What do you do when you What do you do when you come across a word you don’t come across a word you don’t know?know?

Let’s define these words: Let’s define these words:

Call

Put

Covered

Uncovered

Naked

Now, let’s read this passage and Now, let’s read this passage and see if our definitions make sense.see if our definitions make sense.

“Writing or selling Options against stock you already own is a strategy that is conservative and usually works well in a trading market. An Option is either a call (a right to buy 100 shares of stock at a specified price in the future) or a put (a right to sell 100 shares of stock at a specified price in the future). Thus an Option buyer or seller who owns no stock (called uncovered or naked) is a speculator who is looking at making large percentage returns on a small amount of invested capital in short time. This individual would be paying the Option premium to us, the covered writer.”

See What I Mean?See What I Mean?

It matters what context the words are in!

Types of Context CluesTypes of Context Clues

Definition

Example

Explanation

Opposite term

Punctuation

Definition Context CluesDefinition Context Clues The author directly states a definition for a

word within the sentence.

Watch for cue words like “is,’’ “is defined as,’’ “is called.’’

Example: A distinctive perspective is central to the discipline of sociology, which is defined as the scientific study of human social activity. As an academic discipline, sociology is continually learning more about how human beings as social creatures think and act.

Example Context CluesExample Context Clues

Sometimes authors help you understand a word or phrase by giving an example.

Watch for cue words like “such as,’’ “for example,’’ “for instance.’’

Example: When describing cultural diversity, sociologists often use the term subculture. Teenagers, Polish-Americans, homeless people, and “southerners” are all examples of subcultures within American societies.

Explanation Context CluesExplanation Context Clues

The author might clue you in to a word’s meaning by explanation.

Watch for sentences that explain how or why something occurs.

One way to limit distortion caused by personal values is through the replication of research. When the same results are obtained by subsequent studies, there is increased confidence that the original research was conducted objectively.

Opposite Term Context CluesOpposite Term Context Clues Antonyms are words with opposite meanings.

An opposite meaning context clue contrasts the meaning of an unfamiliar word with the meaning of a familiar term. Words like “although,” “however,” and “but” may signal contrast clues.

Watch for other cue words such as “in contrast,’’ “unlike,’’ “on the other hand.”

Example: The children were as different as day and night. He was a lively conversationalist, but she was reserved and taciturn.

Punctuation Context CluesPunctuation Context Clues

Authors also use punctuation marks, such as dashes, colons, parentheses, or commas, to call attention to their word clues.

Example: Active readers-readers thinking about and looking for related information- can often use context clues to help them understand the meaning of an unfamiliar word.

If all else fails……If all else fails……use a dictionary or use a dictionary or

a thesaurus!!a thesaurus!!

Connotative MeaningsConnotative Meanings The literal meaning of a word is called its

denotative meaning. That’s what we’ve been focusing on so far in this chapter.

Now it’s time to dig into the associated feelings and emotions that certain words make you experience.

For example, which of these descriptions do you think I prefer?

Mrs. Huber is short, energetic, and techie.

Mrs. Huber is a forceful , geeky runt .

Connotations, continuedConnotations, continued Certain words either have negative or positive

connotations.

Would you rather be called confident or cocky?

A jock or an athlete?

An old man or an elderly gentleman?

If an author disagrees with a certain subject, you can usually tell through the negative connotations he/she uses in the text.

O Romeo, Romeo….O Romeo, Romeo…. Did you have trouble understanding Shakespeare in high school? It’s

probably because he used tons of figurative language. Figurative language uses lots of adjectives, similes, and metaphors to paint a picture in your mind.

I’m not telling you this because I’m going to make you write me a sonnet, I just want you to realize that when a passage doesn’t make sense to you, it may be because the author isn’t using the easiest way to say things.

Check it out:

From my drifting hot air balloon, the Hawaiian Islands looked like breadcrumbs floating in a bowl of soup.

Looking down from my hot air balloon, the Hawaiian Islands looked small.