THE ACADEMIC WORD LIST

A selection of the words most used in academic writing across all specialties (science, law, medicine, economics etc)

THEY ARE THE WORDS MOST NEEDED AT UNIVERSITY OR

COLLEGE

Developed by Averil Coxhead at the School of Linguistics and Applied

Language Studies at Victoria University of Wellington,

New Zealand

• To find these words, an analysis was done of academic journals, textbooks, course workbooks, lab manuals, and course notes.

• The list was compiled following an analysis of over 3,500,000 words of text.

570 WORDS

Divided into 10 lists

List 1 contains the MOST frequently used words in

academic texts

LIST 1 of AWL

• definition

• assume

• percent

• Interpretation

• environment

• export

• significant

• similar

• sector

• available

• financial

• process

• specific

• principle

• estimate

• variables

•

• policy

• identified

• create

• derived

• factors

•

• major

• issues

• labour

• occur

• economic

• involved

• Evidence

• consistent

• income

• structure

• legal

• concept

•

• Constitutional

• analysis

• distribution

• function

• area

• established

• authority

• benefit

• section

• required

• legislation

• indicate

• response

• context

• individual

• contract

• consumer

• achieve

• acquisition

• features

• distinction

• region

• formula

• theory

• affect

• approach

• role

• survey

• potential

• source

• assessment

• procedure

• period

• data

• research

• method

He did an _______________ of the way children learn language for his Master's thesis.

• research• analysis• contract• legal

The culture of the United States is quite _______________ to that of Canada.

• Economy• Tasteful• Similar• Legal• Analysis

He was arrested for drunk driving because he had drunk more than the _______________ limit of alcohol.

• Contract• Legal• Available• Similar

• The apartment will be _______________ on June first.

• Available• Similar• Legal• contract

• The young pop star became famous while still in high school after winning a _______________ with a major record label.

• Available• Contract• Similar• Amount

• Living in Berlin during the _____________when the Berlin Wall was torn down was an unforgettable experience.

• Economy• Policy• Time• factor

• Your continued lateness for class _______________ to me that you are not really a very serious student.

• Factor• Prominent• Indicate• constitute

• Some _______________ into second language learning suggests that oral fluency may increase with moderate amounts of caffeine.

• Authority• Theory• Research• Concept

• The Canadian _______________ is largely based on natural resources.

• Period• Analysis• Factor• Economy

• Environmental pollution seems to be an important _______________ in the increase in cancers all over the world.

• Concept• Identify• Formula• Factor

• There are wind-surfers and kayaks _______________ for rent at the lake.

• Available• Analyze• Legal• Prominent

• We need to find a more ___________ way of manufacturing our products.

• Soluble• Analyzed• Periodically• Economical

• Music downloaders are questioning the _______________ of file sharing, claiming the law is unclear on the matter.

• Indications• Availability• Illegality• Similarity

List 2

• community

• resident

• range

• construction

• text

• previous

• conclusion

• security

• aspects

• commission

• regulations

• computer

• Items

•

• evaluation

• assistance

• normal

• relevant

• equation

• appropriate

• resources

• participation

• cultural

• transfer

• select

• credit

•

• sought

• focus

• Purchase

• strategies

• elements

• positive

• traditional

• Impact

• Final

• consequences

• chapter

• injury

• site

• journal

• primary

• complex

• design

• obtained

• restricted

• conduct

• institute

• investment

• categories

• perceived

• administration

• maintenance

ASSIGNMENT

• Which word from AWL sublist 1 best completes the sentence. Make sure you change the forms of the words as required.

• Economic progress in many countries is being slowed down by a shortage of skilled …………… .

• It is the responsibility of every………….. to help to recycle as much plastic as possible.

• One …………. is that global warming is in large part due to methane gas emissions from cows.

• Researchers do not have sufficient …….…..to prove what connection there is between rising sea levels and an increase in CO2 emissions.

• A common…………….. is that boys perform better than girls in scientific subjects at school.

• It is crucial to find alternative energy ………. , if we are to live in a more sustainable way.

• Education is not just about achieving results, it is also about the …………….of learning.

• The most appropriate way to reward employees is to promote those who work ………………….well.

• While the situations of males and females in the labour market are not identical, there is a broad …………………between them.

• In most countries, there is an unequal ……………………of wealth.

Fill in the blanks with the following words from AWL sublist 2

• Categories• Invest• Strategies• Purchased• Concluded

• Resources• Feature• Acquire• Culture• participates

• Malaysia's natural resources fall into three basic _______________: agricultural, mineral, and energy.

• Parrots, most famous of all talking birds, rarely _______________ a vocabulary of more than twenty words.

• The landscape of our planet is dominated by _______________ formed by running water.

• The American Psychological Association has _______________ that viewing violence on TV promotes aggressive behaviour in children.

• Our company simply doesn't have the _______________ to take on a project of that size.

• Paul Nation has noted that the most successful second language students are those who use several different vocabulary learning _______________.

• Everyone who _______________ in the run will receive a free T-shirt.

• It is said that the island of Manhattan was _______________ from the native people of the area for about $24 worth of goods.

• The bacteria _______________ that we examined under the microscope was actually quite beautiful to look at.

• This company needs to _______________ in new machinery if it wants to survive.