The first step toward reading closely and critically is to know the meanings of the words on the page. The OED is your go-to source to look up a word you don’t know, if a word doesn’t make sense to you in context, if a word is spelled differently, if you are reading older texts or if you suspect a word merits further investigation. This video will show you how to use the OED to help you discover the meaning of a particular word in context.

UT Austin students may access the OED here.