Academic Word List (AWL)

to examine something in detail in order to understand or explain it

Kept here in the British spelling (American: analyze). In papers you meet the noun far more often than the verb, so learn the pair: one analysis, two analyses. Collocates with data, results, samples and trends; you analyse something for a purpose, so the sentence usually needs a following clause saying what the analysis showed.

a particular way of dealing with a problem or of doing something

In academic prose this is usually the noun, and it takes 'to', not 'for': an approach to measuring poverty. You take, adopt or develop an approach, and it is qualitative, systematic or novel. As a verb it means to come near to something or to start dealing with it.

a part of a subject or activity, or a region or measured surface

Three senses run through academic writing: a field of study (research areas), a place (rural areas), and a measured surface (the area of the sample). Beware 'in the area of' as padding: 'in the area of education' almost always just means 'in education'.

to judge or measure the quality, amount or value of something

Stronger than 'judge' because it implies criteria: you assess something against a standard. Collocates with impact, risk, performance and needs, and it also takes a whether-clause. In British education the noun 'assessment' also names the coursework and exams themselves.

to accept that something is true without proof, as a starting point for reasoning

Not interchangeable with 'presume'. You assume something in order to build an argument on it, whether or not it is likely; you presume something because the evidence makes it probable. A second sense is to take on: assume responsibility, assume a role. The noun 'assumption' is the form you will write most.

the power to make decisions, an organisation holding that power, or an expert on a subject

The plural usually decides which sense you mean: 'the authorities' means official bodies, not experts. In British sources 'the local authority' is the council. A further sense, an expert, is countable and takes 'on': an authority on medieval law.

able to be obtained, used or reached

The workhorse adjective for data and resources: publicly available data, the available evidence, made available to. Unusually for an adjective it also sits after the noun in fixed phrases such as 'the data available' and 'the best evidence available'. The noun is 'availability'.

an advantage or good effect that something produces

Academic argument weighs costs against benefits, so the two words travel together. As a verb it takes 'from' in one direction only: people benefit from a policy, and a policy benefits people. In British English 'benefits' alone often means state welfare payments. Spelling: benefited and benefiting keep one t.

an abstract idea or principle that organises how a subject is thought about

A concept is an idea you can define and argue about, not merely a thought that occurred to you. The pattern is 'the concept of X', never 'concept about'. Keep the adjectives apart: 'conceptual' means to do with ideas, while 'conceivable' means possible.

to be made up of particular parts or members

Nearly always 'consist of'; the rarer 'consist in' means the essence of something lies in it. Two errors are common and both are basic: it has no passive, so 'is consisted of' is wrong, and no continuous form, so 'is consisting of' is wrong. Its near-synonym 'comprise' traditionally takes no 'of', and many editors still reject 'is comprised of'.

to be or form something, especially when parts are counted as a whole

A word learners recognise but almost never produce. Two uses: making up a proportion (women constitute 60% of the sample), and counting as something in formal or legal argument (this constitutes a breach). It takes no 'of' and has no continuous form.

the circumstances or setting that give something its meaning

Always anchor it, because the word is so general that a reader cannot supply the missing information: in the context of, in a clinical or historical context, taken out of context. When you write 'in this context', a reader should be able to name the context you mean; if not, it is a linking filler and should be cut.

a formal, legally binding agreement between two or more parties

The stress moves with the part of speech: the noun is CON-tract, but the verb con-TRACT means to shrink or to catch an illness. Collocations are fixed: you sign, enter into, breach or terminate a contract, and staff are 'on' or 'under' contract.

to make something exist that did not exist before

One of the few sublist-1 words that is also plain everyday English, which is why it gets stretched to cover 'make', 'cause' and 'produce'. In research writing prefer the precise verb: data are collected rather than created, variables are constructed, problems are caused. Save 'create' for genuinely new things such as jobs, categories or a framework.

facts, figures or recorded observations gathered for analysis

The usage question every marker notices. Strictly it is the plural of Latin 'datum', so 'the data show' and 'these data' are what most science journals still require. In general and much social-science prose it is now accepted as an uncountable mass noun: 'the data is'. Choose one, check the style guide, and stay consistent within a piece of writing. The singular 'datum' survives mainly in surveying.

to state exactly what something means or where its limits lie

The move that opens most papers, and it has one pattern: define A as B, never 'define A like B'. The participle 'defined' also means clear-cut, as in a well-defined boundary, and 'by definition' signals that a claim follows from the meaning of the words alone.

