Objective This section tells why definitions and examples are important, and shows students how to recognize them while reading. Part Four, Reading Comprehension Skills Skill One, Recognizing Definitions and Examples

Definitions are often among the most important ideas in a reading selection. They are particularly important in introductory courses, where much of students time is spent mastering the specialized vocabulary of the subject.

Most definitions are abstract, and so they are usually followed by one or more examples that help clarify their meaning. Always select and mark off at least one example that helps make an abstract definition clear for you.

The first lines of a passage may include examples, while the definition can be found later in the text. Underlining the definition and putting ex in the margin beside the examples will be helpful later when you are taking study notes on the chapter.

Mark off definitions and examples in your textbooks. In addition, take brief study notes on separate paper. Your study notes should consist of the definition or definitions plus one example that makes the definition or definitions clear to you. In each case, try to summarize your example- that is, condense it into the fewest words possible that are still complete and clear.