MILES = SLIME =
SMILE
REMAIN
GULP = PLUG BLOT = BOLT
 LIST = SILT = SLIT
BLOW = BOWL COVERT = VECTOR PEAR = RAPE = REAP
LISTEN = SILENT
BOSS = SOBS CITRUS = RUSTIC PLATES = PETALS = STAPLE
LOIN = LION
BRAG = GARB = GRAB DAIRY = DIARY PORES = PROSE = ROPES =
LOOPED = POODLE = POOLED SPORE
BRIEF = FIBER DARE = DEAR = READ
LOST = LOTS = SLOT POST = POTS = SPOT = STOP =
BRUSH = SHRUB DASHED = SHADED TOPS
LUMP = PLUM
BURDEN = BURNED = DEAF = FADE PRESENT = REPENTS =
UNBRED LURE = RULE SERPENT
DEALER = LEADER
BURY = RUBY MACE = CAME QUIET = QUITE
DEARER = REARED =
CAFE = FACE MANURES = SURNAME READER = REREAD RARE = REAR

CALM = CLAM MAPLES = SAMPLE DESALT = LASTED = REALIST = RETAILS = SALTIER

SALTED
CALLER = CELLAR = RECALL MEAT = TAME = TEAM RESCUE = SECURE
DIAL = LAID
CANED = DANCE MEATS = MATES = STEAM = RESCUED = REDUCED =
TEAMS DIAPER = REPAID SECURED = SEDUCER
CANOE = OCEAN
METEOR = REMOTE DIPAERS = DESPAIR = RESET = STEER = TREES
CARE = RACE = ACRE PRAISED
MOIST = OMITS RESIN = RINSE = RISEN =
CASE = ACES DICE = ICED SIREN
MUTILATE = ULTIMATE
CASK = SACK DIET = EDIT = TIDE = TIED RESIST = SISTER
NAILS = SNAIL =SLAIN
CATER = CRATE = REACT = DISEASE = SEASIDE RING = GRIN
TRACE NAMELESS = SALESMEN
DISK = KIDS = SKID RIVAL = VIRAL
CAUSE = SAUCE NEAR = EARN
DOZEN = ZONED ROSE = SORE
CHEATER = HECTARES = NIGHTS = THINGS
TEACHERS DUSTY = STUDY SACRED = SCARED
NOTELESS = TONELESS
CHIN = INCH EARLY = LAYER = RELAY SAINTS = STAIN = SATIN
NOW = OWN = WON
CLAY = LACY EARTHY = HEARTY SALES = SEALS
NUDE = DUNE
CLOUD = COULD EAST = EATS = SEAT = TEAS SAVES = VASES
NUDITY = UNTIDY
CODES = COEDS EGOS = GOES SCARE = ACRES = CARES =
ORGANIST = ROASTING RACES
COIN = ICON ENLISTED = LISTENED
ORIENTAL = RELATION SERVE = VERSE
CONE = ONCE EVIL = LIVE = VILE
PAINTER = PERTAIN = SENATOR = TREASON
CORK = ROCK REPAINT EXIST =  EXITS
SHOUT = SOUTH
COSMIC = COMICS PAWS = SWAP = WASP EXPECT = EXCEPT
 SPILT = SPLIT ALULA
FARMED = FRAMED PIP
STATED = TASTED ANNA
FEASTS = SAFEST POOP
STAKES = STEAKS BOOB
FEAR = FARE POP
STRAW = WANTS CIVIC
FEAT = FATE PULLUP
SUBLET = SUBTLE DEIFIED
FELT = LEFT PUP
SWEAT = WASTE DEKED
FIELD = FILED RADAR
TIRED = TRIED DENNED
FILETS = ITSELF RACECAR
TRAILS = TRIALS DEVOVED
FILLER = REFILL REDDER
TROUT = TUTOR DEWED
FINER = INFER REFER
UNITE - UNTIE DID
FINDER = FRIEND REIFIER
VEINS = VINES DUD
FINGER = FRINGE REPAPER
VETO = VOTE EME
FITNESS = INFESTS REVIVER
VAIL = VIAL ERE
FLIER = RIFLE ROTATOR
VOWELS = WOLVES EVE
ROTAUATOR
WEATHER = WREATH EWE
ROTOR
WORDIER = WORRIED EYE
SAGAS
EVITATIVE
SEES
GAG
Palindrome GIG
SELLES

A palindrome is a word, phrase or sentence that reads SEMEMES

the same backwards and forwards, so it differs from an HALALAH
anagram because the anagram requires the shuffling of SEMES
the letters. The fun of a palindrome is not found so HANNAH
much in the meaning of words (with some exceptions) SEXES
but in the simple surprise of realizing that these well- KANAKANAK (Alaska)
known words are the same backward and forwards. A SHAHS
brief compilation follows. I have elected to not use KINIKINIK (Colorado)
phrases or sentences, just single words. Enjoy. SIS
KOOK
SOLOS
LEVEL
STATS
ABBA PAP MADAM
TENET
AIBOHPHOBIA (The fear of PEEP MARRAM
palindromes. Yes, it's true.) TERET
PEP MOM
 TERRET words were themselves originally borrowed from
MUM Greek.
TESTSET
MURDRUM It can be deduced that these borrowings date from the
TIT time before the Angles and Saxons left the continent
NAAN for England, because of very similar forms found in the
TOT other old Germanic languages (Old High German, Old
NUN Saxon, etc.). The source words are generally attested
TOOT in Latin texts, in the large body of Latin writings that
NOON were preserved through the ages.
TOROT
OTTO ancor 'anchor'
TUT butere 'butter' (L < Gr. butyros)
cealc 'chalk'
YAY ceas 'cheese' (caseum)
cetel 'kettle'
ZEROREZ (A real carpet cycene 'kitchen'
cleaning company) cirice 'church' (ecclesia < Gr. ecclesia)
disc 'dish' (discus)
ZERIMAR RAMIREZ (A mil 'mile' (milia [passuum] 'a thousand paces')
piper 'pepper'
real person)
pund 'pound' (pondo 'a weight')
sacc 'sack' (saccus)
sicol 'sickle'
LOAN WORDS straet 'street' ([via] strata 'straight way' or stone-paved
road)
Major Periods of Borrowing weall 'wall' (vallum)
win 'wine' (vinum < Gr. oinos)
in the History of English
II. Old English Period (600-1100)
Loanwords are words adopted by the speakers of one
language from a different language (the source Latin
language). A loanword can also be called a borrowing. apostol 'apostle' (apostolus < Gr. apostolos)
The abstract noun borrowing refers to the process of casere 'caesar, emperor'
speakers adopting words from a source language into ceaster 'city' (castra 'camp')
cest 'chest' (cista 'box')
their native language. "Loan" and "borrowing" are of
circul 'circle'
course metaphors, because there is no literal lending cometa 'comet' (cometa < Greek)
process. There is no transfer from one language to maegester 'master' (magister)
another, and no "returning" words to the source martir 'martyr'
language. They simply come to be used by a speech paper 'paper' (papyrus, from Gr.)
community that speaks a different language from the tigle 'tile' (tegula)
one they originated in. Celtic

