Academic Vocabulary
Academic vocabulary is hard to define, but it is generally made of three types:
| Type | Description | Examples |
|---|---|---|
| General academic words | everyday words acceptable in academic tone | aim, report, reasons, in comparison |
| Non-general academic words | frequent across disciplines, less common in daily speech | from the Academic Word List (AWL) |
| Technical words | specific to one subject | photosynthesis, inertia, externalities |
Some general words take a special meaning in academic contexts: discipline (a subject of study, not punishment), population (all individuals who could be in a study), control (a comparison group in an experiment).
Useful word lists include the AWL (Academic Word List), NAWL (New Academic Word List), ACL (Academic Collocation List, e.g. vast array), and AFL (Academic Formulas List, e.g. in terms of).
Nominalisation is a key feature: turning verbs into noun phrases. Compare Acid rain erodes buildings with the more academic The erosion of buildings by acid rain is a major problem. For this reason, study the whole word family, not just one form.
Tip: When learning a word for academic use, check whether it is formal in tone. Aim, reasons, in comparison are academic; like, thing, bad are not — even though all are common words.
Common mistake: Trying to memorise the entire AWL. Instead, study academic words in context (a tool like the AWL highlighter gives definitions, pronunciation and examples).
✏️ Test Yourself
1. "in comparison"
2. "thing"
3. Turning a verb into a noun phrase is called ___ .
4. The most well-known academic list is the ___ .
📒 Words to learn
Meaning — Make as big or large as possible.
“I have maximized my profits.”
Meaning — In an uncritical manner.
“He accepted her decisions uncritically”
Meaning — Without anybody else or anything else.
“The child stayed home unaccompanied.”
Meaning — without fault or error
“Nothing is impeccable in this world.”
Meaning — a pause from doing something
“we took a 10-minute respite.”