Transcript Lesson 3: Vocabulary Skills

Lesson 3: Vocabulary Skills
Competency Goal 6.01
Numismatist? Indefatigable?
Quisling? Traduce? Zyzzyva?
RELAX!!!
There’s no way to know EVERY word that
you’ll see on the EOG.
 However, knowing other basic words, will
help you figure some of these words out.

Let’s see how this works:
Spencer, usuallly a quiet guy, became positively
garrulous whenever anyone mentioned his all-time
favorite TV show, The Brady Bunch.
1. What is the meaning of the word garrulous as it
is used in the sentence?
a. Frantic
b. Friendly
c. Talkative
d. Disturbed
Look at other words that you know!!
You saw the words “positively” and “alltime favorite” used to describe Spencer’s
feelings about The Brady Bunch, right?
 Use process of elimination: rule out any
negative words (frantic, disturbed)
 Friendly sounds good, BUT because we
are told in the statement that Spencer is
“usually quiet,” garrulous must mean the
opposite.

Tip #1

Look for other words in the sentence or
paragraph that have a meaning similar to
the unknown word.
 Remember
synonyms? Words that have the
same meaning.
Ex. Moe was obviously vexed; Larry never had
seen him looking so annoyed with Curly.
Which word is similar to vexed?
Moe was obviously vexed; Larry had
never seen him looking so annoyed
with Curly.

a.
b.
c.
d.
In the sentence about Moe, what is the
meaning of the word vexed?
Bored
Irritated
Idiotic
Entertained
Tip #2

Look for causes and effects connected to
the unknown word.

The amateur magician grew more and more
chagrined as members of her audience
yelled out the supposed secret to every
trick.

What does chagrined mean (use cause/effect
method)?
a.
b.
c.
d.
Enthusiastic
Frightened
Confident
Embarrassed
Tip #3

Look for clues showing that the unknown
word fits into a category.

If a word appears in a list of things or in a description of a scene, you
should be able to guess its meaning by the way it fits into a category.
Example: Tom, the native North Carolinian and well-known
sculptor, prefers to work with pliable materials, such as clay,
wire, and soft metals.
What do clay, wire, and soft metals have in common?
Pliable: lightweight? Sturdy? Flexible? Colorful?
Tip #4

Look for clues that point to the opposite
meaning of the unknown word.
 Antonym
(opposite)
Example: What a shock! We had expected him to be
morose, but he showed up at the party and danced
until dawn, wearing a constant smile on his
untroubled face.
What words mean the opposite of morose?
What does morose mean: sad? Late? Odd? Pleasant?
Tip #5

Watch out for multiple-meaning words.

What does court mean in the following
statement?

a.
b.
c.
d.
Hillary knew that Big Ed meant to court her the
moment he offered her the first swig from his
diet root beer.
Place where trials are held
Surface for playing tennis
To provoke or incite
To seek the affections of
Words can have multiple meanings!!
Denotative: a word at its basic, dictionary
definition.
 Connotative: when a word has “extra”
meaning

 Ex.
hot
 Denotative:
having a high temperature
 Connotative: impressive, emotional, excited, fresh,
stolen, etc.
Tip #6

Learn your common roots, prefixes, and
suffixes!!!
 Copy
the chart with prefixes in your notes
from page 34.
 Copy the chart with suffixes in your notes
from page 36.
Tip #7

Plug in answer choices.
 If
you’ve tried all the previous strategies, do
like you would in a math problem, insert the
answer choices in the sentence and see which
word fits best.
Ex. Melvin believed that someday the finger holes in bowling balls
would be obsolete; people would simply bowl telepathically, with
their minds.
Figure out what obsolete means: creative, difficult, outdated, or
plentiful?
Tip #8

Use vocabulary techniques to answer
questions about idioms, technical terms,
figurative language, and dialect.
Tip #9

Create a sentence to help you answer
analogy questions.
 An
analogy is a comparison between two
things. You must understand the relationship
between the two words given, in order to
determine the correct answer.
 Look at the examples on the next slide.
1. Which of the following is most similar to the relationship
below?
surgeon : doctor
a. Foot : body
b. Nurse : study
c. Painter : artist
d. Hospital : emergency
What about this one?
2. Which of the following relationships is
most similar to the relationship below?
Ship : fleet
a. Star : galaxy
b. Crew : airplane
c. Planet : orbit
d. View : skyscraper
Tip #10 and #11
Use a dictionary when available—don’t
just skip over words you don’t know.
 Learn new words wherever you can—in
the grocery store, at the mall, road signs,
etc.
