How to Find Good Compare and Contrast Essay Topics

How to Find Good Compare and Contrast Essay TopicsWhen it comes to the topic of a good compare and contrast essay, you are sure to get it right if you have the patience and courage to do your research. People often struggle when they are writing the content of their paper. If you need some help when it comes to finding the right topic for your essay, then this article is for you.There are two types of essay topics; the easy ones and the difficult ones. The easy ones include facts and figures, as well as literary elements. These topics are commonly used when writing an essay that will be read by an audience.For example, you may want to include all the best selling books in the country and all the specific things that you know about them. You can start your research by going to the bookstore or an online bookstore and checking out the titles. Also, check to see which ones sell the most copies.When you are doing your research, remember that you are not researching for an entire year. Do not write a long, drawn out research project. If you start too late, you might find that your topic is already taken.Good compare and contrast essay topics come from those that have already been researched and thought about. Of course, the easiest way to find this type of information is to do a search online. Simply doing a search will reveal some of the topics that have already been researched and studied.Another tip to take into consideration when writing your essay topic is that you can make your topic sound more interesting by making it more vague. Instead of using big words, make your writing to be short and precise. After all, who wants to read something that makes them bored?In addition, try not to use only one topic. Instead, choose one general topic and then diversify it. By choosing a broad topic, you can make it more interesting because it takes you away from your initial topic.The best way to find the best compare and contrast essay topic is to go online and do a search . You will find that there are hundreds of websites where you can find the topics that you can use to write an essay on. This can help you write a highly impressive and interesting topic.