The following list is a small sampling of the loanwords brocc 'badger'

that came into English in different periods and from cumb 'combe, valley'
different languages.
III. Middle English Period (1100-1500)
I. Germanic period or Pre-Old English
Scandinavian
Latin
Most of these first appeared in the written language in
The forms given in this section are the Old English
Middle English; but many were no doubt borrowed
ones. The original Latin source word is given in
earlier, during the period of the Danelaw (9th-10th
parentheses where significantly different. Some Latin
centuries).
anger, blight, by-law, cake, call, clumsy, doze, egg, Sometimes it's hard to tell whether a given word came
fellow, gear, from French or whether it was taken straight from
get, give, hale, hit, husband, kick, kill, kilt, kindle, law, Latin. Words for which this difficulty occurs are those in
low,
which there were no special sound and/or spelling
lump, rag, raise, root, scathe, scorch, score, scowl,
scrape, scrub, changes of the sort that distinguished French from
seat, skill, skin, skirt, sky, sly, take, they, them, their, Latin.
thrall,
thrust, ugly, want, window, wing IV. Early Modern English Period (1500-
1650)
Place name suffixes:
-by, -thorpe, -gate The effects of the Renaissance begin to be seriously
French
felt in England. We see the beginnings of a huge influx
Law and government of Latin and Greek words, many of them learned words
imported by scholars well versed in those languages.
attorney, bailiff, chancellor, chattel, country, court, But many are borrowings from other languages, as
crime, words from European high culture begin to make their
defendent, evidence, government, jail, judge, jury, presence felt and the first words come in from the
larceny, noble,
earliest period of colonial expansion.
parliament, plaintiff, plea, prison, revenue, state, tax,
verdict
Church
Latin
abbot, chaplain, chapter, clergy, friar, prayer, preach, agile, abdomen, anatomy, area, capsule, compensate,
priest, dexterity,
religion, sacrament, saint, sermon discus, disc/disk, excavate, expensive, fictitious,
Nobility: gradual, habitual,
baron, baroness; count, countess; duke, duchess; insane, janitor, meditate, notorious, orbit, peninsula,
marquis, marquess; physician,
prince, princess; viscount, viscountess; noble, royal superintendent, ultimate, vindicate
(contrast native words: king, queen, earl, lord, lady, Greek
knight, kingly, (many of these via Latin)
queenly) anonymous, atmosphere, autograph, catastrophe,
Military climax, comedy, critic,
army, artillery, battle, captain, company, corporal, data, ectasy, history, ostracize, parasite, pneumonia,
defense,enemy,marine, navy, sergeant, soldier, skeleton,
volunteer tonic, tragedy
Cooking Greek bound morphemes: -ism, -ize
Arabic via Spanish
beef, boil, broil, butcher, dine, fry, mutton, pork, alcove, algebra, zenith, algorithm, almanac, azimuth,
poultry, roast, alchemy, admiral
salmon, stew, veal Arabic via other Romance languages:
Culture and luxury goods amber, cipher, orange, saffron, sugar, zero, coffee
art, bracelet, claret, clarinet, dance, diamond, fashion,
fur, jewel,
oboe, painting, pendant, satin, ruby, sculpture
V. Present-Day English (1650-present)
Other
About 1650 was the start of major colonial expansion,
adventure, change, charge, chart, courage, devout,
dignity, enamor, industrial/technological revolution, and significant
feign, fruit, letter, literature, magic, male, female, American immigration. Words from all over the world
mirror, begin to pour in during this period. Also, the tendency
pilgrimage, proud, question, regard, special for specialists to borrow words from Latin and Greek,
Also Middle English French loans: a huge number of including creating new words out of Latin and Greek
words in age, -ance/-ence, -ant/-ent, -ity, -ment, -tion, word elements, continues from the last period and also
con-, de-, and pre-.
increases with the development of science, pizza, ravioli, spaghetti, spumante, zabaglione,
technology, and other fields. zucchini

Dutch, Flemish

Words from European languages Shipping, naval terms

French avast, boom, bow, bowsprit, buoy, commodore, cruise,

French continues to be the largest single source of dock, freight,
new words outside of very specialized vocabulary keel, keelhaul, leak, pump, reef, scoop, scour, skipper,
domains (scientific/technical vocabulary, still sloop,
dominated by classical borrowings). smuggle, splice, tackle, yawl, yacht
High culture
Cloth industry
ballet, bouillabaise, cabernet, cachet, chaise longue,
champagne, bale, cambric, duck (fabric), fuller's earth, mart, nap (of
chic, cognac, corsage, faux pas, nom de plume, cloth),
quiche, rouge, roulet, selvage, spool, stripe
sachet, salon, saloon, sang froid, savoir faire
Art
War and Military easel, etching, landscape, sketch

