Academic Word ListAn Introduction tothe Academic WordListAveril Coxhead, Massey University, New Zealand The Academic Word List (AWL) is a listof 570 word families that are commonly found in academic texts. This list was selected by examining a large corpus(or collection) of written academictexts and selecting thewords that occurred:1In texts from all four academic faculty sections: Arts, Commerce,Law and Science.2Over 100 times in the corpus overall. 3At least 10 times in eachacademic faculty section.4Outside the 2000 most frequentwords on Michael West’s GeneralService List (GSL). The GSLincludes everyday words such as I,house and do.These principles ensured that only words that occurred reasonably frequently in a variety of study areas were selected.The AWL targets vocabulary that occurs most often in written academic texts. These words also occur in newspapers but not as often as they do in textbooks. The AWL words appear even less in fiction. If your focus is learning academic vocabulary, you need to make sure you read academic textbooks so that you encounter these words in context.The AWL is organized into WordFamilies. Word families are made up of the ‘parent word’and ‘f amily members’. Take for example the word maximise. Its family members include inflections of the verb such as maximised,maximises and maximising as well as the noun maximum. The word family also includes the British spelling of the noun maximisation, as well as maximization, the US spelling.to recognise other family members such as maximised when you encounter themin your reading. These words areclosely related and the meaning islikely to be the same or similar. When you are looking for words in this dictionary, think about other wordfamily members too.Finally, there are some academicwords that do not have a word family. These words occur on their own anddo not have any inflections.Examples include nonetheless, so-called and behalf.The AWL is intended as a reference for students who are studying or preparing to study at a tertiary level in English. As a university lecturer,I was aware of the difficulties that students had in mastering the vocabulary necessary for writtenassignments. The AWL does not include‘content’ vocabulary for particular subjects which students obviously need to learn as well. The AWL focuses instead on the non-subject-specific vocabulary that students of any discipline will need to master in order to produce coherently-structured written assignments.The AWL covers up to 10% of the vocabulary covered in written academic texts. This means that, on average, one word in 10 in an academic textbook isin the AWL. Look at the followingextract from an academic text:EUROPEAN ENVIRONMENTAL POLICYEnvironmental issues are trulyglobal. Many of the problems,like the releasing of CFCs intothe atmosphere, have globaleffects and require global action.Some problems link to theexploitation of global commons –the resources shared by theinternational community suchas ocean beds and the atmosphere.Sometimes small local problems,such as poisonous gases leakingfrom landfills and water pollution,are multiplied so many times inany local contexts that theybecome major world hazards.Theenvironment is a global concernrequiring global policies.If you learn the verb maximise, you will be ableThe highlighted words are all on the AWL. This sample illustrates clearly that the AWL can help with decisions about which words areimportant for you to learn if you are studying in an English-speaking country. Knowledge of academic vocabulary isvital for students studying at an English-speaking university,particularly for reading and writing.If you compare estimates of how many words a native English speaker might know by the age of 18 (approximately 18,000 to 20,000 words) and how many a learner who has had two or three hoursof schooling in English overseveral years (roughly 2000 to 3000 words depending on the language background of the student), this gap is enormous. In order to read and write successfully you need to be able to recognize as many words as possible in your textbooks and use as many as possible in your essays. The bigger your vocabulary, the more you will be able to cope with the high reading and writing demands of your studies.Academic writing tends to be quite formal in style. The vocabulary items that you use in your writing can affect the level of formality. Writers need to know whether a word can be used in a particular situation. Take for example consequent.This is marked as formal. You would probably not choose to use this word when speaking with friends but you should use it in written English totake your language to a higher level of formality. The AWL will help you tofocus on issues of formality. Look out for the formal label in this dictionary. Remember that the AWL covers approximately 10% of all vocabulary ina piece of academic writing. You should aim to have roughly the same percentage in your own academic writing too. Ifyou go to the AWL highlighter websiteby Sandra Haywood .