What do you call the method of identifying a given term and making its meaning clearer

Just like a detective following clues that lead to the perpetrator of a crime, you as a reader must use (context) clues within a text passage to determine the meaning of unfamiliar vocabulary. Context clues are simply hints or additional information the author provides that can help you understand the meaning of a particular word or phrase. These clues can be found in the same sentence as the vocabulary word or elsewhere in the passage, so be on the lookout whenever a new term presents itself. 

With reading comprehension being as important to all aspects of life as it is today, it's no wonder that language skills such as vocabulary are emphasized. You will most definitely encounter vocabulary questions in the reading sections of standardized tests, and you're going to have to employ some prowess to get you through.

Understanding how various types of context clues work can help you to understand difficult vocabulary words, even those brand new to you. A text may be chock-full of words you can't completely crack, but you shouldn't let that discourage you. Inside the passage, where all the juicy tidbits of vocabulary clues lie, you can figure challenging words out.

Context clues are also helpful when you're working to determine the main idea of a passage or struggling to make inferences about meaning because unknown words can help connect the dots in incredibly useful ways.

Every author writes differently, so a number of different types of context clues can be found in reading passages. Some authors offer very little explanation for difficult words, throwing tough vocabulary into their writing wherever they can with little or no help; other authors carefully craft their passages to ensure readers follow every step of the way; most are somewhere in the middle. No matter what degree of help you're given, context clues are your friend.

Generally, a context clue can be categorized into one of four types:

• Definitions or restatements
• Synonyms
• Antonyms or opposites
• Examples or explanations

A definition or restatement clue is the most straightforward "hint" you'll ever get—it defines the precise meaning of a vocabulary word in the sentence itself, usually immediately or closely following the vocabulary word.

• Jack's duplicity—crafty dishonesty—enabled him to steal his coworker's pensions by funneling their money into an offshore account.

Notice how the dashes set off the definition. Commas or parentheses containing a descriptive phrase directly after the vocabulary word (an appositive) can also point you in the right direction by defining or restating.

Synonyms are equally easy to spot. Sentences containing synonyms use similar words and phrases to a vocabulary word to help give that word meaning. Sometimes synonyms are used to paint a clearer picture and sometimes they're used for emphasis.

• The baseball coach punished the team's duplicity or deceitfulness after they admitted to using steroids to boost their batting averages.

Antonyms are the reverse of synonyms but have the same effect. They use other words, this time opposites, to define unknown vocabulary words. Antonyms show stark inequalities and apply contrast to give meaning.

• It was your duplicity that caused me to break up with you! Had you been honest, I wouldn't have felt the need.
• Unlike my last employee, who had integrity to spare, you have nothing more than duplicity and will not receive a job recommendation from me.

This type of context clue uses examples to help the reader infer the meaning of a vocabulary word. Just like in any other situation, examples can be helpful illustrations as context clues.

• His duplicity involved lowering his employee's salaries, increasing their stock options, and then stealing the money he saved by doing so.
• I was aghast at her duplicity when she stole my diamond earrings, sold them on eBay, and lied to me about it the whole time.

After examining the context of a passage for clues, you should have at least a vague idea of what an unknown vocabulary word means. Use your estimate to come up with synonyms for the new word, then try these out in the sentence to see if it still makes sense. If not, keep searching for hints until you've found something that works.

5 top tips to help you engage critically with data

For data to have meaning, you need to analyse it, interpret its meaning in context and present it in a way that helps your reader use the information for their purpose.

These critical thinking skills are a key part of academic and professional work and usually involve evaluating information and making judgements and recommendations for both expert and non-expert audiences.

A step by step approach

When you’re dealing with data, it can help to work through it in three steps:

1. Analyse

Examine each component of the data in order to draw conclusions. Do you notice any patterns or trends? Can you see any errors or inconsistencies?

2. Interpret

Explain what these findings mean in the given context. What does this mean for your reader? What story is the data telling?

3. Present

Select, organise and group ideas and evidence in a logical way. Which findings are most relevant or important? Will text or graphics will make meaning clearer to your reader?

This video works through a sample task to suggest how you might analyse, interpret and present data.

When you’re editing, highlight sections that are descriptive, analytical and interpretive. You can do this by looking for language that shows critical analysis and interpretation, such as ‘this is important because…’ ‘what this means is…’ ‘this indicates…’.

Once you've highlighted your paper, what do you notice? Is there more description than analysis? If so, you will need to address this in your next draft.

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• A step by step approach to help you manage and acknowledge sources effectively.

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• Academic English is a distinct language, and one you’re expected to write in at university. Understand how to identify, create and improve your academic style.

• Effectively combine your ideas with those of other writers.

• Academic writing aims to be clear and precise, with a direct style that moves logically from one idea to the next. This page describes how you can structure sentences and paragraphs to achieve clarity and ‘flow’ in your writing.

When you come across an unfamiliar word while reading, how do you try to understand its meaning? Chances are you use context clues—even if you’ve never heard of that term.

Faced with a sea of unfamiliar words, beginning readers learn many techniques for decoding words and expanding their vocabularies. Teachers use the term decoding to refer to the ability to see a written word and read it aloud.

Looking for context clues is one technique that is helpful for readers of all ages and experience levels. But how can you identify a context clue?

What are context clues?

The term context clues is used as a way of referring to the bits of information within a text that can serve as hints to help a reader understand the meaning of an unfamiliar or unusual word or passage. In effect, context clues can be anything that helps you to figure out or guess the meaning of a word or passage when you’re unsure of its meaning. Context clues can be part of the same sentence or they may be part of the text that comes before or follows. Because most of our vocabulary is gained through reading, it is important that we are able to recognize and take advantage of context clues.

What does a context clue look like?

There are at least four kinds of context clues that are quite common:

1. Synonym (or repeat context clue): An author will use more than one word that means the same thing. For example, there may be a complex word followed by a restatement using a simpler word in the same or following sentence: Felipe is a miser. He’s always been a cheapskate.
2. Antonym (or contrast context clue): The text may include a word or words that have the opposite meaning, which can reveal the meaning of an unknown term: Stella has always dressed flamboyantly. I’ve never seen her wear a dull color.
3. Explanation (or a definition context clue): An unknown word is explained within the sentence or in the sentence immediately after: On Friday, we visited the arboretum, a garden dedicated to the exhibition of trees and plants.
4. Specific example (or an example context clue): The text provides one or more examples used to define the term: The children were able to observe several crustaceans, including crabs, lobsters, and shrimp.

There may also be word-part context clues in which a common prefix, suffix, or root will suggest at least part of the meaning of a word.

A general sense context clue lets the reader puzzle out a word meaning from whatever information is available—and this is the most common kind of context clue. The relationships between words are not directly obvious and instead implied.

Others describe context clues in three ways:

1. semantic or meaning clues: For example, when reading a story about cats, the reader will have the expectation that it will contain words associated with cats.
2. syntactic or word order clues: The order of the words in a sentence can indicate what part of speech a missing word must be (for example, a verb).
3. picture clues: From an early age, beginning readers are taught to look at illustrations to help with the identification of a word.