Academic Word List [AWL]
The Academic Word List or AWL contains 570 word families which were selected because they appear with great frequency in a broad range of academic texts. This list is widely used by English for Academic Purposes (EAP) tutors throughout many academic English teaching institutions in the UK to enable students to understand what words are considered academic or formal. There are many exercises to help students improve their knowledge (see below).
Sublist 1
sector • available • financial • process • individual • specific • principle • estimate • variables • method • data • research • contract • environment • export • source • assessment • policy •identified • create • derived • factors • procedure • definition • assume • theory • benefit • evidence • established • authority • major • issues • labour • occur • economic • involved • percent• interpretation • consistent • income • structure • legal • concept • formula • section • required • constitutional • analysis • distribution • function • area • approach • role • legislation •indicate • response • period • context • significant • similar •
Sublist 2
community • resident • range • construction • strategies • elements • previous • conclusion • security • aspects • acquisition • features • text • commission • regulations • computer • items• consumer • achieve • final • positive • evaluation • assistance • normal • relevant • distinction • region • traditional • impact • consequences • chapter • equation • appropriate • resources •participation • survey • potential • cultural • transfer • select •credit • affect • categories • perceived • sought • focus • purchase • injury • site • journal • primary • complex • institute •investment • administration • maintenance • design • obtained • restricted • conduct
Sublist 3
comments • convention • published • framework • implies • negative • dominant • illustrated • outcomes • constant • shift • deduction • ensure • specified • justification • funds • reliance •physical • partnership • location • link • coordination • alternative • initial • validity • task • techniques • excluded • consent • proportion • demonstrate • reaction • criteria • minorities •technology • philosophy • removed • sex • compensation • sequence • corresponding • maximum • circumstances • instance • considerable • sufficient • corporate • interaction •contribution • immigration • component • constraints • technical • emphasis • scheme • layer • volume • document • registered • core •
Sublist 4
overall • emerged • regime • implementation • project • hence • occupational • internal • goals • retained • sum • integration • mechanism • parallel • imposed • despite • job • parameters •approximate • label • concentration • principal • series • predicted • summary • attitudes • undertaken • cycle • communication • ethnic • hypothesis • professional • status • conference •attributed • annual • obvious • error • implications • apparent • commitment • subsequent • debate • dimensions • promote • statistics • option • domestic • output • access • code •investigation • phase • prior • granted • stress • civil • contrast • resolution • adequate •
Sublist 5
alter • stability • energy • aware • licence • enforcement • draft • styles • precise • medical • pursue • symbolic • marginal • capacity • generation • exposure • decline • academic • modified• external • psychology • fundamental • adjustment • ratio • whereas • enable • version • perspective • contact • network • facilitate • welfare • transition • amendment • logic • rejected •expansion • clause • prime • target • objective • sustainable • equivalent • liberal • notion • substitution • generated • trend • revenue • compounds • evolution • conflict • image • discretion •entities • orientation • consultation • mental • monitoring • challenge •
Sublist 6
intelligence • transformation • presumption • acknowledged • utility • furthermore • accurate • diversity • attached • recovery • assigned • tapes • motivation • bond • edition • nevertheless •transport • cited • fees • scope • enhanced • incorporated • instructions • subsidiary • input • abstract • ministry • capable • expert • preceding • display • incentive • inhibition • trace •ignored • incidence • estate • cooperative • revealed • index • lecture • discrimination • overseas • explicit • aggregate • gender • underlying • brief • domain • rational • minimum • interval •neutral • migration • flexibility • federal • author • initiatives • allocation • exceed •
Sublist 7
intervention • confirmed • definite • classical • chemical • voluntary • release • visible • finite • publication • channel • file • thesis • equipment • disposal • solely • deny • identical • submitted • grade • phenomenon • paradigm • ultimately • extract • survive • converted • transmission • global • inferred • guarantee • advocate • dynamic • simulation • topic • insert •reverse • decades • comprise • hierarchical • unique • comprehensive • couple • mode • differentiation • eliminate • priority • empirical • ideology • somewhat • aid • foundation • adults •adaptation • quotation • contrary • media • successive • innovation • prohibited • isolated •
Sublist 8
highlighted • eventually • inspection • termination • displacement • arbitrary • reinforced • denote • offset • exploitation • detected • abandon • random • revision • virtually • uniform •predominantly • thereby • implicit • tension • ambiguous • vehicle • clarity • conformity • contemporary • automatically • accumulation • appendix • widespread • infrastructure • deviation •fluctuations • restore • guidelines • commodity • minimises •practitioners • radical • plus • visual • chart • appreciation • prospect • dramatic • contradiction • currency • inevitably •complement • accompany • paragraph • induced • schedule • intensity • crucial • via • exhibit • bias • manipulation • theme • nuclear •
Sublist 9
bulk • behalf • unified • commenced • erosion • anticipated • minimal • ceases • vision • mutual • norms • intermediate • manual • supplementary • incompatible • concurrent • ethical •preliminary • integral • conversely • relaxed • confined • accommodation • temporary • distorted • passive • subordinate • analogous • military • scenario • revolution • diminished •coherence • suspended • mature • assurance • rigid • controversy • sphere • mediation • format • trigger • qualitative • portion • medium • coincide • violation • device • insights • refine •devoted • team • overlap • attained • restraints • inherent • route • protocol • founded • duration •
Sublist 10
whereby • inclination • encountered • convinced • assembly • albeit • enormous • reluctant • posed • persistent • undergo • notwithstanding • straightforward • panel • odd • intrinsic •compiled • adjacent • integrity • forthcoming • conceived • ongoing • so-called • likewise • nonetheless • levy • invoked • colleagues • depression • collapse •
Academic Word List – Video lesson
Academic Word List Exercise x3
Three more Academic Word List gap fill exercises. Great way to improve awareness of academic words and word formation. Level ***** [B1/B2/C1] Example
x
More Academic Vocabulary Exercises
Collocation (verbs / adjectives)
Collocation is words that go naturally together. This sheet refers students to use a collocation website (www.ozdic.com) to ensure fluency through the correct use of adjectives and verbs with key nouns. Level ***** [B1/B2/C1]
x
Academic Word game – Verbs to Nouns
100 high frequency words taken from the Academic Word List and put into grid. In groups of four, students guess the noun for each verb. The objective is to get as many four-in-in row as possible. This is a fun lesson to improve awareness of academic words and formality. Medium Level ***** [B1/B2/C1] Example
x
Academic Word game – Nouns to Adjectives
100 high frequency words taken from the Academic Word List and put into grid. In groups of four, students guess the adjective for each noun. The objective is to get as many four-in-in row as possible. This is a fun lesson to improve awareness of academic words and formality. Difficult Level ***** [B2/C1] Example
x
Academic Word game – Word + preposition
100 high frequency words taken from the Academic Word List and put into grid. In groups of four, students guess the corresponding preposition for each word. The objective is to get as many four-in-in row as possible. This is a fun lesson to improve awareness of academic words and formality. medium Level ***** [B1/B2/C1] Example
x
Academic Word game – Word forms [n/v/adj]
100 high frequency words taken from the Academic Word List and put into grid. In groups of four, students guess the correct form (each word in the grid has an acronym of the word to be guessed). The objective is to get as many four-in-in row as possible. This is a fun lesson to improve awareness of academic words and formality. Medium Level ***** [B1/B2/C1] Example
x