Academic Word List
Complete the exercises online or print the worksheet for offline practice.
Exercise 1: Match the Academic Word
Complete each definition with the correct word: hypothesis, methodology, phenomenon, correlation, consensus, paradigm, criterion, synthesis.
A testable explanation proposed before research begins: a .
The system of methods used in a study: the .
An observable event or fact, especially one being studied: a .
A statistical relationship between two variables: a .
General agreement among experts: a .
A dominant framework of thinking in a field: a .
A standard used to judge or decide something: a .
A combination of ideas from multiple sources into a coherent whole: a .
Exercise 2: Academic Words in Context
Complete each sentence with: derived, implications, constraints, framework, subsequent, inherent, empirical, albeit.
The findings have serious for how cities plan public housing.
The model is from twenty years of census data.
Budget forced the team to reduce the sample size.
The study uses a sociological to interpret the interviews.
studies confirmed the original result with larger samples.
There is an risk in any survey: people report what they wish were true.
The theory is elegant, but the evidence for it remains thin.
Participation increased, modestly, after the reminder emails.
Exercise 3: Word Forms
Choose the correct form of the word for each sentence. Academic writing demands the right part of speech.
1.The committee will ___ the proposals against three criteria.
2.Her ___ of the data revealed an unexpected pattern.
3.The results were ___ significant at the 95 percent level.
4.The two theories are not mutually ___.
5.The authors ___ that further research is needed.
6.Access to childcare is a ___ factor in workforce participation.
7.The survey aims to ___ the barriers newcomers face in licensing.
Exercise 4: Fix the Collocation
Each sentence contains a collocation error common in academic writing. Write the corrected sentence.
The team made a research on housing affordability.
This essay will discuss about the causes of inflation.
The datas were collected over six months.
According to me, the second explanation is stronger.
The results are strongly depended on sample size.
Researches in this field have grown rapidly.
Exercise 5: Write Academically
Use the vocabulary from this worksheet in your own analytical writing. Precision beats decoration.
Write an academic paragraph (six to eight sentences) about a trend you have observed in your field or community. Use at least six words from Exercises 1 and 2.
Rewrite this informal sentence in academic style using at least two words from this worksheet: "Lots of people agree that phones in class mess up how kids learn."