© 2008 Townsend Press

Fourth Edition

John Langan

Fourth Edition

John Langan

TEN STEPS TO BUILDING COLLEGE READING SKILLS

TEN STEPS TO BUILDING COLLEGE READING SKILLS

Chapter One: Dictionary Use

THIS CHAPTER IN A NUTSHELL

• You should own both a paperback and a hardbound dictionary.

• Your computer (if you have one) may have a built-in dictionary; also, you can easily visit an online dictionary.

• Use spelling hints to help you look up in the dictionary a word you cannot spell.

• A dictionary entry will tell you how a word is spelled and pronounced and give you various meanings of the word. It will also provide other helpful information about words.

OWNING YOUR OWN DICTIONARIES

You can benefit greatly by owning two dictionaries:

• a paperback dictionary you can carry with you

• a desk-sized, hardcover dictionary that you keep in the room where you study

DICTIONARIES ON YOUR COMPUTER

If you use a computer, you can look up a word in an online dictionary.

In addition, a dictionary may come with your computer software.

• Pages 35 and 36 in your textbook give more information on these dictionaries.

FINDING WORDS IN THE DICTIONARYUsing Guidewords to Find a Word More Quickly

Guidewords are the two words at the top of each dictionary page. • The first guideword is the first word on that page. • The second guideword is the last word on the page. • All the word entries on that page fall alphabetically between the two guidewords.

FINDING WORDS IN THE DICTIONARY

Which word below would be found on the dictionary page with the guidewords armful / arsenic?

Using Guidewords to Find a Word More Quickly

art aroma allow

armful | arsenic

FINDING WORDS IN THE DICTIONARY

Which word below would be found on the dictionary page with the guidewords armful / arsenic?

Using Guidewords to Find a Word More Quickly

art aroma allow

armful | arsenic

Explanation The word aroma falls alphabetically between armful and arsenic. The word art comes after arsenic. The word allow comes before armful.

FINDING WORDS IN THE DICTIONARYFinding a Word You Can’t Spell

Hint 1: If you’re not sure about the vowels in a word, you will have to experiment.

• Vowels often sound the same. So try an i in place of an a,

an i in place of an e, and so on.

• If, for example, you don’t find a word that sounds as if it

begins with pa, try looking under pe, pi, po, pu, or py.

FINDING WORDS IN THE DICTIONARYFinding a Word You Can’t Spell

Hint 2: These groups or combinations of letters often sound alike.

• If your word isn’t spelled with one of the letters in a pair or group shown below, try another in the same pair or group.

• For example, if it isn’t spelled with a k, it might be spelled

with a c.

c/k c/s f/v/ph g/j qu/kw/k s/c/z

sch/sc/sk sh/ch shun/tion /sion w/wh able/ible ai/ay

al/el/le ancy/ency ate/ite au/aw ea/ee er/or

ie/ei ou/ow oo/u y/i/e

FINDING WORDS IN THE DICTIONARYFinding a Word You Can’t Spell

Hint 3: Consonants are sometimes doubled in a word.

• If you can’t find your word with a single consonant,

try doubling it.

LEARNING FROM A DICTIONARY ENTRY

All of the following information may be provided in a dictionary entry:

1 Spelling and Syllables2 Pronunciation Symbols and Accent Marks3 Parts of Speech4 Irregular Forms of Words5 Definitions (Meanings)6 Synonyms7 Usage Labels

Sample Dictionary Entry

LEARNING FROM A DICTIONARY ENTRY

1 Spelling and Syllables

• The dictionary first gives the correct spelling and

syllable breakdown of a word.

• Dots separate the syllables from one another. In the entry above, disrespect is divided into

three syllables:

dis • re • spect

LEARNING FROM A DICTIONARY ENTRY

do•nate com•pen•sate o•be•di•ent

1 Spelling and Syllables

How many syllables are in these words?

LEARNING FROM A DICTIONARY ENTRY

do•nate com•pen•sate o•be•di•ent

1 Spelling and Syllables

How many syllables are in these words?

2 syllables 3 syllables 4 syllables

LEARNING FROM A DICTIONARY ENTRY

2 Pronunciation Symbols and Accent Marks

• The information in parentheses shows how to pronounce the word.

• It includes two kinds of symbols: pronunciation symbols and accent marks.

LEARNING FROM A DICTIONARY ENTRY

• The i in disrespect has the symbol µ. This tells you

that the i is pronounced like the i in the word sit. • The first e in the word also has the symbol µ. It is also pronounced like the i in the word sit.

2 Pronunciation Symbols and Accent MarksPronunciation Key

LEARNING FROM A DICTIONARY ENTRY

• The second e in disrespect is pronounced like the e in what word?

