Reading Your Research

As you look at the articles you find, use the reading strategies we practiced in the first semester to figure out the meaning of what you see before you. If you encounter words you don't know, what strategies can you use to figure out their meaning? Of course you can always use a dictionary, but there are other strategies that we have learned about in the past that can help you. Remember context clues, breaking the word down into parts (prefix, root word and suffix), and activating prior knowledge. Activating prior knowledge means using what you already know to help you understand what you are learning and reading now. For instance, an example of prior knowledge might be your knowledge of Spanish. You may recognize a root word as being similar to a Spanish word. That would most likely be because both the English and Spanish words have their root in a Latin word. In that way, your prior knowledge of Spanish can help you understand what you're reading in English today. Also, always evaluate what you're reading to make sure the source is reputable.