Technical Terms and Glossaries

Use glossaries, bold print, and text features to learn subject-specific vocabulary.

Textbooks and informational articles introduce technical terms, words with a specific meaning in one field, such as 'erosion' in earth science or 'tariff' in economics. Authors usually mark these terms for you. Look for bold or highlighted words, definitions in the sentence, sidebars, captions, and a glossary, an alphabetical list of key terms with their meanings, usually at the back of the book or end of the chapter. Glossaries differ from dictionaries: they give only the meaning used in that book.

A dictionary might list five meanings for 'current'; a science glossary gives only 'a flow of electric charge'. A smart routine is: when a bold term appears, read the sentence's own definition first, then check the glossary only if you are still unsure. Afterward, connect the term to its word parts or to a picture. 'Tariff: a tax on goods brought in from another country' sticks better if you imagine a toll booth at a border.

• 1Technical terms have specific meanings in one field.
• 2Bold print, captions, and glossaries mark and define them.
• 3A glossary gives only the meaning used in that book.