A Cultural History Of The Atlantic World Essay - 2126 Words

In John K. Thornton’s book, A Cultural History of the Atlantic World, 1250 – 1820, Thornton describes the exploration of the western world by powerful European nations. Early on in the text Thornton details the ways early European merchants and explorers discovered the routes across the Atlantic to what would eventually become the Americas. He then lays out the formation and expansion of the slave trade between Europe, Africa, and the Americas. Throughout all of this Thornton very effectively communicates and disproves any common mistakes or false presumptions readers may have. He continues to do this when he switches his focus from the discovery of the Atlantic world to the colonization of it. Thornton explains how the two major European powers in the Atlantic world at that time, England and Spain, â€Å"conquered† and colonized the new world. He especially focuses on the relationships between the native peoples and the incoming Europeans. He explores the ways b oth groups effected each other. He goes on to state that the way in which the social structure of the European colonies was determine in large measure by the social structure of the indigenous people at the time of European arrival. This serves as Thornton’s thesis of the text and he provides evidence to support his claim. He also mentions that most of the time the story of the Atlantic World is told from an exclusively European perspective. And while he does try to include all aspects in the narrative I’m not totallyShow MoreRelatedAtlantic History : Concept And Contours854 Words   |  4 PagesThe study of the Atlantic as an interwoven community is a relatively new theory. Historians are beginning to see Atlantic History as â€Å"a sudden and harsh encounter between two old worlds that transformed both and integrated them into a single New World† , and not just separate entities with detached pasts. Atlantic History: Concept and Contours by Bernard Bailyn la ys the framework for what Atlantic History is and how it should be studied. Bailyn states that the reasoning behind writing the book isRead MoreThe Transatlantic Slave Trade And Africa801 Words   |  4 PagesIn the last two decades, scholars have analyzed and debated the transatlantic slave trade and this eventually transformed the field of Atlantic history. John Thornton’s Africa and Africans in the Making of the Atlantic World, 1400-1680 changed the way scholars view the role of Africans because of its revisionist perspective and ground breaking interpretations of the slave trade. This book clearly changed the way the scholars analyzed the role of Africans in the British and Spanish Empires becauseRead MoreThe Atlantic Slave Trade, Commerce Between Asia And The West And Connection Through Agriculture976 Words   |  4 PagesTrade has been an essential part of the world dating back to the Stone Ages, in which man was known to trade obsidian and flint. Trade has been the k ey for the human race to interact and bring together cross-cultural contact all throughout the world. Strayer and Nelson prove this point to be true throughout their book with examples like the Atlantic Slave Trade, commerce between Asia and the West and connection through agriculture. It is seen throughout history that trade is an important factor, itRead MoreEssay African American Issues: Slavery and Continuing Racism892 Words   |  4 Pagesrealized until after taking Africana Studies. Some issues dwell on the horrific past of the Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade, which not only is history, but also is part of African American heritage (Karenga, 2010). African Americans frequently experience many perilous problems, such as dire economic situations and feelings of hostility from the cultural mainstream in America (Kaufman, 1971). The cultural collision between African Americans and whites continues to create several problems in society. AfricanRead MoreReligious Practices Of African Culture Essay1405 Words   |  6 Pagesculture in the Americas. By using the evidence that Domingos Alvares employed his own knowledge and experiences from Africa, instead of the practices of colonial Portuguese institutions, Sweet reconstructs the Atlantic experience, contrary to the existing scholarship of history that generally viewed African slaves adopting the Portuguese colonial culture. In order to demonstrate that the African culture was alive in the Americas through the practice of healing, Sweet presents some evidenceRead MoreExploitation Of Seemingly Unlimited Natural Resources And Overfishing Of Our Seas1578 Words   |  7 Pagesthroughout human history and across cultures, and as global populations grow, these problems only compound. The basic nature of World History is to break down borders and remove nationalistic biases in the hope of finding an objective viewpoint, and humans exploiting environmental resources for short term gain is as cross-cultural a characteristic as they come. Cod Part One: A Fish Tale delves deeply into the inception of the cod trade between various European countries and cross-cultural integrationRead MoreThe Impact Of The Atlantic Slave Trade Influence Europe Economic Growth And Market Development Essay786 Words   |  4 PagesLabor exploitation was the key for the effectiveness of european expansion in the new world and define slavery as a principal component for global capitalism until it was not longer profitable. The atlantic slave trade influence europe economic growth and market development to rapidly spread through the atlantic trade. It was a intense dependence on the triangular trade that made merchants made big profits at the expense of the exploited labour abroad. Merchants were involved in all three sidesRead MoreCandido Term Paper: African Slave Trade1254 Words   |  6 PagesMarshall 999681704 Book Review: An African Slaving Port on the Atlantic, by Mariana Candido The impact of the trans-Atlantic slave trade on the people living in Angola during the seventeenth century onwards was monumental. The Portuguese presence in the Benguelan harbour caused disorder, social strain, and sociocultural transformation for the people specifically residing in Benguela. In the study An African Slaving Port on the Atlantic, Mariana Candido outlines the progression of Benguela startingRead MoreTrans-Atlantic Slave Trade‚Äà ¹1359 Words   |  6 Pagesâ€Å"Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade† The Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade was one of the most horrific things to happen to any group of people closely relating to the Jewish Holocaust. The Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade was actually often referred to as the â€Å"Holocaust of Enslavement† which was basically the incarceration and imprisonment of people not for committing criminal offenses but to be put to work for others. The â€Å"Areas that were involved in the European slave trade eventually prospered.† (Aca Demon) TheseRead MoreThe Haitian Revolution And The American Revolution1365 Words   |  6 PagesIt was during the late half of the eighteenth century that would experience a series of turbulence across the Atlantic World. In a time that can be called an era of revolution, the Atlantic World faced a multitude of uprisings. The American Revolution in 1765 would be the start of the age of revolutions, and would later inspire the revolutions of other countries across the Atlantic, such as the French Revolution in 1789, the Haitian Revolution in 1791, and later the Latin American Revolutions during

