How to look up words without losing the story

1. Read a sample page first

Choose something you want to keep reading. If you can explain what happens or what the writer is arguing despite some unknown words, you have a starting point.

If every sentence needs a complete translation, try easier or more familiar material. Import and parsing support in Tutor Chat depends on the file format, client and processing state.

2. Follow people, actions and connections

On the first pass, identify who does what and how each sentence follows the previous one. In nonfiction, look for a claim and its reasons.

Mark obstacles and continue to a natural stopping point before looking them up. This preserves context and reduces repeated restarts.

3. Look up a phrase as a unit

Use the event in the sentence to interpret expressions. In this original example, the person moves through a crowd; translating made as created would miss the action.

A useful AI question is: explain made her way using only this passage, and identify the words that show direction. Check the answer against the text.

She made her way through the crowd and reached the door.

Keep made her way through the crowd, rather than storing only an isolated meaning for way.

4. Find the main sentence before the details

Identify the subject, main action and object. Then ask whether the remaining information adds a reason, time, condition or description.

Ask one structural question at a time, such as what a pronoun refers to or what remains if an inserted phrase is removed. Continue reading once it is clear.

5. Finish with a summary and a few lines

Summarise the passage in a sentence and select a few expressions you want to use. Know why you kept each one.

Next time, return to the summary and original passage. Check the meaning again before using one expression in your own sentence.