Context Clues: Reasoning from the Whole Passage

Infer a word's meaning from the overall situation when no direct clue is given.

The hardest context clues are spread across a passage instead of sitting beside the word. You have to infer the meaning from the situation, the tone, and what happens next. Read: 'After three days without rain, the garden looked forlorn. The tomato plants drooped, the flowers had faded, and even the birds had stopped visiting. ' No definition, no contrast, no list labelled 'such as'. But the details add up: drooping, faded, abandoned by birds. Forlorn must mean sad, neglected, lonely-looking.

To use this strategy, collect the details around the word, ask what overall impression they create, and form a meaning that fits that impression. Then test it: 'the garden looked sad and neglected' makes sense with every detail. If your meaning clashes with even one detail, revise it. This takes longer than the other clue types, but it is how skilled readers handle the many words no one bothers to define.

• 1Some clues are spread across the whole passage.
• 2Collect details and ask what impression they create.
• 3Test your meaning against every detail.