Analysis Of George Wilson s Fences - 965 Words

Taking the Collar August Wilson was an African American man, born in 1945. The playwright never saw much of his father growing up. Instead, he was raised solely by his mother in a black neighborhood in Pittsburg. This being said, racial discrimination was impossible to escape. Wilson, like most colored people at the time, faced struggles day to day. Eventually, it reached a peak in high school when he’d written an excellent paper on Napoleon, only to be accused of plagiarism because â€Å"no black man could write this good.† Fed up with the discrimination, Wilson dropped out of school. He continued to educate himself through the public library, swiftly becoming arguably one of the best American playwrights of all time. Receiving many awards for many of his pieces, he is most famous for his play Fences, an insightful piece about the strife of a colored man’s life in the 50’s. The characters in his story seem to resemble the people in Wilson’s life. For example, Troy M axson, the protagonist of the story, portrays Wilson’s stepfather. Details including his jail time for murder and his talent for athletics are identical. His wife Rose resembles the much more loving mother. Heartfelt and sincere, this successful chronicle proved that Wilson could play in the big leagues. The greatest baseball star of his time, Troy Maxson was a truly gifted athlete. Unfortunately, talent was not recognized in blacks, not in this time period. Instead of a roaring crowd cheering his name, Troy wasShow MoreRelatedGeorge Orwell s Animal Farm1403 Words   |  6 PagesGeorge Orwell believes â€Å"What you get over and over again is a movement of the proletariat which is promptly characterized and betrayed by astute people at the top and then the growth of a new governing class. The one thing that never arrives is equality† (Letemendia 1). Orwell simply loathes revolution and thinks it is unfair to the majority, for the people. He thinks that while individuals change, the people in power are always corrupt and they will corrupt any attempt at change. He communicatesRead MoreFailure Of The American Dream In The Writings Of F. Scott Fitzgerald, Zora Neale Hurston, And August Wilson1418 Words   |  6 PagesThis literary study will define the failure of the †Ame rican Dream† in the writings of F. Scott Fitzgerald, Arthur Miller, Zora Neale Hurston, and August Wilson. Fitzgerald’s account of the Jay Gatsby s rise to fame in the 1920s defines the failure of financial success as part of the American Dream. Gatsby will eventually die due to his excessive greed, which is not unlike the emotional death of Willy Loman as he fails to become a successful salesman in Author Miller’s Death of a Salesman. MoreRead MoreDefinition Of Situational Crime Prevention2193 Words   |  9 PagesThrough Environmental Design contrasted Newman’s theory arguing that a community’s physical design can affect crime, but relative to the opportunity available to commit the crime and CPTED rather than defensible space (Article, Slide 37, p. 17). Analysis of Crime Prevention Through Environmental Design (CPTED) Principles, â€Å"Broken Windows† theory, and â€Å"Accidental Spaces† theory, offers additional ways of thinking around urban design that promotes community pride, public safety, and crime preventionRead MoreThe Fundamental Principles That Confirm The Importance Of Frankl s Existential Theory And Logotherapy4000 Words   |  16 Pages Existential Therapy Ms. Belinda Coulter, Arlinda Blankumsee, and Georgia Green School of Professional Counseling Lindsey Wilson College Author Note Ms. Belinda Coulter, Arlinda Blankumsee, and Georgia Green, The School