Which knowledge term refers to information from the surrounding text that has been said or will be said to aid interpretation?

• A. Co-text
• B. Contextual knowledge
• C. Background knowledge
• D. Schematic knowledge

Answer: (A)

Co-text is the information in the surrounding text that has been said or will be said to aid interpretation. It includes the words, sentences, and discourse cues directly around a term or statement that help you figure out what is meant. For example, in a passage discussing finances, the word bank will be interpreted as a financial institution because the nearby terms talk about loans and deposits, not a riverbank. This shows how the textual environment—the co-text—guides understanding and resolves ambiguity. Other terms describe different kinds of knowledge, like world knowledge or general background knowledge, but the specific aid from the surrounding text itself is co-text.