~alzsh3/acvocab/ you can copy and paste your text into it and it willhighlight the AWL words for you. Thiswill enable you to see how many AWL words you are using overall and whether you repeat the same words many times in your writing.When looking up words from the AWL inthis dictionary you should also focuson the boldphrases that are highlighted. These show you the key grammatical patterns and collocations for that word. Collocations are words that commonly occur together or near each other in a text, for example ‘effect on’. Collocations and phrasesare important because they help with fluency in writing and indicate thatyou are working at a higher levelwith academic vocabulary than justusing a word from your own languageand itstranslation. The collocations in the following text have been highlighted in blue.Remember that building your vocabulary takes time. You are not likely to learn everything you need to know about a word the very first time you see it. And don’t expect to remember everything about a word after looking it up in a dictionary once. Try some of these ideas to help you with vocabulary building:•Make the most of the information given in this dictionary to build up your knowledge of a word. Look atthe bold phrases highlighted in theentry. These show importantgrammatical patterns andcollocations. Learn these ratherthan the word in isolation.•Even if you think you already ‘know’ a word, look it up in thedictionary to see if there is anyadditional information that youdon’t know.•Research has shown thatrepetition helps people to remember things. Make sure you buildrepetition into your learning. Youcould do this through using wordcards to test yourself or by keepinga vocabulary notebook.DECLINING BIODIVERSITYWhatever the effects on thisplanet’s climate, rain-forest clearance has another undeniable impact. The disappearance of rain forests is a major factor eroding the earth’s biodiversity, or, more simply causing many thousands of species of plant and animal life to disappear forever. Whilerain forests account for just seven percent of the earth’s surface, they are home to almost half of this planet’s living species. Estima tes of the total number of species of animals and plants range frommillion to as high as 30 million.•Studying words ‘actively’ will help your learning. People dolearn words through reading but thechances of remembering vocabularyis higher when you focus on thewords and make a conscious effortto learn them.•Look out for common collocations, phrases and grammatical patterns ofwords when you are reading academictexts.•Work with the AWL alongside you when you are writing. Try to usewords from the list that are relevant to your writing.The words on the AWL are marked with in this dictionary.The AWL does not include the 2000 most frequent words used in general everyday English.In this dictionary, however, the 3000 most frequent words in written English are also marked withand and the 3000 most frequent words in spoken English are marked with and .In some cases, these overlap with the AWL.Academic Word ListThe following is a list of the words from the Academic Word List that are highlighted in this dictionary. Words shown in bold are one of the ‘parent words’.abandon v abandoned adj abnormal adj abstract adj abstract n abstract v abstraction n academic adj academic n academy n access naccess v accessible adj accommodate v accommodation n accompaniment n accompany v accumulate v accuracy n accurate adj achieve v achievement n acknowledge v acknowledgement n acquire v acquisition n adapt v adaptableadjadaptation nadequateadjadjacent adjadjust vadjustment nadministrationnadministrativeadj adult nadult adjadvocacynadvocate vadvocatenaffect vaggregate naggregate adjaggregate vaid naid valbeitconjallocatevallocation nalter valteration nalternate adjalternate valternative adjalternative n ambiguityn ambiguous adj amendv amendment nanalogous adjanalogy n analyse v analysis n analyst n analytical adj analyze v annual adj anticipate v anticipation n apparent adj append v appendix n appreciable adj appreciate v appreciation n approach v approach n appropriate adj approximate adj approximate v approximation n arbitrary adj area naspect n assemble v assembly n assess v assessment n assign v assignment n assist vassistance nassume vassumingconjassumption nassurance nassurevattach vattachment nattain vattainment nattitudenattributableadjattribute vattribute nauthor nauthor vauthoritativeadjauthority nauthorship nautomate vautomated adjautomatic adjautomaticallyadvautomation navailable adjawareadjawareness nbehalf n beneficialadjbeneficiaryn benefit n benefit vbias nbias vbiasedadjbond nbond vbrevitynbrief adjbrief nbrief vbriefingn brieflyadv bulk n bulky adj capability ncapableadjcapacityncategoryn cease v challenge n challenge v challenging adj channel n channel v chapter n chart nchart v chemical n chemical adj circumstance n citation ncite vcivil adj clarification nclarify v clarity n classic adj classic n classicaladj clausen code ncode v coded adj codingn coherencen coherentadjcoincide v coincidencen coincidentadjcoincidentaladjcollapse vcollapse ncolleague ncommence vcommencement ncomment ncomment vcommentary ncommentatorncommission ncommission vcommit vcommitment ncommitted adjcommodity ncommunicableadj communicatev communicationn communicativeadj community ncompatibility ncompatible adjcompensate vcompensation ncompensatoryadj compilationn compile vcomplement ncomplement vcomplementaryadj complex