In this section of our ParaPro Study Guide, we will discuss how to discern the meanings of words through context. When taking the ParaPro Exam, you won’t be given a dictionary to look up definitions. Instead, you must be able to look at the words and even sentences around a word you don’t know to determine the meaning.
Finding the Meaning of a Word
At some point in the ParaPro exam, you’ll likely be given a paragraph or passage and asked to determine the meaning of a word or phrase. Even if you’ve never encountered that word or phrase before, you can still answer the question correctly.
Figuring out what a word or phrase means can be done through context clues. Ask yourself the following when trying to figure out the definition of a word:
- What is the tone or mood of the passage I’m reading?
- Is there a prefix or suffix I know in this word?
- What is going on before and after the word or phrase in the sentence? Is there a keyword that helps me eliminate other answers and determine the right answer?
- Will the sentence still make sense if I replace the word with one of the answer options?
Let’s practice looking for context clues in the following example.
Example 1
Excerpt from Regret
If Mamzelle Aurlie’s responsibilities might have begun and ended there, they could easily have been dismissed; for her larder was amply provided against an emergency of this nature. But little children are not little pigs: they require and demand attentions which were wholly unexpected by Mamzelle Aurlie, and which she was ill prepared to give.
She was, indeed, very inapt in her management of Odile’s children during the first few days. How could she know that Marclette always wept when spoken to in a loud and commanding tone of voice? It was a peculiarity of Marclette’s. She became acquainted with Ti Nomme’s passion for flowers only when he had plucked all the choicest gardenias and pinks for the apparent purpose of critically studying their botanical construction.
Using context clues, which definition would best fit the underlined word inapt?
- lacking skill or ability
- talented
- mysterious and strange
- happy and positive
To answer this question, we can look at certain clues. The last sentence of the first paragraph and second second sentence of the second paragraph are a huge clues. We know Mamzelle Aurlie has to be careful in how she manages Odie’s children from the first paragraph, and the second paragraph signals she didn’t know how to speak to the children. Therefore, we can conclude she wasn’t talented, nor was she happy and positive. If you’re not doing something right, it means you’re lacking skill or ability. That makes option (A) the best answer.
Questions may also center around a word with multiple meanings. For example, the word “bat” has several different meanings and can be used as a noun or verb. Thus, you must be able to look at how it’s used in a sentence and determine which is the correct definition.
Let’s try an example of a different kind of question, wherein the ParaPro Exam itself provides dictionary definitions.
Example 2
Excerpt from Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone
Nearly ten years had passed since the Dursleys had woken up to find their nephew on the front step, but Privet Drive had hardly changed at all. The sun rose on the same tidy front gardens and lit up the brass number four on the Dursleys’ front door; it crept into their living room, which was almost exactly the same as it had been on the night when Mr. Dursley had seen that fateful news report about the owls.
Rose: (noun): 1. a prickly bush or shrub that typically bears red, pink, yellow, or white fragrant flowers, native to north temperate regions. 2. A warm pink or light color. 3. (verb) A past tense of the word rise which means to get up. 4. (adjective) A specific type of wine.
Which definition should a student use to best understand the word rose in the context of the sentence?
- definition 1
- definition 2
- definition 3
- definition 4
The best answer is definition 3. The sun is completing an action here. We know that the word “rose” is the past tense of the word “rising.” The sun is not being used as a flower, color, or wine, so we know it can’t be any of the other options.
Put your skills to the test with our brief 3-question review below. Apply the strategies you just learned above to the passages as you read and evaluate each answer option carefully.