bastion, brigade, battalion, cavalry, grenade, infantry, War

pallisade, rebuff, beleaguer, holster, freebooter, furlough, onslaught
bayonet
Other Food and drink
bigot, chassis, clique, denim, garage, grotesque,
jean(s), niche, shock booze, brandy(wine), coleslaw, cookie, cranberry,
French Canadian crullers, gin, hops,
chowder stockfish, waffle
Louisiana French (Cajun)
jambalaya Other
bugger (orig. French), crap, curl, dollar, scum, split
Spanish (orig. nautical
term), uproar
armada, adobe, alligator, alpaca, armadillo, barricade,
bravado, German
cannibal, canyon, coyote, desperado, embargo,
enchilada, guitar, bum, dunk, feldspar, quartz, hex, lager, knackwurst,
marijuana, mesa, mosquito, mustang, ranch, taco, liverwurst,
tornado, tortilla, loafer, noodle, poodle, dachshund, pretzel, pinochle,
vigilante pumpernickel,
sauerkraut, schnitzel, zwieback, (beer)stein,
Italian lederhosen, dirndl

alto, arsenal, balcony, broccoli, cameo, casino, cupola, 20th century German loanwords:
duo, fresco,
fugue, gazette (via French), ghetto, gondola, grotto, blitzkrieg, zeppelin, strafe, U-boat, delicatessen,
macaroni, hamburger,
madrigal, motto, piano, opera, pantaloons, prima frankfurter, wiener, hausfrau, kindergarten,
donna, regatta, Oktoberfest, schuss,
sequin, soprano, opera, stanza, stucco, studio, tempo, wunderkind, bundt (cake), spritz (cookies), (apple)
torso, strudel
umbrella, viola, violin,
Yiddish

More recent words from Italian American immigrants: (most are 20th century borrowings)
bagel, Chanukkah (Hanukkah), chutzpah, dreidel,
cappuccino, espresso, linguini, mafioso, pasta, kibbitzer, kosher, lox,
pastrami (orig. from Romanian), schlep, spiel, schlepp, (plus thousands of place names, including
schlemiel, Ottawa, Toronto, Saskatchewan and the names of
schlimazel, gefilte fish, goy, klutz, knish, matzoh, oy more than half the
vey, schmuck, states of the U.S., including Michigan, Texas,
schnook, Nebraska, Illinois)

Scandinavian Chinese

fjord, maelstrom, ombudsman, ski, slalom, chop suey, chow mein, dim sum, tea, ginseng, kowtow,
smorgasbord litchee

Russian Malay
apparatchik, borscht, czar/tsar, glasnost, icon,
perestroika, vodka ketchup, amok
Japanese

Words from other parts of the world geisha, hara kiri, judo, jujitsu, kamikaze, karaoke,
Sanskrit kimono, samurai,
avatar, karma, mahatma, swastika, yoga soy, sumo, sushi, tsunami

Hindi Pacific Islands

bandanna, bangle, bungalow, chintz, cot,
cummerbund, dungaree, bamboo, gingham, rattan, taboo, tattoo, ukulele,
juggernaut, jungle, loot, maharaja, nabob, pajamas, boondocks
punch (the drink),
shampoo, thug, kedgeree, jamboree Australia

Dravidian boomerang, budgerigar, didgeridoo, kangaroo (and

many more in
curry, mango, teak, pariah Australian English)

