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VirginiaEnglish Language

Vocabulary and Word Analysis

4 dot points across 4 inquiry questions. Click any dot point for a focused answer with worked past exam questions where available.

How do you work out the meaning of an unfamiliar word from the words around it, using definition, contrast, example, and inference clues?

Using context clues to determine meaning: working out an unfamiliar or multiple-meaning word from its surrounding text using definition or restatement clues, contrast or antonym clues, example clues, and general inference, and choosing the meaning that fits the sentence, on the Virginia EOC Reading test.
How to use context clues on the Virginia EOC Reading test: definition, contrast, example, and inference clues, and choosing the meaning that fits the sentence for unfamiliar or multiple-meaning words. Tested with multiple choice, fill-in-the-blank, and word-meaning items.
8 min answer →

How do you tell a word's literal dictionary meaning from the feelings it carries, and why does an author's choice between near-synonyms matter?

Denotation, connotation, and nuance: distinguishing a word's denotation (its literal dictionary meaning) from its connotation (the positive, negative, or neutral feeling it carries), recognizing the nuance that separates near-synonyms, and explaining why an author's word choice shapes tone and meaning, on the Virginia EOC Reading test.
How to analyze connotation on the Virginia EOC Reading test: telling denotation (literal meaning) from connotation (the feeling a word carries), recognizing the nuance between near-synonyms, and explaining how word choice shapes tone. Tested with multiple choice and word-effect items.
8 min answer →

How do you interpret figurative vocabulary, such as idioms and figures of speech, and decode the academic words that recur across the reading test?

Figurative and academic vocabulary in context: interpreting idioms, figures of speech, and figurative word meanings that are not literal, and decoding the academic and domain-specific vocabulary that recurs in nonfiction passages and test questions, using context and word parts, on the Virginia EOC Reading test.
How to handle figurative and academic vocabulary on the Virginia EOC Reading test: interpreting idioms and figures of speech that are not literal, and decoding the academic and domain-specific words that recur in passages and questions, using context and word parts. Tested with multiple choice and meaning items.
8 min answer →

How do you break an unfamiliar word into its root, prefix, and suffix to reason toward its meaning and part of speech?

Roots, prefixes, and suffixes: breaking an unfamiliar word into meaningful parts, using common Greek and Latin roots, prefixes that change meaning, and suffixes that change part of speech, to reason toward a word's meaning, then confirming the meaning against the context, on the Virginia EOC Reading test.
How to use word parts on the Virginia EOC Reading test: breaking words into root, prefix, and suffix, using common Greek and Latin roots and affixes to reason toward meaning and part of speech, then confirming against the context. Tested with multiple choice and word-meaning items.
8 min answer →