of Professional Counseling, Lindsey Wilson College.Correspondence concerning this article should be addressed to Ms. Belinda Coulter, Arlinda Blankumsee, and Georgia Green, Email: belinda.coulter@lindsey.edy, arlinda.blankumsee@lindsey.edu, georgia.green@lindsey.edu. AbstractRead MoreStrategy Safari by Mintzberg71628 Words   |  287 Pagesmanagement needs to be opened up, not closed down; it needs reconciliation among its many different tendencies, not the isolation of each. To enrich the experience of this safari, we hope to follow up with a Guidebook. We have also prepared an Instructor s Manual to facilitate the use of this rather unconventional book in the classroom. We owe many thank-yous. Bob Wallace of The Free Press must be especially singled out. In the musical chairs world of publishing these x EMBARKATION days, to beRead MoreProject Managment Case Studies214937 Words   |  860 PagesCanada 118 Riverview Children s Hospital 124 The Evolution of Project Management at Quixtar 145 3 PROJECT MANAGEMENT CULTURES 151 Como Tool and Die (A) 153 Como Tool and Die (B) 157 Apache Metals, Inc. 160 Haller Specialty Manufacturing 162 The NF3 Project: Managing Cultural Differences 163 An International Project Manager s Day (A) 172 An International Project Manager s Day (B) (see handout provided by instructor) An International Project Manager s Day (C) (see handout provided byRead More_x000C_Introduction to Statistics and Data Analysis355457 Words   |  1422 Pagesto Statistics and Data Analysis This page intentionally left blank Introduction to Statistics and Data Analysis Third Edition Roxy Peck California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo Chris Olsen George Washington High School, Cedar Rapids, IA Jay Devore California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo Australia †¢ Brazil †¢ Canada †¢ Mexico †¢ Singapore †¢ Spain †¢ United Kingdom †¢ United States Introduction to Statistics and Data Analysis, Third Edition Roxy PeckRead MoreHemp Cultivation in China42289 Words   |  170 PagesProvince, Peoples Republic of China. Journal of the International Hemp Association 2(2): 57, 60-65. This paper summarizes the history of hemp (Cannabis sativa L.) cultivation and traditional use in the Tai an District of Shandong Province in the People s Republic of China, and investigates the cultivation and processing techniques currently being employed to produce hemp ribbon and hemp seed. Recent production levels and market conditions are reviewed. Comparisons with Hungarian hemp cultivation andRead MoreToyota Supply Chain78751 Words   |  316 PagesPlanning 27 natural tendency for the sales organization to attempt to justify why more is better. In other words, it is tempted to keep adding variants because doing so will help create incremental sales. That effort requires the need for thorough analysis of selling trends by product type and features, as well as monitoring of competitor offerings, in order to determine the optimum mix of variants. The key is that it is easier to add complexity or variants after the vehicle is introduced than it isRead MoreDeveloping Management Skills404131 Words   |  1617 Pagesbuilt-in pretests and posttests, focus on what you need to learn and to review in order to succeed. Visit www.mymanagementlab.com to learn more. DEVELOPING MANAGEMENT SKILLS EIGHTH EDITION David A. Whetten BRIGHAM YOUNG UNIVERSITY Kim S. Cameron UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN Prentice Hall Boston Columbus Indianapolis New York San Francisco Upper Saddle River Amsterdam Cape Town Dubai London Madrid Milan Munich Paris Montreal Toronto Delhi Mexico City Sao Paulo Sydney Hong Kong Seoul Singapore