Persian (Farsi)
check, checkmate, chess Analyzing Roots and Affixes Teaching
Arabic Affixation is the most common word formation
bedouin, emir, jakir, gazelle, giraffe, harem, hashish, process in English. Words are formed by adding
lute, minaret, affixes to roots.
mosque, myrrh, salaam, sirocco, sultan, vizier, bazaar, Roots can be free or bound morphemes. They
caravan
cannot be further analyzed into smaller parts. They
form the base forms of the words.
African languages
1. Free roots are free morphemes. They can
banana (via Portuguese), banjo, boogie-woogie, stand alone to function as words.
chigger, goober, Examples:
gorilla, gumbo, jazz, jitterbug, jitters, juke(box),
voodoo, yam, recollect, bilingual, uneasy,
zebra, zombie mislead, hardly, attractive
2. Bound roots are bound morphemes. They
American Indian languages
cannot stand alone to function as words
avocado, cacao, cannibal, canoe, chipmunk, because they are no longer used in Modern
chocolate, chili, hammock, English.
hominy, hurricane, maize, moccasin, moose, papoose, Examples:
pecan, possum,
potato, skunk, squaw, succotash, squash, tamale (via receive, reduce
Spanish), teepee,
terrapin, tobacco, toboggan, tomahawk, tomato,
wigwam, woodchuck
Affixes are bound morphemes. They can be Good
classified into prefixes and suffixes in English. Last - First
Better -
1. A prefix is an affix added to the beginning Laugh -
Worse
of other morphemes to form a word. Cry
Big - Sell - Buy
Examples: Learn -
Little Short -
dislike, deactivate, inadequate, immobil Teach
Birth - Long
e, misleading, unaccountable Less -
Death Sour -
endurable, underachieve, overdeveloped More
Boy - Girl Sweet
, prerequisite, postgraduate, recycle Lie - Truth
Clean - Start - Stop
2. A suffix is an affix added to the end of Long -
Dirty Stay -
other morphemes to form a word. Short
Close - Leave
Examples: Loose -
Open Stop - Go
admirable, fruitful, ambitious, Tight
Cold - Hot Strong -
enjoyment, eagerness, standardize, Lost -
End - Weak
cowardly, Found
Begin Teacher -
younger, processing, McDonald's, Love -
Dark - Student
Hate
assignments, decides, decided Light Tidy -
North -
Day - Messy
South
Night True - False
Antonym,Synonym and Homonym On - Off
Even - Ugly -
Over -
Odd Beautiful
Under
Antonyms are words with opposite Fail - Pass Up - Down
Play -
meanings. Synonyms are words with the same or False - White -
Work
similar meaning. Homonyms are words that are True Black
Polite -
Float - Wild -
spelled and pronounced the same, but have Rude
Sink Tame
different meanings.. Poor -
East - Win - Lose
Rich
West Well - Sick
Present -
Antonym Examples Fat - Wet - Dry
Absent
Skinny Young -
Top -
Hungry - Old
Kids can use antonyms to show contrast between Bottom
Full
two things or emphasize a point. They can also Quick -
Gentle -
use them to explain exactly how they feel. Here Slow
Rough
are some examples:
Synonym Examples
Add - Happy - Raise -
Subtract Sad Lower
Synonyms provide variety in our speech or writing.
Above - Hard - Right -
Below Soft Wrong It's important to expose kids to various sets of
After - Heavy - Rise - Sink synonyms, so they can learn to avoid repetition.
Before Light Rough - Here are some examples to get them started:
Awake - High -Smooth
Asleep Low Same - Afraid,scar Gloomy, Quick,fa
Bad - In - Out Different ed, frightened sad, unhappy st, swift
 Automobil Happy,g Quiet, hotel room or a table at together with a cover
e,car, vehicle lad, joyful, calm a restaurant
Big, large, cheerful Rest, Cave - to give in or Cave - a hole or gap in a
huge Hide, relax surrender rock or in earth
Blank, cover Rock, Chair - an item of Chair - the head of a
empty, hollow House, stone furniture department
Bunny, home Rug,car Change - to replace the Change - money given
rabbit, hare Ill, sick, pet, mat clothes you are wearing back after a purchase
Cap, hat unwell Sack,ba with another outfit
Center,mid Idea, g, backpack Cool - chilly in Cool - someone trendy
dle, inside thought Sniff,sm temperature or popular
Couch, Jog, run ell, inhale Crane - a large type of Crane - a mechanical
sofa, divan Listen, Strange, bird device used for lifting
Evil, bad, hear odd, weird Deck - a pack of playing Deck - a floor or platform
wicked Little, Tall, cards extended from a building
Famous, small, tiny high, big or ship
well-known Look,se True,rig Duck - a type of bird Duck - to lower your
Father, e, glance, stare ht, correct head or body to avoid
dad, daddy Mad,ang Under,b being hit by something
Funny, ry, furious elow, beneath Even - numbers Even - flat and level
silly, playful, Mother, Woman, divisible by two surface
crazy mom, mommy lady, female Fall - to drop down Fall- the season between
Garbage, Neat, Yell,sho summer and winter
trash, junk, waste tidy, clean ut, scream Club- a heavy stick Club - a group of people
Present, used as a weapon with something in
gift, reward, common
award Fire - to let someone go Fire - flames, something
from a job burning
Homonym Examples Groom - to make tidy in Groom - the man who is
appearance about to get married
Gross - disgusting Gross - large
Homonyms are words that have the same spelling
Jam - stuck Jam - spread made from
and sound the same but have different meanings.
fruit and sugar
While this can be a tricky concept to explain, Key - scale of musical Key - device used to lock
posting a nice list in the classroom may prove notes or unlock a door
beneficial. Here's a healthy list of homonyms to Left - one side of the Left - what is remaining
start the conversation: body of something
Light - to set fire Light - pale in color
Line - measure of Line - verse in a poem or
Address - manner of Address: description of a length story
speaking to someone place's location Man - male person Man - to brace or fortify
Bear - a large mammal Bear - to be able to cope Match - competitive Match - a device used to
with something sporting event start a fire
Book - to reserve a Book - pages bound Nail - the end plate of Nail - sharp piece of
 your finger or toe metal for holding things 3. Contrast/Antonym Clues Sometimes a word or
phrase is clarified by the presentation of the opposite
together
meaning somewhere close to its use. Look for signal
Park - area used for Park - to leave a vehicle words when applying context clues.
recreation in a space for a while
Pen - an instrument for Pen - type of enclosure Example: "Lou wanted to go to the haberdashery, but
writing for animals Ann wanted to shop at the boutique.” The signal word
but tells the reader that an opposite thought is going to
Seal - a type of Seal - a tight closure
be stated.
mammal
Show - to display Show - a type of 4. Inference/General Context Clues Sometimes a
broadcast word or phrase is not immediately clarified within the
same sentence. Relationships, which are not directly
Sign - omen Sign - to write your
apparent, are inferred or implied. The reader must look
signature on something for clues within, before, and after the sentence in which
to make it official the word is used.
Tank - military vehicle Tank- container used to
store liquid Example: “The haberdashery was Lou’s favorite place.
He loved shopping for nice suits. The people who
Tire - rubber covering of Tire - to become weary
worked there were so kind and helpful.” Readers can
a wheel or bored also use clues of punctuation and type style to infer
Trip - to stumble Trip - a journey meaning, such as quotation marks (showing the word
Wave - move your hand Wave - a movement in has a special meaning), dashes , parentheses or
sideways to say hello water brackets (enclosing a definition), and italics (showing
Watch - a wearable Watch - to look carefully the word will be defined).
timepiece 5. Punctuation Examples: Tom's father was a
Yard - space around a Yard - measurement of haberdasher, or men’s shop keeper, in the story.
house length Tom's father was a haberdasher (men’s shop keeper)
in the story. In the story, Tom's father was a
haberdasher-or men’s shop keeper. Tom's father was
a “haberdasher”. He had a clothing store for men.

Context Clues HOMONYMS, HOMOPHONES,

The five types of context clues are:
1. Definition/Explanation Clues Sometimes a word's
or phrase's meaning is explained immediately after its
use.
HOMOGRAPHS, and HETERONYMS
HOMONYMS are words that sound alike but have
different meanings. Homophones are a type of
homonym that also sound alike and have different
meanings, but have different spellings.

