|
Written by Admin
|
As you go through school, you will need to use reference sources to find information about topics, locate facts, and answer questions. Here are five types of reference sources you should use. Each type is available in print forms, on CD-ROMs, and on the Internet. 1. Dictionary A dictionary provides information about the meaning, pronunciation, and spelling of words. Unabridged dictionaries attempt to be complete by including all words currently in use in a language. They provide extensive information about the words included. Abridged dictionaries omit words that do not regularly appear in books, magazines, and newspapers. Specialized dictionaries provide detailed information about the words that apply to a particular subject such as space, math, biology, psychology, and many more. They include technical words that are rarely used outside of the subject. 2. Thesaurus A thesaurus contains synonyms for commonly used words. A synonym is a word that has the same meaning or nearly the same meaning as another word. For example, "simple" is a synonym for "easy." A thesaurus contains many more synonyms for a word than does a dictionary. A thesaurus can help you precisely express your ideas when writing. 3. Encyclopedia An encyclopedia contains articles on a variety of subjects. The articles are written by experts on each of the subjects. In addition to articles, encyclopedias may include illustrations and diagrams, definitions of some words, and references to additional information. A general encyclopedia includes overview articles on a wide range of topics. A subject encyclopedia contains longer and more detailed articles on specific topics, events, or fields of study. 4. Almanac An almanac is an annual single-volume reference source that contains useful facts about a wide range of topics. You can learn about countries of the world, government, historical events, and many other topics. Because almanacs are revised each year, the information is current. 5. Atlas An atlas is a collection of maps. The most common atlas contains maps that show the political and physical features of countries throughout the world. A political map shows government boundaries. A physical map shows the features of the earth's surface such as mountains, deserts, and bodies of water. You may also use a road map to learn how to get from place to place. There are also specialized atlases for such things as weather across the world, oceans of the world, and even the anatomy of the human body. Wherever you study, be sure you have access to each of these important reference sources. |
|
|
Written by Admin
|
Many of the questions you find on class tests will be based upon the information your teachers orally present in class. Therefore, you need to write class notes that completely and accurately include the most important information presented by your teachers. This is hard to do because your teachers can talk faster than you can write. It would be nice if your teachers talked slower so that you could keep up with what they are saying as you write your notes. This is not realistic though. It is up to you to write more quickly. One way to do this is to write abbreviations for words. An abbreviation is a shortened form of a word used when writing to represent the complete word. You must be able to recognize the complete word from its abbreviation. Many words have a commonly used abbreviation. Here are some examples of words that have a common abbreviation: Word
department
introduction
junior
mathematics
weight
| Abbreviation
dept
intro
jr
math
wt
| Word
package
negative
magazine
foot
highway
| Abbreviation
pkg
neg
mag
ft
hwy
|
You can form your own abbreviation for just about any word. Here are three ways you can do this. 1. Write just the beginning of a long word. Here are some examples of long words that have been abbreviated by writing just the beginning of the word: Word
different
incorporated
elementary
molecular
division
| Abbreviation
diff
inc
elem
molec
div
| Word
feminine
population
ambiguous
separate
hippopotamus
| Abbreviation
fem
pop
ambig
sep
hippo
| 2. Leave out the vowels when writing a word. Here are some examples of words that have been abbreviated by leaving out the vowels when writing the word: Word
century
mountain
reason
popular
quality
| Abbreviation
cntry
mntn
rsn
pplr
qlty
| Word
point
school
clean
teacher
progress
| Abbreviation
pnt
schl
cln
tchr
prgrss
|
3. For words that have just one syllable, write just the first and last letter of the word. Here are some examples of words that have been abbreviated by writing just the first and last letter of the word: Word
quart
tick
girl
night
link
| Abbreviation
qt
tk
gl
nt
lk
| Word
land
round
pack
field
heart
| Abbreviation
ld
rd
pk
fd
ht
|
Use common abbreviations of words whenever you recognize them. For other words, form abbreviations by using one of the three ways you just learned. Use the way that best fits the word for which you are writing an abbreviation. Do not try to abbreviate every word you write in your notes. Abbreviate those words that are important and for which you can quickly form an abbreviation. REMEMBER: YOU MUST BE ABLE TO RECOGNIZE THE COMPLETE WORD FROM ITS ABBREVIATION. Knowing the context in which you wrote the word will help you recognize the complete word from its abbreviation. Using abbreviations for words will help you take good notes more quickly. Having good notes will help you do better on tests. |
|
|
|
|
|
|
Page 6 of 30 |