Titanic The Titanic Of Titanic - 1650 Words

The Titanic: Dreams That Led to Disaster â€Å"The Titanic was the dream ship that no one ever thought could be destroyed.† The sinking of it was a horrible tragedy. The loss of lives was due to the design, the materials, and that the crew didn’t have updated technology. Maybe if they had more tools or less people, the Titanic wouldn’t have sunk (â€Å"Titanic: Flaws†). Is it true that the Titanic sunk because of an iceberg? History of the Titanic The Titanic was inspired by White Star’s competitor Cunard. They both are British shipping companies that competed for more customers. In 1907, Cunard completed two ships, the Lusitania and the Mauretania. They are both luxurious ships that could cross the ocean in a record of five days carrying people and mail. White Star wanted to top that so they decided to build three ships, one would be the largest that the world has ever seen. One of those ships would be the Titanic (Brewster and Coulter 6-7). It became a part of history by being the biggest ship to be built in the 1900’s and also the most luxurious. It was said to be â€Å"unsinkable† (Kent 19). The Building of the Titanic Later, William Pirrie and Viscount Ismay finalized the idea of the Titanic with J. Bruce Ismay, the head of White Star Lines. He thought that it would be a great idea to make the Titanic a lot bigger, faster, and luxurious. Then the Lusitania and her sister ship the Mauretania, made by their rival Cunard (Titanic: The Birth of a Legend). On â€Å"March 31, 1909†, at anShow MoreRelatedThe Titanic : A Titanic1384 Words   |  6 PagesR.M.S Titanic â€Å"Not even God himself could sink this ship,† an employee of the White Star Line carelessly stated at the launch of the Titanic on May 31, 1911. (Exhibit: Titanic) In April of 1912, the Titanic set sail from Southampton, England, to New York City in what is one of history’s deadliest disasters at sea. Unfortunately, the Titanic, on its maiden and final voyage, never reached its destination. Built by Harland and Wolf to be â€Å"unsinkable†, the Titanic was 883 feet long, 92 feet wide,Read MoreThe Titanic Of A Titanic1219 Words   |  5 Pages The Titanic crashed at 2:20 a.m. on April 15, 1912, the British ocean liner sinks into the North Atlantic Ocean. The massive ship, which carried 2,200 passengers and crew, had struck an iceberg two and half hours before sinking. The beginning which is the construction of the Titanic took 3 years with the help anywhere from three thousand to fifteen thousand men. The RMS Titanic took sail April 11, 1912 from Southampton, England in the hopes of New York City. The Titanic s passengers were dividedRead MoreTitanic1335 Words   |  6 PagesTitanic Titanic was the largest ship in the world, built by a workforce of 17,000. The ultimate in turn-of-the-century design and technology. First-class suites ran to more than $ 55,000 in todays dollars, and when she sailed on her maiden voyage from Southampton, England on route to NY , she held among her 2,227 passengers. The cream of industrial society, including colonel John Jacob Astor. Macys founder; U.S. congressman Isidor Straus and Thomas Andrews, the ships builder. The ship wasRead MoreThe Titanic : The Main Outline Of The Titanic938 Words   |  4 Pageswas that iconic quote in the movie Titanic that was said by Rose to Jack, as they floated in the freezing Atlantic Ocean as the Titanic sank behind them. Of course, we all know what happens†¦she let’s go! But that’s not what I’m here to talk about. II. Most of us know how that love story went about, but not many know, including myself, the details of that tragic night that the Titanic sank, so that is why I decided to do research on The Titanic. III. The Titanic – from her maiden voyage, her shortRead MoreMovie Analysis : Titanic Movie Titanic 1455 Words   |  6 Pagesof the most paramount things in life. This is one of the main themes, along with that of arrogance, in the Oscar nominated movie â€Å"Titanic†, a love story about a young man and woman. Their love is shown throughout the depths of this movie through dialogue, camera angles, by the use of music, and how you can distinguish the character development in Rose. To begin, â€Å"Titanic† is a movie about the emerging yet proscribed love of young Rose DeWitt Bukater, played by Kate Winslet, who is of the upper classRead MoreThe Sinking Of The Titanic790 Words   |  4 PagesDakota Everett 11th English 27 October 2017 C.Ellison The Sinking of the Titanic April 14, 1912. A day that history will never forget. The greatest ship to be built sunk to the bottom of the Atlantic Ocean. Undiscovered for 84 years. The Titanic was sailing smooth. Maybe a few bumps in the road. All of that changed on April 14, 1912. Around 11:30 P.M., Officer Fleet looked out into the ocean. He saw something dead ahead in the water, and they were going straight for it. It’s an iceberg. (WardRead MoreThe Sinking Of The Titanic1744 Words   |  7 PagesStewart 8). In April of 1912, The RMS Titanic hit an iceberg and sank 12,000 feet to the ocean floor. This incident cost the lives of over 1,500 passengers and crew members, over half the total people that had been on board (â€Å"Sinking†). The Titanic was the largest ship ever built when it entered service, at 882 feet long, 92 feet wide, and 175 feet high, and was touted as unsinkable (Hall 19,38; Yasuda 5,7; Hopkinson 25; â€Å"World’s†; Stewart 8). The Titanic disaster was a wake-up call for manyRead MoreCauses Of The Titanic808 Words   |  4 PagesThe Titanic: How did it sink? On April 14 of 1912, the passenger ship, Titanic, sank on its first-ever ocean voyage. â€Å"The Titanic had over 1,500 passengers and was longer than most buildings were tall.† (Robert D Ballard) The ship had been reported to have hit an iceberg. A few hours, later the giant ship broke into two pieces and sank into the depths of the ocean. The ship was lost until decades later when Robert D Ballard led a team in search of the Titanic. Until recently, most experts agreedRead MoreThe Sinking of the Titanic1110 Words   |  4 Pagesgreatest ship ever built in its time sank. This ship was the â€Å"unsinkable† Titanic. The Titanic was built of the best materials during its construction. Being immensely massive and deemed unsinkable, many believed it was nothing but smooth sailing, but many were wrong. The Titanic was a place of romance, mystery, and tragedy. The maiden voyage seemed to be running smoothly, although it turned out to be the last the Titanic would eve r take. On that fateful night of 1912, many loved ones were separatedRead More The Titanic Essay1709 Words   |  7 Pages The Titanic - History of a Disaster On April 14,1912 a great ship called the Titanic sank on its maiden voyage. That night there were many warnings of icebergs from other ships. There seems to be a conflict on whether or not the warnings reached the bridge. We may never know the answer to this question. The greatest tragedy of all may be that there were not enough lifeboats for everyone on board. According to Walter Lord, author of The Night Lives On, the Titanic could have been saved in the very

