1. Clues for Comprehension
There are a number of strategies to use if you are not sure of the meaning of a word, phrase or sentence.

2. READ ACTIVELY Effective readers are active readers.
They are constantly thinking about what they are reading and trying to predict what will happen next.
Anticipating what is likely to happen next will help you to read more quickly and to comprehend what you are reading more fully.

3. FORWARD REFERENCING
Often, authors will directly explain important terms or ideas
Reading the rest of the sentence or paragraph will frequently explain what you don't know.

4. BACKWARD REFERENCING
Sometimes we don’t understand important terms or ideas because we’ve missed something!
Reading back over earlier sections of the paragraph or text will frequently explain what you don't know.

5. REPETITION
Frequently, authors repeat the same idea using different words.
If you know what one word means, you can use that to work out an unfamiliar word.

6. ANTONYMS AND SYNONYMS
Sometimes two similar words are used together, or two opposite words are used together.
We can use the similar word (synonym) and the opposite word (antonym) we do know to work out the word we don't know.

7. CONTEXT CLUES
If you work out what the general context means, you can use your common sense to tell you that a particular word can only mean one thing.
Make this 'guess' then read on. If what you're reading continues to make sense - you were probably right!