to obtain something from a source, or to trace where something comes from

Common in reading and rare in students' own writing. It runs in two directions: active 'derive X from Y' means to obtain or work X out from Y, while 'derive from' or 'be derived from' means to originate in something. In mathematics it means to reach a result by reasoning from premises.

to give something out among people, or to spread it over an area

In statistics the participle dominates and is nearly a technical term: residuals are normally distributed, income is unevenly distributed. The plainer sense is to hand out, and in research writing that almost always appears in the passive ('questionnaires were distributed'). Stress the second syllable: dis-TRIB-ute.

the system of production, trade and money in a country or region

Keep the family straight, because three of its members are close enough to swap by accident: the economy is the system, economics is the academic subject, 'economic' means to do with the economy, and 'economical' means cheap to run. An economic decision concerns the economy; an economical one saves money.

the surroundings or conditions in which something exists or operates

The article tells you which sense is meant. 'The environment' with a definite article is the natural world; 'an environment' is a set of surrounding conditions, as in a competitive business environment or a supportive learning environment. The adjective 'environmental' almost always points at the first sense.

to set something up permanently, or to prove something to be true

Two academic uses worth separating, because one is a much bigger claim than the other. Setting up: the committee was established in 1998. Proving: the study establishes a link. If your evidence is correlational you should downgrade to 'suggests' or 'indicates'. 'Well-established' means widely accepted rather than merely old.

to judge the size, value or amount of something approximately

Pronunciation shifts between the parts of speech: the verb ends /-eɪt/ (ESS-ti-mayt), the noun ends in a reduced /-ət/ (ESS-ti-mut); the stress does not move. Academic use is nearly always hedged: estimated at, it is estimated that, a conservative estimate. In statistics an estimate is a technical thing, a value calculated from a sample, not a guess.

clearly seen or easily understood; obvious

In papers it nearly always follows the verb: this pattern is evident in Table 3, it soon became evident that. Watch the adverb, because 'evidently' in speech usually means 'apparently, so I hear' rather than 'obviously'. The related noun 'evidence' is uncountable: evidence suggests, never 'an evidence' or 'evidences'.

to sell or send goods to another country

Another stress pair: the verb is ex-PORT, the noun EX-port, as in 'oil exports fell'. Its opposite is 'import'. Computing has borrowed the word for saving data in a form another program can read, and that is now the sense many learners meet first, so check which one a text means.

one of several things that influence a result

Almost empty on its own, so always say which kind: a key factor, a contributing factor, a risk factor, a decisive factor. It takes 'in', not 'of' (a factor in the decline); 'a factor of' belongs to mathematics. Listing 'several factors' without naming them is the commonest way to lose marks in a conclusion.

money provided for a project or activity, and the management of money

It has no plural when it names the field or the funding (public finance, raise finance), but the plural 'finances' means the money a person or body actually has. It is also a verb meaning to pay for. Compare 'financial', the general adjective, with 'fiscal', which refers specifically to government taxing and spending.

a fixed rule or symbolic expression for calculating or doing something

Two plurals compete: 'formulae' is preferred in mathematics and science writing, 'formulas' everywhere else. Outside mathematics it means a set method, as in a funding formula or a formula for success. The related verb is 'formulate', meaning to express something precisely.

the purpose something serves, or a mathematical relation between values

The word covers purpose (the function of the kidney), a mathematical relation (y is a function of x), and the phrase 'as a function of', meaning 'varying with'. It is also a verb, a more formal 'work'. The adjective 'functional' means working, or made for use rather than for looks.

to recognise something and state what or who it is

The standard verb for reporting what a study found: the review identified three patterns. Two other patterns change the meaning: 'identify X as Y' classifies, and 'identify with' means to feel a connection to. In data-protection writing 'identifiable' is the key term, meaning data that could reveal who someone is.

money received regularly from work, investments or benefits

It takes no plural when you talk about it in general (household income rose), but takes one when you compare groups (families on low incomes). Keep it apart from 'salary', fixed pay from one employer, 'wage', paid by the hour or week, and 'revenue', what an organisation takes in. 'Disposable income' is what is left after tax.

to show or suggest that something is true or likely

The hedge of choice: 'the results indicate that' claims far less than 'prove' or even 'show', which makes it the right verb for correlational findings. 'Indicative of' means typical or suggestive of. In British English an 'indicator' is also a car's turn signal, which is not the academic sense.

