A Ringgit for your Thoughts

Whether one is adept in the English Language or just starting to learn, word clues are one of the easiest ways to understand a passage that contain words that are not in one's word bank. As seen in the image above, words can be dissected into Prefixes, Base words, Roots   and Suffixes . This makes understanding a word easier on the eyes as the word is split into its fundamental definitions so that one is able to grasp the meaning of each part and combine them to get the original definition of the word in discussion. Implementing this is crucial to learning new words on the spot without the need of a dictionary. - Cedric Roy Carlos Tiruchelvam

There are many things that can be done when it comes to strengthening one's vocabulary. The crux of the issue with a limited vocabulary can be easily solved by developing a good reading habit. Regularly, reading books exposes you to a range of new and exciting vocabulary. This improves your fluency in the English language. I would recommend reading Animal Farm by George Orwell and A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens to enhance your vocabulary.  Furthermore, using dictionaries to help find the meaning of new words, using flashcards to learn definitions of new words and using techniques such as mnemonics to help remember them are all effective yet creative ways to expand your vocabulary. A fun way to learn new vocabulary is to play games like Wordle that make learning enjoyable. Most importantly, it is vital to try to use new words in everyday conversations to help not only understand the meaning better but to also learn different contexts the word can be used in. - Rhea Ragunath...

We can use punctuation clues to increase comprehension. Punctuation clues are one of the easiest kinds of context clues. With punctuation clues, the meaning of a word is explained immediately after the word between brackets, commas or dashes. This type of clue is very common, especially in college textbooks. Punctuation clues examples: 1. Commas ,  ,  In the middle of a sentence: the definition appears between the commas. Towards the end of the sentence, the definition appears after the comma. 2. Dashes -   - In the middle of a sentence: the definition appears between the dashes. Towards the end of the sentence, the definition appears after the dash. 3. Parentheses (      ) The definition appears inside the parentheses. 4. Colon       :  The definition appears after the colon. - Narjiha Sazalie

Word structure clues can be understood in two; either a reader or listener understands a base word and a prefix or suffix and figures out the meaning from the two words together, or a reader knows the origin of a word and figures out the meaning of a word with a similar origin.  Prefixes: Meaning units that are connected to the beginnings of basic words or roots.  Base words: English words that can stand on their own without prefixes or suffixes.  Roots: Unit of meaning, frequently derived from Greek or Latin, which do not form English words by themselves.  Suffixes: Units of meaning that come after the base word or root and are frequently used to identify words as nouns, verbs, adjectives, or adverbs. - Reswini Mugilan

Have you ever stumbled upon advanced vocabulary while reading a text? It irks most people to put down the text they are reading to look up the definition of a word. A simple strategy that one could apply is by using context clues. As the phrase suggests, it encourages readers to read through the text to identify its context; by doing so, it would assist the reader to figure out the meaning of the word in question. There are five types of context clues: inferences, definitions, examples, antonyms, and synonyms. By reading the sentences that surround a word, readers are able to pinpoint the definition of a word without the assistance of a dictionary; thus, further developing their reading skills. - Raveena Kaur Chouhan

Reading is definitely a skill important for everyone to get through their day-to-day lives, however, some may not be experts at it yet. Here are some ways to master this skill. Firstly, practice reading regularly even if it is only for a few minutes a day, as the saying goes ‘practice makes perfect’. Furthermore, when starting to read, try indulging in materials that pique your interest most, this will help you focus and not lose motivation. When encountering a foreign word, using the dictionary or more efficiently the internet, will help tremendously in finding the meaning and use of the word. To further improve your reading fluency and pronunciation it is advised for you to read the passage aloud. However, to ensure comprehension of said text, active reading is a must as with this method, you will generate questions and actively summarise the main points of the text. - Nausheen Mumtaza Yauni Binti Shamsudeen Syed Ahmed

Memorising may be a challenging task for most college students as the information learnt is usually stored in their short-term memory. However, there are numerous effective ways to retain information and transfer it to one’s long-term memory; for example, the use of acrostics. An acrostic is a type of mnemonic in the form of a poem whereby the first letter of each word represents another word. It is an efficient method to memorise a list of items. Below, is an acrostic to assist in memorising the intrinsic aids taught in Introduction to English Legal System: Some Short title Lawyers Long title Stab Schedules People Preamble In Interpretation section Homes Headings Privately Punctuation The humorous nature of acrostics allows students to memorise information better as it creates an emotional connection with them rather than purely...