Example: "Haberdashery, which is a store that sells
men’s clothing, is becoming more common today.”
2. Restatement/Synonym Clues Sometimes a hard
word or phrase is said in a simple way.
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.
HOMOGRAPHS are words that are spelled the same
but have different meanings. Heteronyms are a type
of homograph that are also spelled the same and have
different meanings, but sound different.
WORDS THAT BOTH SOUND THE SAME AND
ARE SPELLED THE SAME are both homonyms
(same sound) and homographs (same spelling).
Example: lie (untruth) and lie (prone); fair (county
fair), fair (reasonable).
 well)
SUMMARY CHART two  (2) two two
HOMONYM WORDS HOMOPHONE WORDS there  
SOUND type of homonym their  (poss there there
essive) their their n/a n/a
  same sound   same sound they're  (c they're they're
ontraction)
  same OR different spelling   different spelling
bough  (tr boug   bou bou  
ee limb) h   gh gh bow bow
  fair (county fair)   pear (fruit)
bow  (front  bow   bow bow    
  fair (reasonable)   pair (couple) of a boat)
  pear (fruit)   Buzzy Bee Riddle #6; boo bow bo bow bow bow  
bow  (at bow
  pair (couple) bee, booby the waist) w bow
  Buzzy Bee Riddle #6; boo   Buzzy Bee Riddle #14; hum bow  (tied  bo  
bee, booby bug, humbug with ribbon) w bow
  Buzzy Bee Riddle #14; hum   Buzzy Bee Riddle #13: cell, bow  (shoot
s arrows)
bug, humbug sell
  Buzzy Bee Riddle #13: cell, lead  (to     lead lead
sell guide) lead lead lead lead
lead  (the led led
metal)
led  (guided
HETERONYM
HOMOGRAPH WORDS )
WORDS
SPELLING lie  (untruth
type of homograph
) lie n/a
lie n/a
  same OR different sound   different sound lie  (lie lie lie
down)
  same spelling   same spelling fair  (appea
rance) fair fair
  lie (untruth)   tear (in the eye) fair  (count
  lie (lie down)   tear (rip) y fair)
fair n/a fair n/a

  tear (in the eye) fair  (reaso fair fair

  tear (rip) nable)
  Buzzy Bee Riddle #4; spelling bee, bass  (fish)
spelling bee bass bass
bass  (low n/a n/a
bass bass
note)

tear  (in the tear tear

eye) n/a n/a
tear  (rip) tear tear

IDIOMATIC EXPRESSION
Idiomatic expressions are groups of words with an
established meaning unrelated to the meanings of
DETAIL CHART the individual words.  Sometimes called an
expression, an idiom can be very colorful and make
Same Sound / Same Spelling / a ‘picture’ in our minds.
 
different meanings different meanings

  Homo  Homop  Homo  Hetero Some common idiomatic expressions:

 
nyms   hones  graphs  nyms 
 He let the cat out of the bag (accidentally told a
Different Different secret).
    Spelling
  Sound  She got off Scott-free (escaped without
punishment).
 He flew off the handle (went crazy).
see  (with
your eye) see see n/a n/a
sea  (the oc sea sea I’m going to show you how you can easily
ean)
understand more than 100 English idioms, used in
to  (preposit to to n/a n/a
both American English and British English, even
ion) too too
too  (as the first time you hear them.
Firstly, you need to know that idioms and phrases opportunity for
are everywhere in English: anything that doesn’t advancement
have a literal, physical meaning is an idiom. Let’s To be at a crossroads When someone is at a
look at some idiom examples: point in life where their
decisions will have long
 I find his excuses hard to swallow, he’s lying. term consequences
 The police have been digging around in his He’s on the straight and He’s living in a morally
accounts looking for evidence of fraud. narrow proper way
 He’s a really bright spark, so I think he’ll do well To walk someone To show someone how to
at school. through something do something
We need to come up with We need to make a plan
These sentences all contain idioms, because you a road map
can’t swallow words or dig in a bank account in I wouldn’t go down that I wouldn’t do that if I were
any literal or physical way – and how can a ‘spark’ road if I were you! you!
do well at school? You’ll also notice that a literal Don’t run before you can Don’t try to do something
translation into most languages won’t make sense. walk difficult before mastering
the basics
These kinds of idioms are far more common, and Inching forward When progress on
therefore far more important, than the more something is being made
colorful expressions like ‘He’s kicked the in small increments
bucket’ (died), ‘She’s hitting the books’ (studying), To move at a snail’s pace To move slowly
To get good mileage out To get a lot of benefits
or ‘Break a leg!’ (Good luck!), and without them
of something from something
students often sound too formal – saying things
To have your whole life in To be young and have a
like:
front of you lot of years to live
To get on with your life To make progress in life
 I don’t believe his excuses.
goals after a difficulty
 The police have been investigating his accounts
To tread carefully To behave or speak
looking for evidence of fraud.
carefully to avoid offending
 He is a very intelligent student, so I think he’ll
succeed at university. or causing problems with
someone or something
To be a minefield When something presents
many possible dangers
List of Common English Idioms:
We’ll cross that bridge To wait to worry about one
when we come to it problem at a time
Idiom Meaning
Information The internet
Hard to swallow Difficult to believe
Digging around Looking for superhighway
He’s a really bright spark He’s an intelligent person Time is money Time is a valuable
He’s kicked the bucket He’s died resource
She’s hitting the books She’s studying hard A tasty (or juicy) bit of Very interesting or
Break a leg! Good luck! gossip sensational gossip
Set out on a new career Start a new career To devour someone or To consume something
Saunter through life Live in a relaxed way something very quickly
Follow in someone’s Do something the way To add a pinch of salt to To acknowledge that
footsteps another person did it something someone exaggerates
before To chew something over To think about something
One step at a time Do something slowly and before making a decision
carefully To not swallow To not accept something
Career path The sequence of jobs something as fact
someone takes that create To bite off more than you When someone makes a
their career can chew commitment that they
Milestones Important events in a cannot keep
person’s life or career To eat your words When someone has to
Dead end job A job that offers no admit they were wrong
A warm welcome A friendly welcome
The cold shoulder An unfriendly welcome
When things heat up When a relationship
between people becomes romantic
To be cold-hearted To be dispassionate or
uncaring
A 24-hour hotline A phone line that is always
active
A very frosty reception To receive a greeting that
makes someone feel
unwelcome
The Cold War War without active fighting
between nations
A warm smile and the A welcoming smile and
warm handshake handshake
Cold callers People who call phones,
usually for sales, who
don’t have previous
contact with the person
they’re calling
We took the temperature Checked the overall
of the group opinion of a person or
group of people about
something
Most people were quite People have a positive
warm about the idea reaction to the idea
You’ll reap the rewards To collect the benefits of
later your work
To prune out To clear, clean or groom
something
Separate the wheat from Separate what is useful or
the chaff valuable from what is
worthless
Rooted in Based on something or
connected to a
source/cause
To cutback something To reduce something,
usually related to the
amount of money spent
To dig deep To use a lot of your
physical, mental or
financial resources to
achieve something
Great growth A positive change in the
production of goods or
services
Root and branch Completely/utter
Seed money Money that is used to start
a small business or other
activity
Bright shoot Start something new, a
new chapter
Plough its own furrow To follow a plan or course
of action independently
Green fingers Have an ability to make
plants grow, to be good at
gardening
Build/make a good case To argue that something is
the best thing to do, to
explain and give reasons
why something should be
done
A fabrication To tell lies about
something, completely
made-up/invented
To be on solid ground To be confident about the
topic you are dealing with,
or because you are in a
safe situation
Build on To use something as a
base or foundation to
develop something else
Shattered To break something into a
smaller form or into many
pieces
Undermine your position Behave in a way that
makes you less likely to
succeed
Demolish your arguments To break down someone’s
argument to an extent that
it is no longer accurate or
correct
Constructive criticism Criticism that is useful
because they can help
improve something
Grounds for dismissal A reason for you to be
dismissed from your job,
often due to your
(negative) behavior
Completely groundless Not based on any good
reason
Grounded in fact Something that is based
on facts
Come to light To be revealed
Unearthed To find something that was
lost or forgotten
A mine of Someone or something
information/gossip/data that can provide you with a
lot of information etc.
Get to the bottom of Find an explanation, often
to a mystery
Digging into To methodically reveal
information
To bury the memory To try to hide something,
such as a memory, the
truth etc.
 Emerge Something that is brought
 Drawing inferences
to attention
Out in the open In public view or  Tapping into prior knowledge / experience
knowledge, everybody  Attaching new learning to old information
knows
 Making logical leaps and educated guesses
Underground scene An alternative culture,
different from the  Reading between the lines to determine what
mainstream of society and is meant by what is stated.
culture
Transparency Something that can be
Tests in this category are subjective, and the types of
seen by everyone/the
public questions asked are open-ended, thought-provoking
Crystal clear Perfectly easy to questions like why, what if, and how.
understand
Put your head in the sand To ignore or hide from the
Level Three
obvious signs of danger
Bright spark Someone that is highly
intelligent APPLIED - taking what was said (literal) and what
was meant by what was said (interpretive) and then
Levels of Comprehension
extend (apply) the concepts or ideas beyond the
The three levels of comprehension, or sophistication of situation.
thinking, are presented in the following hierarchy from
 Analyzing
the least to the most sophisticated level of reading.
 Synthesizing
 Least = surface, simple reading  Applying
 Most = in-depth, complex reading
In this level we
Level One are analyzing or synthesizing information
and applying it to other information.
LITERAL - what is actually stated.

