English ACT Aspire Practice Test 2025 – All-in-One Guide to Exam Success!

The best description of "context clues" is the surrounding words that provide meaning. Context clues are hints or information provided by the words and sentences around an unfamiliar word or phrase, which can help the reader infer its meaning. Understanding context clues is essential for comprehension, as they often offer insights that are not explicitly stated, allowing the reader to deduce what the word or concept might signify based on how it is used in a sentence.

Definitions given in a glossary refer to a specific list of terms and their meanings, which typically appear at the end of a book or document, rather than being integrated into the text. Facts and statistics about a topic represent objective information but do not assist a reader in understanding unfamiliar vocabulary. Examples illustrating a concept can clarify or demonstrate an idea but do not necessarily provide the meaning of words in context. Thus, surrounding words that provide meaning are the most accurate representation of what context clues are.