2 Pronunciation Symbols and Accent MarksPronunciation Key

LEARNING FROM A DICTIONARY ENTRY

• The second e in disrespect is pronounced like the e in what word?

2 Pronunciation Symbols and Accent MarksPronunciation Key

ten

LEARNING FROM A DICTIONARY ENTRY

• The line (’) after the t at the end of disrespect is a bold accent mark. It shows which syllable has the strongest stress.

• The first syllable (dis) has a lighter accent mark (’) after it. That syllable is more stressed than the unaccented second syllable but less strongly stressed than the last syllable.

2 Pronunciation Symbols and Accent Marks

LEARNING FROM A DICTIONARY ENTRY

2 Pronunciation Symbols and Accent Marks

Which syllable is most strongly stressed in each of the words below?

LEARNING FROM A DICTIONARY ENTRY

2 Pronunciation Symbols and Accent Marks

Which syllable is most strongly stressed in each of the words below?

secondsecondthirdfirstthird

LEARNING FROM A DICTIONARY ENTRY

3 Parts of Speech

In the entry for insult, the abbreviations v. and n. tell us that insult is both a verb and a noun.

v. —n.

Every word in the dictionary is either a noun, a verb, an adjective, or another part of speech.

In dictionary entries, the parts of speech are shown by letters in italics.

LEARNING FROM A DICTIONARY ENTRY

3 Parts of Speech

Here are the most common abbreviations for parts of speech:

n. — noun v. — verbpron. — pronoun conj. — conjunctionadj. — adjective prep. — prepositionadv. — adverb interj. — interjection

LEARNING FROM A DICTIONARY ENTRY

4 Irregular Forms of Words

When other forms of a word are spelled in an irregular way, those forms are shown in the dictionary entry.

Here are some examples:

LEARNING FROM A DICTIONARY ENTRY

5 Definitions

• Words often have more than one meaning.

The dictionary lists the different meanings.

• You can tell which definition fits a given

sentence by the meaning of the sentence.

LEARNING FROM A DICTIONARY ENTRY

Choose the dictionary meaning that best fits the sentence.

5 Definitions

Modern technology can revive patients who have actually been considered medically dead.

revive: 1. To bring back to life or consciousness.

2. To impart or regain health or vigor.

3. To restore to use.

LEARNING FROM A DICTIONARY ENTRY

Choose the dictionary meaning that best fits the sentence.

5 Definitions

Modern technology can revive patients who have actually been considered medically dead.

revive: 1. To bring back to life or consciousness.

2. To impart or regain health or vigor.

3. To restore to use.

Definition 1 best fits the sentence: Modern technology can bring a patient back to life.

LEARNING FROM A DICTIONARY ENTRY6 Synonyms

Dictionary entries sometimes list synonyms. • A synonym is a word whose meaning is similar to that of

another word. — For example, two synonyms for the word fast are quick

and speedy.

• A thesaurus is a collection of synonyms and antonyms (words with opposite meanings).

—You can buy a paperback thesaurus in a bookstore. —Or you can access a free thesaurus online. —In addition, some computers have a built-in thesaurus.

LEARNING FROM A DICTIONARY ENTRY

Besides listing definitions, a dictionary includes usage labels: terms that tell us if a meaning is considered something other than “Standard English.” Examples:

• One meaning for the verb crash, “to go to sleep,” is labeled “Slang.”

• The word ain’t is labeled “Nonstandard.”

7 Usage Labels

LEARNING FROM A DICTIONARY ENTRY

In addition to usage labels, the dictionary provides field labels — special meanings of a word in a certain field. Example:

• The following definition of the word mouse is labeled “Computer Science”: “A hand-held input device used

to move about a computer screen and operate programs.”

7 Usage Labels

CHAPTER REVIEW In this chapter, you learned the following:

• It helps to own two dictionaries. One should be a small paperback you can carry with you. The other should be a large hardbound version for use at home.

• If you have a computer, you can easily use a dictionary site online. You may also have a dictionary that comes with the word-processing software on your computer.

• You can find a word in the dictionary with the help of guidewords, the two words at the top of each dictionary page.

• You can use spelling hints to help you find a word you cannot spell.

• A dictionary entry will tell you 1) how the word is spelled and broken into syllables; 2) how a word is pronounced; 3) a word’s part (or parts) of speech; 4) irregular forms of the word; 5) definitions of a word and, in some cases, synonyms; 6) any usage labels for the word.

The next chapter—Chapter 2—will show you how you can use context, rather than a dictionary, to figure out the meaning of a word.