Academic Vocabulary
Equipping yourself with the relevant academic vocabulary will give you a head
start in your university studies. Especially if you’re a second language learner of
English, studying in a foreign language can be very difficult and time-consuming.
In order to do well, you may want to consider the following ways of learning academic vocabulary more effectively.
You will need:
The General Service List
The GSL is a list of general and basic vocabulary of English used in order of frequency. It has been recognized and
used quite extensively among second language learners of English for work and study. It was first created by West
in 1953.
The version used was then adapted by Baumann and Culligan in 1995. It contains almost 2,300 words. The GSL
here is divided into smaller sublists. Sublist 1 has the first 500 words. Sublist 2 the next 500 words etc. For the
complete word lists, refer to: http://www.nottingham.ac.uk/~alzsh3/acvocab/wordlists.htm
Subject-related Word List
This is a list of words which is specific to your discipline of studies, for example, finance, accounting, education and
others. The index at the back of your textbook is generally the best guide to the terms, concepts that are widely used
in the subject.
The index is a valuable guide to understanding the key concepts and terms used in a subject. So make good use of
the book index. You may also want to consult this site for some additional help and ideas:
http://www.uefap.com/vocab/select/selframs.htm Read through the introduction and see which parts are relevant
to you.
The Academic World List
The AWL is first developed by and compiled by Averil Coxhead Victoria University of Wellington, New Zealand.
The AWL contains 10 sublists that include 570 word families which appeared most frequently in academic texts.
There are 60 words in each sublist 1-9, and 30 in Sublist 10.
Sublist one consists of the 60 mostly frequently used words in the academic texts and sublist two consists of the
next 60 word families and so on.
The academic corpus contained approximately3,500,000 active vocabulary taken from a variety of texts used and
read across the faculties, spanning over more than 25 subject areas.
The complete Academic Word list of 570 root words and their word families can be conveniently found in
http://www.uefap.com/vocab/select/awl.htm with a quick link to their the dictionary meanings. A note to mention
is that the list here is arranged in alphabetical order and NOT by sublists. Nevertheless, this is a great site to learn
the meanings of the AWL words and to see how the words are connected.
Learning Skills
First Year Experience
E-mail: learningskills@mq.edu.au
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Critical Thinking is...
There are gap-filling exercises that you could do to learn the academic words in their proper contexts. Besides
learning the root word, learn the word families and how they could be correctly used in sentences e.g. the word
“access” can be used as a noun as well as a verb.
The word family for ‘access’:

accessed, accesses, accessibility, accessible, accessing, inaccessible.
Ensure you have at least 80-85% correct answer in the each exercise of a sublist before you move on to the
subsequent level. Start with exercises in sublist 1 and work your level up.
This website will take you step by step through the exercises. Try some of these exercises:
http://www.nottingham.ac.uk/~alzsh3/acvocab/learning.htm
PRACTICE TEST
1.
Be sure you _____________ a recent photo for your passport application.
2.
There has been a noticeable drop in the _____________ of crime in the area since the teen centre
opened up.
3.
If we all appear _____________, I’m sure we’ll be able to negotiate a good deal with the sales agent.
4.
It can be quite difficult to really define _____________ ideas, such as ‘trust’ or ‘faith’.
5.
My wife has great _____________ because she practises yoga on a daily basis.
6.
The Dutch foreign _____________ attended to the needs of the victims of the American tornado.
7.
It was my _____________ that she was talking to me; I could be wrong though.
8.
The boss gave me specific _____________ to send the report to you as soon as it was complete.
9.
Reading lots of journals really _____________ my knowledge and grasp of academic vocabulary.
10.
We made a digital _____________ of our baby’s first sounds to send to my parents.
Words to choose from:
tape
abstract
cooperate
flexibility
attach
incidence
instructed
presumed
enhanced
ministered
ANSWERS are available on sublist 6 on page 5 of this document. The numbers show the correct answers to the
above questions.
Learning Skills
First Year Experience
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Academic Word Lists (AWL)...
Sublist 1 of the Academic Word List - Most Frequent Words in Families
This sublist contains the most frequent words of the Academic Word List in the Academic Corpus.
analysis
approach
area
assessment
assume
authority
available
benefit
concept
consistent
constitutional
context
contract
create
data
definition
derived
distribution
economic
environment
established
estimate
evidence
export
factors
financial
formula
function
identified
income
indicate
individual
interpretation
involved
issues
labour
legal
legislation
major
method
occur
percent
period
policy
principle
procedure
process
required
research
response
role
section
sector
significant
similar
source
specific
structure
theory
variable
Sublist 2 of Academic Word List - Most Frequent Words in Families
This sublist contains the second most frequent words in the Academic Word List from the Academic Corpus.
achieve
acquisition
administration
affect
appropriate
aspects
assistance
categories
chapter
commission
community
complex
computer
conclusion
conduct
consequences
construction
consumer
credit
cultural
design
distinction
elements
equation
evaluation
features
final
focus
impact
injury
institute
investment
items
journal
maintenance
normal
obtained
participation
perceived
positive
potential
previous
primary
purchase
range
region
regulations
relevant
resident
resources
restricted
security
sought
select
site
strategies
survey
text
traditional
transfer
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Academic Word Lists (AWL)...