 Facts and details

 Rote learning and memorization
 Surface understanding only
Tests in this category are objective tests dealing with
true / false, multiple choice and fill-in-the-blank
questions.
SKIMMING & SCANNING
Skimming and scanning are reading techniques that
use rapid eye movement and keywords to move
quickly through text for slightly different purposes.
Skimming is reading rapidly in order to get a general
overview of the material. Scanning is reading rapidly in

Common questions used to illicit this type of thinking
are who, what, when, and where questions.
Level Two
order to find specific facts. While skimming tells you
what general information is within a section, scanning
helps you locate a particular fact. Skimming is like
snorkeling, and scanning is more like pearl diving.

Use skimming in previewing (reading before you read),

INTERPRETIVE - what is implied or meant, rather than
reviewing (reading after you read), determining the
what is actually stated.
main idea from a long selection you don't wish to read,
or when trying to find source material for a research
paper.
Use scanning in research to find particular facts, to
study fact-heavy topics, and to answer questions
requiring factual support.
Skimming to save time
Skimming can save you hours of laborious reading.
However, it is not always the most appropriate way to
read. It is very useful as a preview to a more detailed
reading or when reviewing a selection heavy in
content. But when you skim, you may miss important
points or overlook the finer shadings of meaning, for
which rapid reading or perhaps even study reading
may be necessary.
Use skimming to overview your textbook chapters or
to review for a test. Use skimming to decide if you
need to read something at all, for example during the
preliminary research for a paper. Skimming can tell
you enough about the general idea and tone of the
material, as well as its gross similarity or difference
from other sources, to know if you need to read it at
all.
To skim, prepare yourself to move rapidly through the
pages. You will not read every word; you will pay
special attention to typographical cues-headings,
boldface and italic type, indenting, bulleted and
numbered lists. You will be alert for key words and
phrases, the names of people and places, dates,
nouns, and unfamiliar words. In general follow these
steps:
1. Read the table of contents or chapter
overview to learn the main divisions of ideas.
2. Glance through the main headings in each
chapter just to see a word or two. Read
the headings of charts and tables.
3. Read the entire introductory paragraph and
then the first and last sentence only of each
following paragraph. For each paragraph, read only
the first few words of each sentence or to locate
the main idea.
4. Stop and quickly read the sentences
containing keywords indicated in boldface or italics.
5. When you think you have found something
significant, stop to read the entire sentence to
make sure. Then go on the same way. Resist the
temptation to stop to read details you don't need.
6. Read chapter summaries when provided.
 
If you cannot complete all the steps above,
compromise: read only the chapter overviews and
summaries, for example, or the summaries and all the
boldfaced keywords. When you skim, you take a
calculated risk that you may miss something. For
instance, the main ideas of paragraphs are not always
found in the first or last sentences (although in many
textbooks they are). Ideas you miss you may pick up
in a chapter overview or summary.
Good skimmers do not skim everything at the same
rate or give equal attention to everything. While
skimming is always faster than your normal reading
speed, you should slow down in the following
situations:
 When you skim introductory and concluding
paragraphs
 When you skim topic sentences
 When you find an unfamiliar word
 When the material is very complicated
 
Scanning for research and study
Scanning, too, uses keywords and organizational cues.
But while the goal of skimming is a bird's-eye view of
the material, the goal of scanning is to locate and
swoop down on particular facts.
Facts may be buried within long text passages that
have relatively little else to do with your topic or claim.
Skim this material first to decide if it is likely to contain
the facts you need. Don't forget to scan tables of
contents, summaries, indexes, headings, and
typographical cues. To make sense of lists and tables,
skim them first to understand how they are organized:
alphabetical, chronological, or most-to-least, for
example. If after skimming you decide the material will
be useful, go ahead and scan:
1. Know what you're looking for. Decide on a few
key words or phrases–search terms, if you will. You
will be a flesh-and-blood search engine.
2. Look for only one keyword at a time. If you use
multiple keywords, do multiple scans.
3. Let your eyes float rapidly down the page until
you find the word or phrase you want.
4. When your eye catches one of your keywords,
read the surrounding material carefully.
 