adjcomplex ncomplexity ncomponent ncomponent adjcompound ncompound vcompound adjcomprehensiveadj comprise vcomputation ncompute vcomputer ncomputing nconceivable adjconceive vconcentrate vconcentration nconcept nconception nconceptual adjconclude vconcluding adjconclusion nconclusive adjconcurrent adjconduct vconduct nconfer vconferencen confine vconfinedadj confirmvconfirmation n conflict nconflict v conform v conformationn conformist adjconformity n consensus n consent n consent v consequence n consequent adj consequently adv considerable adj considerably adv consist v consistency n consistent adj constancy n constant adj constant n constantlyadv constituencynconstituent n constituent adj constitute v constitution n constitutional adj constrain v constrained adj constraint n construct v construct n constructionnconstructive adj consultvconsultancyn consultant nconsultationnconsultative adj consumev consumer n consumptionn contact n contact v contact adj contemporary adj contemporary n context n contextual adj contextualize v contract n contract v contractor n contradict v contradiction n contradictoryadj contrary ncontrary adjcontrast ncontrast vcontrastingadjcontribute vcontributionncontributorncontroversial adjcontroversynconvene vconvention nconventionaladjconverse adjconverselyadvconversion nconvert vconvertibleadjconvince vconvincedadjconvincingadjcooperate vcooperationncooperative adjcoordinate vcoordinate ncoordinate adjcoordinationncoordinatorncore ncore adjcore vcorporateadjcorporationncorrespondvcorrespondencencorrespondingadj couple ncouple vcreate vcreation ncreative adjcreativityn creator ncredit ncredit vcreditor ncriterion ncrucial adjculturaladjculturallyadvculture ncurrency ncycle ncycle vcyclic adjdata ndebatableadj debate ndebate vdecade ndecline ndecline vdeduce vdeduction n define v definiteadjdefinitelyadvdefinitionndefinitiveadj demonstrable adj demonstrate v demonstration n demonstrative adj demonstrator n denial ndenote vdeny vdepress v depressionnderivationnderivativenderivative adj derive v design ndesign v designer n despite prep detect v detection n detective n detector n deviate v deviation n device n devote v devoted adj devotion n differentiate vdimension n diminish v diminution n discrete adj discretion n discretionary adjdiscriminatevdiscrimination ndisestablishv displace v displacementn display n display v disposable adjdisposal ndispose vdisproportion ndisproportionate adjdissimilar adjdistinct adjdistinction ndistinctiveadj distinctlyadv distort vdistribute vdistributionndistributiveadj diverseadj diversifyv diversity ndocument ndocument vdocumentation ndomain ndomestic adjdomesticate vdomesticatedadj dominance ndominant adjdominate vdraft ndraft vdraft adjdrama ndramaticadjdramatist ndramatize vduration ndynamic adjdynamic neconomic adjeconomical adjeconomicallyadv economics neconomist neconomy nedit vedition neditor neditorial adjeditorial nelement neliminate velimination nemerge vemergence nemergent adjemerging adjemphasis nemphasize vemphatic adjempirical adjempiricism nenable venabling adjencounter vencounter nenergetic adjenergy nenforce venforced adjenforcement nenhance venhanced adjenormity n enormous adj enormously adv ensure ventity n environment n environmental adj environmentalist n equate v equation nequip v equipment n equivalent adj equivalent n erode verosion n erroneous adj error n establish v establishedadjestablishmentn estate n estimate n estimate v estimationn ethic nethical adj ethnic adjethnic n evaluate v evaluation n eventual adj eventuality n eventually adv evidence n evident adj evidential adj evidently adv evolution n evolutionaryadj evolve v exceed v exclude v excluding prep exclusion n exclusive adj exclusivelyadv exhibit v exhibit n exhibition n expand v expansion n expansionism n expansive adj expert nexpert adj expertise n explicit adj exploit v exploitationn export nexportvexporternexposevexposedadjexposurenexternaladjexternalizevextract vextract nextractionnfacilitatevfacilitatornfacilitynfactornfactorvfeature nfeature vfederaladjfederation nfeenfile nfilevfilingnfinaladjfinalnfinalitynfinalize vfinallyadvfinance nfinance vfinancialadjfinanciern finiteadjflexibility nflexibleadjfluctuatevfluctuation n focus vfocus nfocussedadj format nformat vformula nformulate vforthcomingadj found vfoundation nfounder nfounding nframework nfunction nfunction vfunctionaladj fund nfund vfundamental adjfundamentallyadv funding nfurthermore advgender n generate v generation n globalization n globe n goal ngrade ngrade v graded adj grant vgrant n guarantee v guarantee n guideline n hence adv hierarchical adj hierarchy n highlight v hypothesis n hypothesize v hypothetical adjidenticaladj identifiable adj identificati on nidentify v identity n ideological adj ideology n ignorance n ignorant adj ignore v illegal adj illogicaladjillustratevillustration nillustrative adj image n imagery n immatureadj immigrant n immigrate v immigrationn impact n impact v implement v implement n implicate v implication n implicitadj imply vimpose vimposition nimpreciseadjinaccessibleadj inaccuracyn inaccurateadjinadequacy ninadequate adjinappropriateadj incapableadj incapacitatev incentive nincidence nincident nincidentally advinclination nincline vincline