Sublist 3 of Academic Word List - Most Frequent Words in Families
This sublist contains the third most frequent words of the Academic Word List in the Academic Corpus.
alternative
circumstances
comments
compensation
components
consent
considerable
constant
constraints
contribution
convention
coordination
core
corporate
corresponding
criteria
deduction
demonstrate
document
dominant
emphasis
ensure
excluded
framework
funds
illustrated
immigration
implies
initial
instance
interaction
justification
layer
link
location
maximum
minorities
negative
outcomes
partnership
philosophy
physical
proportion
published
reaction
registered
reliance
removed
scheme
sequence
sex
shift
specified
sufficient
task
technical
techniques
technology
validity
volume
Sublist 4 of Academic Word List - Most Frequent Words in Families
This sublist contains the fourth most frequent words of the Academic Word List in the Academic Corpus.
access
adequate
annual
apparent
approximated
attitudes
attributed
civil
code
commitment
communication
concentration
conference
contrast
cycle
debate
despite
dimensions
domestic
emerged
error
ethnic
goals
granted
hence
hypothesis
implementation
implications
imposed
integration
internal
investigation
job
label
mechanism
obvious
occupational
option
output
overall
parallel
parameters
phase
predicted
principal
prior
professional
project
promote
regime
resolution
retained
series
statistics
status
stress
subsequent
sum
summary
undertaken
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Academic Word Lists (AWL)...
Sublist 5 of Academic Word List - Most Frequent Words in Families
This sublist contains the fifth most frequent words of the Academic Word List in the Academic Corpus.
academic
adjustment
alter
amendment
aware
capacity
challenge
compounds
conflict
consultation
contact
decline
discretion
draft
enable
energy
enforcement
entities
equivalent
evolution
expansion
exposure
external
clause
facilitate
fundamental
generated
generation
image
liberal
licence
logic
perspective
marginal
medical
mental
modified
monitoring
network
notion
objective
orientation
precise
prime
psychology
pursue
ratio
sustainable
rejected
revenue
stability
styles
substitution
symbolic
target
transition
trend
version
welfare
whereas
Sublist 6 of Academic Word List - Most Frequent Words in Families
This sublist contains the sixth most frequent words of the Academic Word List in the Academic Corpus.
abstract (4)
accurate
acknowledged
aggregate
allocation
assigned
attached
author
bond
brief
capable
cited
cooperative (3)
discrimination
display
diversity
domain
edition
enhanced
estate
exceed
expert
explicit
federal
fees
flexibility (5)
furthermore
gender
ignored
incentive
incidence (2)
incorporated
index
inhibition
initiatives
input
instructions (8)
intelligence
interval
lecture
migration
minimum
ministry
motivation
neutral
nevertheless
overseas
preceding
presumption (7)
rational
recovery
revealed
scope
subsidiary
tapes
trace
transformation
transport
underlying
utility
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Academic Word Lists (AWL)...
Sublist 7 of Academic Word List - Most Frequent Words in Families
This sublist contains the seventh most frequent words of the Academic Word List in the Academic Corpus.
adaptation
adults
advocate
aid
channel
chemical
classical
comprehensive
comprise
confirmed
contrary
converted
couple
decades
definite
deny
differentiation
disposal
dynamic
eliminate
empirical
equipment
extract
file
finite
foundation
global
grade
guarantee
hierarchical
identical
ideology
inferred
innovation
insert
intervention
isolated
media
mode
paradigm
phenomenon
priority
prohibited
publication
quotation
release
reverse
simulation
solely
somewhat
submitted
successive
survive
thesis
topic
transmission
ultimately
unique
visible
voluntary
Sublist 8 of Academic Word List - Most Frequent Words in Families
This sublist contains the eighth most frequent words of the Academic Word List in the Academic Corpus.
abandon
accompanied
accumulation
ambiguous
appendix
appreciation
arbitrary
automatically
bias
chart
clarity
conformity
commodity
complement
contemporary
contradiction
crucial
currency
denote
detected
deviation
displacement
dramatic
eventually
exhibit
exploitation
fluctuations
guidelines
highlighted
implicit
induced
inevitably
infrastructure
inspection
intensity
manipulation
minimised
nuclear
offset
paragraph
plus
practitioners
predominantly
prospect
radical
random
reinforced
restore
revision
schedule
tension
termination
theme
thereby
uniform
vehicle
via
virtually
widespread
visual
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Academic Word Lists (AWL)...
Sublist 9 of Academic Word List - Most Frequent Words in Families
This sublist contains the ninth most frequent words of the Academic Word List in the Academic Corpus.
accommodation
analogous
anticipated
assurance
attained
behalf
bulk
ceases
coherence
coincide
commenced
incompatible
concurrent
confined
controversy
conversely
device
devoted
diminished
distortion
duration
erosion
ethical
format
founded
inherent
insights
integral
intermediate
manual
mature
mediation
medium
military
minimal
mutual
norms
overlap
passive
portion
preliminary
protocol
qualitative
refine
relaxed
restraints
revolution
rigid
route
scenario
sphere
subordinate
supplementary
suspended
team
temporary
trigger
unified
violation
vision
Sublist 10 of the Academic Word List - Most Frequent Words in Families
This sublist contains the least frequent words of the Academic Word List in the Academic Corpus.
adjacent
albeit
assembly
collapse
colleagues
compiled
conceived
convinced
depression
encountered
enormous
forthcoming
inclination
integrity
intrinsic
invoked
levy
likewise
nonetheless
notwithstanding
odd
ongoing
panel
persistent
posed
reluctant
so-called
straightforward
undergo
whereby
References:
Vocabulary Exercises for the Academic Word List: http://www.uefap.com/vocab/vocfram.htm
Using English for Academic Purposes: http://www.academicvocabularyexercises.com/
University of Nottingham, Academic Vocabulary: http://www.nottingham.ac.uk/~alzsh3/acvocab/index.htm
Learning Skills
First Year Experience
E-mail: learningskills@mq.edu.au
http://www.mq.edu.au/learningskills/
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