Coping with Stress free essay sample

Stress in Our Lives We all deal with stress in our everyday lives from work, school, and family. It can affect us mentally and physically. Many deal with it by themselves. Some seek professional help. Do you go into their secret closet to pray? Are you one of those people that listen to music? Do you find comfort in just talking to someone? Many jobs can be stressful from working long hours, overbearing bosses, co-workers that are not focused on their job tasks. Some jobs in retail or restaurants require us to have face to face encounters with rude customers.Working with computers, machines, and any other electronic devices can be stressful. So how do we cope with this type of stress? While on your lunch break sit in your car and listen to music. While working in a restaurant walk away from the situation to pursue higher authority. Try and solve the problem on your own. We will write a custom essay sample on Coping with Stress or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page Home stress consists of family, finances, car trouble, and appliances breaking. Budgeting finances helps cope with stress. When having disagreements calling family meetings and gatherings to discuss issues. More than one vehicle relieves stress.When there’s extra money in an account for appliances. Home stress can also consist of kids being in a single parent home. What are some ways we cope with home stress? A family therapist can help. When everyone gets alone and doesn’t fight makes coping with stress easier. As it is worded in the Bible â€Å"A family that prays together stays together. † School can play a major role with stress in student everyday life. Studying for a test or writing an essay causes stress. Doing homework and working on class presentations play a major role also.For instance, college students are up late nights studying, researching papers on various topics, and practicing speeches in the mirror. How can we cope with this? To cope with stress a little easier you can have a study partner, ask for help, and going the extra mile to do a presentation Adults and children deal with stress in their lives. While some seek attention for it, some cope with it on their own. Life challenges and experiences help us cope with different changes if it takes place at home, school, or work. What steps do we take? Who do we reach out to?

Comparison of Yellow Wallpaper and Where Are You Going Essay Example

Comparison of Yellow Wallpaper and Where Are You Going Essay Sailings character escaped through insanity while Chopping died of a joy that 245). Elses main character escaped behind the faded of being a happy housewife, she conformed to what life had dealt her. She also found her escape with her new husband. The mothers own needs to escape, to enjoy the outside world again with her husband (Gloss). Sailings character summed it up est. in when she states, Ive got out at last, said l, in spite of you and Jane (Gillian 419). In their own way, they beat society and the people that oppressed them. All the women triumphed somewhat in their quest to freedom, Chopping character dying of heart problems, Sailings character creeping over her husband and Elses character surviving the rearing of her child in a hard economical time. All three stones Involve a comfort zone of a sort; In Sailings her comfort zone became the yellow wallpaper, In Chopping It was the room and In Elses It was the Ironing. They could do their thinking while In their zone and no one could control heir thoughts then. Sailings character was so fascinated with the yellow wallpaper that she started hallucinating, seeing things that were not the Comparison of Yellow Wallpaper and Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been? By anamorphic ant figures; for the reasons she had to make the decisions she did and in Sailings Ironing, the constraints of oppression were alive in her thoughts. Elses faded was being a housewife, she would have rather had other choices in her life and wanted more for her daughter as is told by the last quote in the story: In summary, all three women had no choice in their lives or they chose not to have a pop and do stay within society boundaries of the feminine role in life. We will write a custom essay sample on Comparison of Yellow Wallpaper and Where Are You Going specifically for you for only $16.38 $13.9/page Order now We will write a custom essay sample on Comparison of Yellow Wallpaper and Where Are You Going specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer We will write a custom essay sample on Comparison of Yellow Wallpaper and Where Are You Going specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer The outcome of each story is different in the way each dealt with the struggles of oppression, was worthwhile to turn my hand over for anything (Gillian 412). Elses story the a Joy that kills(Chopin 245). Elses main character escaped behind the faded of All three stories involve a comfort zone of a sort; in Sailings her comfort zone became the yellow wallpaper, in Chopping it was the room and in Elses it was the ironing. They could do their thinking while in their zone and no one could control