Scanning to answer questions
If you are scanning for facts to answer a specific
question, one step is already done for you: the
question itself supplies the keywords. Follow these
steps:
1. Read each question completely before starting
to scan. Choose your keywords from the question
itself.
2. Look for answers to only one question at a
time. Scan separately for each question.
3. When you locate a keyword, read the
surrounding text carefully to see if it is relevant.
4. Re-read the question to determine if the
answer you found answers this question.
Scanning is a technique that requires concentration
and can be surprisingly tiring. You may have to
practice at not allowing your attention to wander.
Choose a time and place that you know works for you
and dive in.
Identifying Topics, Main Ideas, and
Supporting Details
Understanding the topic, the gist, or the larger
conceptual framework of a textbook chapter, an article,
a paragraph, a sentence or a passage is a sophisticated
reading task.  Being able to draw conclusions, evaluate,
and critically interpret articles or chapters is important
for overall comprehension in college reading.  Textbook
chapters, articles, paragraphs, sentences, or passages
all have topics and main ideas.  The topic is the broad,
general theme or message.  It is what some call the
subject.  The main idea is the "key concept" being
expressed.  Details, major and minor, support the main
idea by telling how, what, when, where, why, how much,
or how many.  Locating the topic, main idea, and
supporting details helps you understand the point(s) the
writer is attempting to express.  Identifying the
relationship between these will increase your
comprehension.
The successful communication of any author's topic is
only as good as the organization the author uses to
build and define his/her subject matter.
Grasping the Main Idea:
A paragraph is a group of sentences related to a
particular topic, or central theme.  Every paragraph has
a key concept or main idea.  The main idea is the most
important piece of information the author wants you to
know about the concept of that paragraph.
When authors write they have an idea in mind that they
are trying to get across.  This is especially true as
authors compose paragraphs.  An author organizes
each paragraph's main idea and supporting details in
support of the topic or central theme, and each
paragraph supports the paragraph preceding it.
A writer will state his/her main idea explicitly somewhere
in the paragraph.  That main idea may be stated at the
beginning of the paragraph, in the middle, or at the end. 
The sentence in which the main idea is stated is
the topic sentence of that paragraph.
The topic sentence announces the general theme ( or
portion of the theme) to be dealt with in the paragraph.  reading.
Although the topic sentence may appear anywhere in
the paragraph, it is usually first – and for a very good
reason.  This sentence provides the focus for the writer
while writing and for the reader while reading.  When
you find the topic sentence, be sure to underline it so
that it will stand out not only now, but also later when
you review.
Identifying the Topic:
The first thing you must be able to do to get at the main
idea of a paragraph is to identify the topic – the subject
of the paragraph.  Think of the paragraph as a wheel
with the topic being the hub – the central core around
which the whole wheel (or paragraph) spins.  Your
strategy for topic identification is simply to ask yourself
the question, "What is this about?"  Keep asking
yourself that question as you read a paragraph, until the
answer to your question becomes clear.  Sometimes
you can spot the topic by looking for a word or two that
repeat.  Usually you can state the topic in a few words.
Let us try this topic-finding strategy.  Reread the first
paragraph under the heading Grasping the Main Idea.  (2) the extent or limits of the coverage; (3) how the topic
Ask yourself the question, "What is this paragraph
about?"  To answer, say to yourself in your mind, "The
author keeps talking about paragraphs and the way they
are designed.  This must be the topic – paragraph
organization."  Reread the second paragraph of the
same section.  Ask yourself, "What is this paragraph
about?"  Did you say to yourself, "This paragraph is
about different ways to organize a paragraph"?  That is
the topic.  Next, reread the third paragraph and see if
you can find the topic of the paragraph.  How?  Write the
topic in the margin next to this paragraph.  Remember,
getting the main idea of a paragraph is crucial to
The bulk of an expository paragraph is made up of
supporting sentences (major and minor details), which
help to explain or prove the main idea.  These
sentences present facts, reasons, examples, definitions,
comparison, contrasts, and other pertinent details.  They
are most important because they sell the main idea.
The last sentence of a paragraph is likely to be a
concluding sentence. It is used to sum up a discussion,
to emphasize a point, or to restate all or part of the topic
sentence so as to bring the paragraph to a close.  The
last sentence may also be a transitional sentence
leading to the next paragraph.
Of course, the paragraphs you'll be reading will be part
of some longer piece of writing – a textbook chapter, a
section of a chapter, or a newspaper or magazine
article.  Besides expository paragraphs, in which new
information is presented and discussed, these longer
writings contain three types of
paragraphs: introductory, transitional, and summarizing.
Introductory paragraphs tell you, in advance, such
things as (1) the main ideas of the chapter or section;
is developed; and (4) the writer's attitude toward the
topic.  Transitional paragraphs are usually short; their
sole function is to tie together what you have read so far
and what is to come – to set the stage for succeeding
ideas of the chapter or
section.  Summarizing paragraphs are used to restate
briefly the main ideas of the chapter or section.  The
writer may also draw some conclusion from these ideas,
or speculate on some conclusion based on the evidence
he/she has presented.
All three types should alert you: the introductory
paragraph of things to come; the transitional paragraph
 Remember! After creating your outline, you may
of a new topic; and the summarizing paragraph of main
decide to reorganize your ideas by putting them in a
ideas that you should have gotten.
different order. Furthermore, as you are writing you
might make some discoveries and can, of course,
always adjust or deviate from the outline as needed.