a single person considered separately from the group

Far more often an adjective in academic writing (individual differences, individual cases) than a noun. As a noun it is formal and faintly clinical: it is standard for study participants, but in ordinary prose 'people' reads better, and using 'individual' as a grand synonym for 'person' is a common overcorrection.

to explain the meaning of something, or to understand it in a particular way

Not 'translate', though the confusion is understandable: an interpreter does spoken translation, while to interpret is to explain what something means. Results are 'open to interpretation' and should be 'interpreted with caution'; 'interpret X as Y' attributes a particular reading to someone, so use it carefully in argument.

to include something as a necessary part, or to bring someone into an activity

Two patterns with different meanings. 'The process involves heating the sample' includes something as a step, and it is followed by an -ing form, never an infinitive. 'Involve someone in something' brings a person in. Note the participle: 'the parties involved' means concerned in it, but 'an involved argument' means a complicated one.

an important topic under discussion, or a problem needing attention

Broad to the point of vagueness, so tie it down: raise an issue, a key issue in, address the issue of. It also names one edition of a journal (volume 12, issue 3), which matters when you write a reference. Using it as a polite substitute for 'problem' hides what you actually mean.

work, especially physical work, and the people who do it

Kept in the British spelling (American: labor). In economics it names a factor of production and pairs with capital: labour costs, the labour market, division of labour. Capitalised, Labour is a British political party. It also means childbirth ('in labour'), and to 'labour a point' is to explain it at tedious length.

relating to the law, or permitted by law

Two senses, and the opposites separate them: 'legal proceedings' is about law, and its opposite is non-legal, while 'it is legal to' means permitted, and its opposite is illegal. Distinguish 'lawful', which is a more moral-sounding 'in accordance with the law', and 'legitimate', which means justifiable and need not concern law at all.

to make laws

The least frequent headword on this sublist, and one you will meet far more often as a noun: 'legislation' means laws collectively and is uncountable, so never 'legislations', while a 'legislature' is the law-making body. The verb is usually intransitive: a parliament legislates on, for or against something, and 'legislate a law' is wrong. A transitive use exists in fixed phrases (you cannot legislate morality), but avoid it in your own writing.

large or important, especially compared with others of the same kind

Comparative in meaning but never used with 'more' or 'than': write 'a major factor', not 'more major'. Its opposite is 'minor'. In American universities it is also a noun and a verb for a student's main subject ('to major in biology'), where British English says 'read' or 'do a degree in'.

an organised way of doing something, especially in research

In a paper the Methods section states exactly what you did. Three words get mixed up here: a method is a specific procedure, a 'methodology' is the reasoning behind choosing methods (and is often misused as a grander word for method), and a 'technique' is a practical skill. Collocations: a qualitative method, the method used, by this method.

to happen, or to be found naturally in a particular place

A formal alternative to 'happen' with two firm restrictions: it takes no object and has no passive, so 'was occurred' is always wrong. A second sense is to be present naturally (the mineral occurs in volcanic rock), and 'it occurred to me' means a thought arrived. Double the r: occurred, occurring, occurrence.

one part in every hundred

Written as one word in American usage and often as two, 'per cent', in British writing; the % symbol is standard in tables and increasingly in prose. The distinction that changes numbers is 'percentage point': a rise from 4% to 6% is two percentage points but a fifty percent increase, and reporting confuses the two constantly.

a length of time, especially one with a definite beginning and end

The academic sense is a span of time: over a five-year period, during the interwar period. Other senses are everywhere in everyday English, and one belongs to a single variety: in American English a period is the full stop at the end of a sentence. 'Periodic' means recurring at intervals, while a 'periodical' is a journal.

an official plan of action adopted by a government or organisation

It is uncountable for the general activity (housing policy, policy makers) and becomes countable for a specific instance (a policy on smoking). It is a false friend for speakers of languages where a single word covers both policy and politics, such as French 'politique' or German 'Politik': politics is the contest for power, policy is the plan. It also names an insurance contract.

a basic rule, truth or belief that guides reasoning or conduct

Constantly confused with 'principal'. This word is only ever a noun and means a rule or belief; 'principal' is the adjective meaning main, and the noun for a head teacher or a sum of money lent. The memory aid is that a princiPLE is a ruLE. Note also 'in principle', meaning in theory, against 'on principle', meaning as a matter of conviction.