Using Context Clues to Improve Reading Comprehension

Using Context Clues to Improve Reading Comprehension Context clues can help many people with dyslexia to compensate for weak reading skills when comprehending reading passages. Context clues can significantly increase reading comprehension. According to a study completed by Rosalie P. Fink at Lesley College in Cambridge, this continues into adulthood. This study looked at 60 professional adults with dyslexia and 10 without dyslexia. All consistently read specialized information for their jobs. Those with dyslexia scored lower in spelling and required more time to read and indicated they relied on context clues, both during the study and in everyday reading, to aid in comprehension. Context Clues When you encounter a word you dont know as you are reading, you can choose to look it up in a dictionary, ignore it or use the surrounding words to help you determine what the word means. Using the words around it is using contextual clues. Even if you cant figure out the exact definition, phrases and words should be able to help you make a guess about the words meaning. Some of the ways to use context to help understand new words: Look for examples, illustrations or explanations. Difficult or uncommon words may be followed by information to help discern the meaning. The writer sometimes uses phrases to help identify examples and explanations: for example, such as, including, consists of, for instance, is like. Even without specific words introducing the meaning of an unknown word, phrases and sentences in the paragraph give further explanation, often enough to make a logical or educated guess as to the meaning of the word.Definitions are sometimes included in the text. For example, After the fire, the entire office was restricted, that is only a few people could enter, for several days. In this example, the author built the definition directly into the sentence.Sometimes surrounding words or phrases contain synonyms of the unknown word. For example, The boss complained when he was tardy, or late, for work for the third time this week.Antonyms can also be used to help readers figure out the meaning of a word. F or example, Joe was exhausted after the trip but Tom was wide awake and alert. Experiences can also be used to explain unknown words. Roger was reluctant to volunteer to help at a charity event. Last time he jumped right in and found there was much more responsibility than he was ready to take on and it took up an immense amount of time. This time, Roger decided to take it slow, offering only a few hours a month rather than whatever time was needed. His fear of making a quick decision paid off and he really enjoyed the job once he could control how much time he gave to the organization. Teaching Context Clues To help students learn to use contextual clues to learn new vocabulary words, teach them specific strategies. The following exercise can help: Using a textbook or printed worksheet, write down several new vocabulary words on the board. If using a textbook, write down the page and paragraph where the word is.Have students divide a paper into three columns.In the first column, the students should write the new vocabulary word.In the second column, the student should write down any clues in the text that help them guess the meaning of the word. Clues can be found immediately before or after the word, in the sentence before or after or even in the paragraphs around the word.The third column should contain the students guess as to what the word means. Students should review the different types of contextual clues, such as examples, synonyms, antonyms, definitions or experiences as they read through the text. If using a printout, students can use different color highlighters to mark the unknown word and the clues. Once the students make a guess, they should re-read the sentence, inserting their definition in place of the vocabulary word to see if it makes sense. Finally, students can look the word up in the dictionary to see how close they were in guessing the meaning of the word. References Literacy Development in Successful Men and Women with Dyslexia, 1998, Rosalie P. Fink, Annals of Dyslexia, Volume XLVII, pp 3311-346What Are Context Clues? Date Unknown, Staff Writer, Sacramento City CollegeWhat Contextual Clues Can I Use? Date Unknown, Presented by Lynn Figuarte, U.S. Department of Education