Sample Outlines:

As you can see in the outline below, the writer chose to

separate the outline by topics, but could have utilized a
different structure, organizing the outline by separate
paragraphs, indicating what each paragraph will do or
say.
Outlining Strategies
Example 1
Outlining is a tool we use in the writing process to help
organize our ideas, visualize our paper’s potential Introduction
structure, and to further flesh out and develop points. It A. Background information
allows the writer to understand how he or she will
B. Thesis
connect information to support the thesis statement
and the claims of the paper. An outline provides the Reason 1
writer with a space to consider ideas easily without A. Use quotes from x
needing to write complete paragraphs or sentences.
B. Use evidence from y

Creating your outline: Reason 2

A. Counterargument
Before beginning an outline, it is useful to have a clear 1. They might say…
thesis statement or clear purpose or argument, as 2. But…
everything else in the outline is going to work to Conclusion
support the thesis. Note: the outline might help inform A. Connect back to thesis
the thesis, and therefore your thesis might change or B. Answer the “so what” or “what now” question
develop within the outlining process. C. End on a memorable note

Organize your outline in whatever format fits into the
structure needed for the type of paper you are writing.
One common outline format uses Roman numerals,
letters, and numbers. Other outlines can use bullet
points or other symbols. You can use whatever
organizational patterns work best for you and your
paper, as long as you understand your own
organizational tools. Outlines can be written using
complete sentences or fragments or a mix of the two.
Note: The sample outline above illustrates the
structure of an outline, but it is quite vague. Your
outline should be as specific as possible.
Proposal Outline
Summary/ Synopsis of proposed project
• Rationale
• Specific aims and objectives
• Experimental approaches to be used
• The potential significance
Specific Aims
•X
•Y
•Z
Background and Significance
• Background
• Significance to current project
• Significance to long-term research objectives
• Critical evaluations of existing knowledge
• Forward progress
Preliminary Data
• Description of prelim data to justify the rationale
• Demonstrate feasibility of the project
Experimental Design and Methods
• Details of design and procedures
• Protocols
• Means of data analysis and interpretation
• New methodology and its advantages
• Potential technical difficulties or limitations/
alternative approaches
References
• Citations
Note: Outlines can look quite different. You might use
Roman numerals to indicate the main point or function
of that section, and then letters to indicate separate
sub-points, and then even bullet points or numbers to
indicate specific information, like using certain quotes,
sources, evidence, or examples.
Summarizing
Summarizing–condensing someone else’s ideas and
putting it into your own shortened form–allows you to
be sure that you’ve accurately captured the main idea
of the text you’re reading.
How to Write Summary Statements
Use these processes to help you write summary
statements:
 Underline important information and write key
words in margin.
 Record ideas using a two-column note-taking
system. Record questions you have about the
text concepts in the left column and answers you
find in the reading in the right column.
 Identify how concepts relate to what you
already know.
 Add examples and detail.
For longer, overall summary projects that capture an
entire reading, consider these guidelines for writing a
summary:
 A summary should contain the main thesis
or standpoint of the text, restated in your
own words. (To do this, first find the thesis
statement in the original text.)
 A summary is written in your own words. It
contains few or no quotes.
 A summary is always shorter than the
original text, often about 1/3 as long as the
original.  It is the ultimate fat-free writing.  An
article or paper may be summarized in a few
sentences or a couple of paragraphs. A book
may be summarized in an article or a short
paper.  A very large book may be summarized in
a smaller book.
 A summary should contain all the major
points of the original text, and should ignore
most of the fine details, examples, illustrations or
explanations.
 The backbone of any summary is formed by
crucial details (key names, dates, events,
words and numbers). A summary must never
rely on vague generalities.
 If you quote anything from the original text,
even an unusual word or a catchy phrase, you
need to put whatever you quote in quotation
marks (” “).
  A summary must contain only the ideas of
the original text. Do not insert any of your own
opinions, interpretations, deductions or
comments into a summary.
Annotating a Text
What is Annotating?
Annotating is any action that deliberately interacts with
a text to enhance the reader's understanding of, recall
of, and reaction to the text. Sometimes called "close
reading," annotating usually involves highlighting or
underlining key pieces of text and making notes in the
margins of the text. This page will introduce you to
several effective strategies for annotating a text that
will help you get the most out of your reading.
Why Annotate?
By annotating a text, you will ensure that you
understand what is happening in a text after you've
read it. As you annotate, you should note the author's
main points, shifts in the message or perspective of the
text, key areas of focus, and your own thoughts as you
read.
Annotation Explained
Steps to Annotating a Source
1. Survey: This is your first time through the reading
•Look through the article/chapter/book.
•Ask if the article is a useful and trustworthy source.
(Who wrote it? Who published it? Who is the
audience?)
•Note the title--what does it tell you about the
article’s topic/argument?
•Is there an Abstract (paragraph that summarizes
topic, questions, research methods, findings)?
•Subheadings--what do they tell you?
•Note bold/italicized terms.
 
2. Skim: This is your second time through the reading
•Read the first few sentences of the first few
paragraphs
•Identify the main thesis.
•Underline the thesis (the main argument or viewpoint,
one or two sentences) and write it in your own words in
the margin.
•Continue reading the first sentence or two of the body
paragraphs.
•Highlight the point of each paragraph and summarize
it in the margin in your own words.
3. Read: This is your third time through the reading
•Now that you have a good idea of the article’s thesis,
read through the entire article and look for more
details. Highlight supporting evidence.
•Write any questions you have in the margins.
•Circle any words you don’t recognize, look them up in
a dictionary, and write their meanings in the margins.
Annotating Strategies
You can annotate by hand or by using document
software. You can also annotate on post-its if you have
a text you do not want to mark up. As you annotate,
use these strategies to make the most of your efforts:
 Include a key or legend on your paper that
indicates what each marking is for, and use a
different marking for each type of information.
Example: Underline for key points, highlight for
vocabulary, and circle for transition points.
 If you use highlighters, consider using different
colors for different types of reactions to the text.
Example: Yellow for definitions, orange for
questions, and blue for
disagreement/confusion.
 Dedicate different tasks to each margin: Use
one margin to make an outline of the text
(thesis statement, description, definition #1,
counter argument, etc.) and summarize main
ideas, and use the other margin to note your
thoughts, questions, and reactions to the text.
Lastly, as you annotate, make sure you are including
descriptions of the text as well as your own reactions
to the text. This will allow you to skim your notations at
a later date to locate key information and quotations,
and to recall your thought processes more easily and
quickly.