Context clues

Group 5: 1.Pitri Karismanda

2.Rani Dade Augustin
3.Rika Permata Yulsardi
Definition context clues
 Context clues are hints that an author gives to help
define a difficult or unusual word.
The clue may appear within the same sentence as
the word to which it refers,or it may follow in a
preceding sentence.
Because most of one’s vocabulary is gained through
reading, it is important that you be able to recognize
and take advantage of context clues.

 Function of context clues

to help deduce the meaning of an unfamiliar word
Example of clues
 Psychiatristsare specialist professions
specialist doctors who specialize in the
diagnosis and operation of emotional
disorders.

 An earthquake is the shaking of the

surface of the earth.
Restatement
 The words and phrases such as or, in other
words, that is to say also indicate
restatements. At other times, rather than
formally define the word, a writer may
provide you with clues.
 Punctuation is often used to signal that a
restatement clue to a word’s meaning is to
follow.
 Punctuation also separates the meaning clue
from the rest of the sentence.
 Three types of punctuation:
1. Commas(,)
Rani invited her bestfriend,pia,pitri,rika,to her birthday party.
2. Parentheses ()
I visited bali(which was full of tourists) on my way to the kuta
beach for my holiday
3. Dashes (-)
she might come to the beach – you never know
Example clues
 Writers often include examples that help to explain or clarify a word. Writers
sometimes give you an advance warning or signal that they are going to present an
example or illustration. Phrases that signal an example or illustration to follow include
for example, for instance, to illustrate, such as, etc.
 Suppose you do not know the meaning of the word toxic, and you find it used in the
following sentence:
Toxic materials, such as arsenic, asbestos, pesticides, and lead, can cause bodily
damage.
This sentence gives four examples of toxic materials. From the examples given,
which are all poisonous substances, you could conclude that toxic means “poisonous.”
Examples:
Perceiving, learning, and thinking are examples of cognitive processes.
Cognitive processes, then, are mental processes.
Legumes, such as peas and beans, produce pods.
Legumes, then, are vegetable plants that produce pods.
Many pharmaceuticals, including morphine and penicillin, are not readily available in
some countries.
From the examples of morphine and penicillin, you know that pharmaceuticals are
drugs.
Contrast clues
 It is sometimes possible to determine the meaning of an
unknown word from a word or phrase in the context that has
an opposite meaning. Notice, in the following sentence, how a
word opposite in meaning from the boldfaced word provides a
clue to its meaning.
 Most often when an opposite or contrasting meaning is given,
a signal word or phrase in the sentence indicates a change in
the direction of the thought. Most commonly used are these
signal words or phrases: on the other hand, however, although,
whereas, but, nevertheless, and on the contrary.
 Example:
- After being ill and unable to eat for three days, Beverly had a
voracious appetitte
Synonym clues
 A complex term may be followed by a simpler, more
commonly understood word, even though the words may not
be perfect synonyms, again, the author is attempting to give
the reader an explanation or definition-in this instance, by using
a comparison.

 Example:
The dates are listed in chronological order.
They start at the beginning and end with
the last event.
Cause and effect
 The words and phrases such as because,
consequently, so, due to, as a result,
indicate cause and effect relationship.
 Example:
Because Emily’s mistake was insignificant,
her grade did not suffer.
Modifier
 The modifier or clause after a noun
modifies the noun.
Example: The boys who is stand up in our
field school is my friends they are bad.
Sentences/paragraph
 The sentence or sentences that come before or after
the sentence containing an unknown word explain the
word. The paragraph in which an unknown word
appears may also explain the word.
 Example: At six on Easter morning the bell in the church
began its sonorous ring. The full, deep, rich of the bell
could be heard in the empty street as the sun came up.
Logic of passage
 One of the most ways in which context provides clues
about the meaning of an unknown word is through
logic or general reasoning about the content of a
sentence or about the relationship of ideas within a
sentence.
 example