Assignment - Infographics - 142
A Note on What Makes This an Infographic
A reference list of prefixes and suffixes with their meanings is a dictionary appendix. An infographic about prefixes and suffixes shows what they actually do to words - how adding “un-” to “happy” reverses its meaning, how adding “-tion” to “educate” turns a verb into a noun. Show the transformation. Show a reader how knowing twelve common affixes unlocks the meaning of hundreds of words they have never seen before.
Objective
Create a visual reference infographic in Canva that organizes common English prefixes and suffixes by meaning and function, showing how each one changes a base word and why this knowledge helps with reading and vocabulary.
Content to Cover
Opening Anchor
A prefix is added to the beginning of a word to change its meaning. A suffix is added to the end of a word to change its meaning or its grammatical role (for example, from verb to noun). Knowing common affixes allows you to understand new words by breaking them into parts.
Prefixes - Grouped by Meaning
Negative prefixes (reversing or opposing meaning):
- un-: unhappy, unfair, unknown, uncomfortable
- dis-: disagree, disappear, dishonest, disconnect
- in- / im- / il- / ir-: incorrect, impossible, illegal, irregular
- non-: nonfiction, nonprofit, nonsense
Number and size prefixes:
- uni-: unicycle, uniform, unique (one)
- bi-: bicycle, bilingual, biannual (two)
- tri-: triangle, tripod, trilingual (three)
- micro-: microscope, microphone (very small)
- macro-: macroeconomics (very large)
- multi-: multilingual, multimedia (many)
Time and order prefixes:
- pre-: preview, prehistoric, prepare (before)
- post-: postwar, postpone, postgraduate (after)
- re-: rewrite, recycle, return (again)
Other common prefixes:
- over-: overwork, overestimate (too much)
- under-: underestimate, undercooked (too little / below)
- inter-: international, interact, internet (between)
- sub-: submarine, subtitle, subtract (below / under)
- trans-: transport, translate, transfer (across)
Suffixes - Grouped by Function
Suffixes that make nouns:
- -tion / -sion: education, action, decision, confusion
- -ment: government, development, achievement
- -ness: happiness, kindness, darkness
- -er / -or: teacher, doctor, writer, actor (a person who does something)
- -ist: artist, scientist, journalist
- -ity: creativity, electricity, ability
Suffixes that make adjectives:
- -ful: hopeful, beautiful, careful
- -less: hopeless, careless, meaningless
- -ous: dangerous, famous, nervous
- -able / -ible: comfortable, readable, responsible, flexible
- -al: national, natural, cultural
- -ic: scientific, academic, historic
Suffixes that make verbs:
- -ize / -ise: organize, modernize, realize
- -en: shorten, brighten, strengthen
Suffixes that make adverbs:
- -ly: quickly, carefully, honestly, beautifully
Transformation Examples Panel
Show three or four word families to show how affixes work together:
- educate (verb) → education (noun) → educational (adjective) → educationally (adverb)
- create (verb) → creative (adjective) → creativity (noun) → creatively (adverb)
Design in Canva
- Two halves: prefixes on the left, suffixes on the right.
- Within each half, group by meaning or function with color-coded sections.
- Transformation examples panel at the bottom showing full word families.
- Base words in one color, affix in a highlighted color, new word in a third color.
Required Elements
- At least 10 prefixes grouped by meaning with examples.
- At least 10 suffixes grouped by function with examples.
- Transformation panel showing at least two word families.
- Title: “Prefixes and Suffixes.”