VOCABULARY & SPELLING SUCCESS [...].. .VOCABULARY & SPELLING SUCCESS C H A P T E R 1 Pretest B efore you start your study of vocabulary, you may want to get an idea of how much you already know and how much you need to learn If that’s the case, take the pretest in this chapter The pretest... in context throughout the rest of this book Good communication skills—including vocabulary and spelling are essential A good vocabulary increases your ability to understand reading material and to express yourself in speaking and in writing Without a broad vocabulary, your ability to learn is limited The good news is that vocabulary skills can be developed with practice, which is exactly what this book... radio or television ✓ Listen to the sound of the spelling of words Ask someone to dictate the words and their spelling, and listen as the word is spelled out Use your hands ✓ Write the word several times, spelling it in your head as you write 15 – SPELLING RULES – ■ 1 Learn the rules, but expect some exceptions The lessons that follow point out both spelling rules and their exceptions American Heritage... a 4 c 5 b 6 b 7 b 8 c 9 d 10 d 11 b 12 a 13 c 14 a 15 c 16 a 17 c 18 d 19 b 20 a 21 a 22 b 23 c 24 d 25 a 9 C H A P T E R 2 Vocabulary Terms and Language Origins CHAPTER SUMMARY This chapter tells you about many terms associated with vocabulary T here are three ways we learn vocabulary: 1 From the sound of words 2 From the structure of words 3 From the context of words—how words are used in communication... English language, if you simply wrote words the way they sound, you’d come up with some very peculiar spellings If you tried to sound out every word and pronounce it exactly the way it’s written, you’d come up with some pretty odd pronunciations too Here are some general multisensory tips for studying spelling: ■ ■ ■ Use your eyes ✓ Look at words carefully With a marker or pen, highlight the part of... something, so the word although gives you the final clue because it signals a contrast You can conclude that a perquisite is a synonym for bonus 14 C H A P T E R 3 Spelling Rules CHAPTER SUMMARY This chapter is designed to help you refresh your spelling skills by teaching you the rules you need to know to spell your best You’ll learn strategies to help you spell hyphenated and compound words and words... saying should help you remember the basic principle of when to use ie and ei when spelling words The following sections outline the specifics of when to spell a word with ie and when to spell a word with ei and their exceptions 3 Write it down This book provides you with helpful exercises that require you to write your vocabulary words in a blank space This act will help your hand and eye remember how... spell the word Make sure to spell the word correctly as you go along so you don’t have to relearn the word’s spelling later on After you are done with this book, you can teach yourself to spell new words in the same way The simple act of writing words down several times will help you cement their spellings in your mind The ie Rule Here are some examples of words that use ie to make the long e sound: achieve... Dictionary: nhd.heinle.com/pronunciation.aspx ■ There are two main stumbling blocks to spelling by sight and sound One we have already identified— the fact that English is both phonetically inconsistent and visually confusing Here are four strategies that can guide your way through a difficult system and give you some ways to make good spelling a part of your life niece piece retrieve series wield Exceptions Sometimes,... how to pronounce the word caffeine, you stand a chance at spelling it correctly because you hear that the e sound comes first If you know what sound you hear, that sound is likely to be the first of two vowels working together Here are some examples of words using ai, ui, and ea combinations in which the vowel you hear is the one that comes first Spelling Practice 1 Circle the word in the parentheses that . VOCABULARY & SPELLING SUCCESS