to continue with a course of action, or to go on to do something next

Spelled -ceed, unlike 'precede', which sounds similar and means something quite different, to come before. The nouns diverge too: 'proceeds' with the stress on PRO- means money raised, while 'proceedings' means a formal series of events or the published papers of a conference. Patterns: proceed to do, proceed with something.

a series of connected steps or changes leading to a result

'In the process of' says something is currently happening; 'a process of' names the mechanism. There is also a verb, to process data or an application. Note the plural 'processes', with the final syllable pronounced -iz. Avoid the padded 'the learning process' where 'learning' alone carries the meaning.

to need something, or to demand it as a rule or condition

Heavier than 'need', because a rule or an authority does the requiring. Patterns: require someone to do X, be required for or by something, and in formal writing a subjunctive clause, 'requires that the sample be random'. The noun 'requirement' is what you will meet in course handbooks and funding calls.

careful, systematic study undertaken to discover facts or test ideas

Uncountable in English, which trips up speakers of languages that have a countable equivalent: write 'research shows', 'a piece of research', 'research projects', but never 'a research' or 'researches'. Stress varies by variety, RE-search being common in American English and re-SEARCH in British. As a verb it takes a direct object, 'to research a topic'; as a noun it takes 'on' or 'into'.

to react or reply to something

It takes 'to' before an object: respond to a question, never 'respond a question'. In research writing it also means to react to treatment, as in 'patients responded well to the drug', and it gives 'respondent', the standard word for someone who answers a survey, and 'response rate', the proportion who did.

the function or part someone or something has in a situation

The fixed frame is 'play a role in', not 'make' or 'take' a role in, and the modifiers are conventional: a key, central or limited role. Do not let it drift to the homophone 'roll'. In social science it is a technical term for the behaviour expected of a position, as in 'gender roles'.

one of the parts into which something is divided

The organising word for documents, capitalised when it numbers a part: as discussed in Section 3. Statutes use it the same way, 'section 12 of the Act'. In science it is also a cut surface, a cross-section of the stem, and by extension 'a cross-section of the population' means a representative sample of it.

a distinct part of an economy or of a society's activity

Economic writing splits activity into the public and private sectors, and into primary, secondary and tertiary sectors. Keep it apart from 'section', which is a part of a document or object, and from 'industry', which is a single line of business: the health sector contains many industries.

important or large enough to matter; in statistics, too large to be likely if only chance were at work

The most misread word on this sublist. In ordinary prose it means important, but in statistics 'a significant difference' means only that the result is unlikely if nothing is going on, usually p below 0.05, and a tiny, useless effect can be statistically significant in a large enough sample. If you mean important, write 'substantial' or 'considerable'; if you mean the test result, write 'statistically significant' and give the effect size.

alike in some respects but not identical

It takes 'to', never 'with' or 'as': similar to the earlier study. The line between 'similar' and 'the same' matters when you compare results, because markers read the two as different claims. 'In a similar way' links paragraphs, and 'similarly' does the same job in one word.

the place, person or document that something comes from

In academic work it means the material you cite, and the split that matters is primary sources, the original evidence, against secondary sources, other people's commentary on it. Two further senses are common: a cause ('a source of error') and an origin ('the source of the river'). As a verb it means to obtain from a supplier.

clearly defined and particular, rather than general

The opposite of vague, and a standing instruction on feedback sheets: 'be more specific' means name an example or give a number. Note 'specific to', meaning belonging only to something, as in a problem specific to rural schools. Do not swap the adverb 'specifically', meaning precisely, for 'especially', meaning above all.

the way parts are arranged to form a whole, or a thing built from such parts

Both abstract (the structure of the argument, social structure) and physical (a steel structure). As a verb it means to organise, and 'a well-structured essay' is the commonest praise on a marking sheet. 'Structural' refers to the underlying arrangement, as in structural inequality, not only to a building's frame.

a tested set of ideas that explains something, or ideas as opposed to practice

The everyday sense, 'it's only a theory', is close to the opposite of the scientific one, where a theory is a well-supported explanation. A 'hypothesis' is the smaller thing, a single testable claim. Note 'in theory' against 'in practice', and that 'theoretical' describes work, while 'theoretically' often signals a doubt.

to differ from one case to another, or to change according to circumstances

Learners tend to write 'is different' where 'varies' would be shorter and more exact. Patterns: vary from X to Y, vary with something, vary by region or age. The third person is 'varies'; 'various' means several different, and 'variable' is the statistician's noun for something measured.