to interpret / an interpretation / to misinterpret

When you interpret information, you think about it or use some analytical tool in order to understand what it means. So many questions are open to interpretation, which means that different people can easily understand the same phenomenon differently, so it’s important in research to present your methods and assumptions, so that people know how you’ve come to your interpretation and whether or not it’s plausible (believable). If someone understands a message, word or gesture wrongly, they’ve misinterpreted it. You need to be especially careful that you don’t misinterpret assignment or examination questions because this could lead to frustration and disappointment. Check with your lecturer and use the Student Learning Centre to help you with your interpretation.

Managers need to be able to interpret economic figures in order to take appropriate action.

Unfortunately, her interpretation of the situation was coloured by her own negative experiences as a trainee.

more example sentences        questions for personal practice        

unit 2    unit 6    exercise 5.1    exercise 5.6     exercise 7.1    exercise 7.5