nincoherent adjincome nincompatible adjinconceivableadj inconclusiveadjinconsistency ninconsistent adjincorporate vincorporated adjindefinite adjindefinitely advindex nindex vindicate vindication nindicative nindicative adjindicator nindiscretionn indistinctadjindividual adjindividual nindividualism nindividualist nindividuality nindividuallyadv induce vinduction ninevitability ninevitable adjinevitably advinfer vinference ninfinite adjinfinitely advinflexible adjinfrastructuren inherent adjinhibit vinhibition ninitial adjinitially advinitiate vinitiation ninitiative ninitiator ninjure vinjured adjinjury n innovate v innovationninnovative adjinnovatorn input ninput v insecureadjinsert v insertionn insightninsightful adjinsignificant adj inspect v inspectionninspectorninstability ninstance n instance v institute n institute v institution n institutional adj institutional ized adj instruct v instruction n instructive adjinstructor n insufficient adj integral adj integrate v integrated adj integration n integrity n intelligence n intelligent adj intense adj intensify vintensity n intensiveadj interact vinteractionninteractive adj intermediate adj internal adj internalizev interpretvinterpretation ninterpretative adjinterpretiveadj intervaln intervenevinterveningadjinterventionn intrinsicadjinvalidate vinvalidity ninvariableadjinvariablyadv invest vinvestigate vinvestigationninvestigativeadjinvestigator ninvestment ninvestor ninvisible adjinvokevinvolvevinvolvement nirrational adjirrelevance nirrelevant adjirreversibleadjisolatevisolated adjisolation nisolationism nissue nissue vitem njob njournalnjustifiableadjjustificationnjustified adjjustifyvlabel nlabel vlabornlaboredadjlabour nlabour vlabouredadj layer nlayer vlecture nlecture vlecturer nlegal adjlegality nlegally advlegislate vlegislationnlegislativeadjlegislatornlegislaturen levy vlevy nliberal adjliberal nliberalismnliberalizevliberallyadvliberate vliberatedadjlicence nlicense vlicensedadjlikewiseadv link vlink nlinkage n locate v location n logic n logicaladjlogician n maintain v maintenance n major adj majority n manipulate v manipulative adj manual adj manual n margin n marginal adj marginally adv maturation n mature adj mature v maturity n maximize v maximum adj maximum n mechanism n media n mediate v medical adj medium adj medium n mental adj mentality n method n methodical adj methodologyn migrant n migrate v migration n migratoryadjmilitary adj military n minimal adj minimize v minimum adj minimum n ministerial adjministry n minor adj minority n misinterpre t v mode nmodification nmodify vmonitor vmotivated adjmotivationnmotive nmotiveadjmutualadjmutually advnegate vnegative adjnegative nnetwork nnetwork vnetworkingnneutral adjneutralitynneutralizevnevertheless advnonconformist nnonetheless adv normnnormal adjnormalnnormality nnormalize vnormally advnotionnnotwithstanding prepnuclearadjobjective nobjectiveadjobjectively advobtain vobtainable adjobviousadjobviouslyadvoccupancynoccupantnoccupation noccupational adjoccupier n occupy voccur voccurrence n oddadjodds n offset vongoing adjoption noptional adjorient vorientate vorientated adjorientation noriented adj outcomen output noutput voverall adjoverall advoverestimate voverestimate n overlap v overlap n overseas adv overseas adj panel n paradigm n paragraph n parallel n parallel adj parallel v parameter n participant n participate v participation n participatory adj partner n partnership n passive adj passive n perceive v percent adj percent n percentage n perception n period n periodic adj periodical n persist v persistence n persistent adj perspective n phase nphase v phenomenal adj phenomenon n philosopher n philosophical adj philosophize v philosophy n physical adj physically adv plus prep plus nplus adj policy n portion npose vpose npositive adj positively advpotential adjpotential n potentially adv practitioner n precede v precedence nprecedent npreceding adjpreciseadjpreciselyadvprecision nprecision adjpredict vpredictable adjpredictionnpredominance npredominant adjpredominantlyadvpredominate vpreliminary adjpreliminary npresumablyadvpresume vpresumption npreviousadjpreviouslyadvprimacy nprimarilyadvprimary adjprime adjprincipal adjprincipallyadvprinciple nprincipledadj prior adjprioritize vpriority nproceduraladjprocedure nproceed vproceeding nproceeds nprocess nprocess vprocessed adjprofessional adjprofessional nprofessionalismnprofessionallyadv prohibit vprohibition nprohibitive adjproject nproject vprojection npromote vpromoter npromotion nproportion nproportionaladjproportionateadj prospect nprospective adjprotocol npsychologicaladjpsychologist npsychology npublication npublish v publishernpublishingnpurchase v purchase n pursue v pursuit n qualitative adj quotation n quote vquote nradical adj radical n randomadjrange nrange vratio n rationaladjrationalism nrationalize v reactv reactionnreactionary ad jreactionary n reactivate v reactive adj reactor n readjust v reassess v reconstruct v reconstructio n n recover v recovery n recreate v redistribute vredistributio n n refine v refined adj refinement n regime n region n regional adj register n register v registration n regulate v regulation n regulator n regulatory adj reinforce v reinforcementn reinvest vreject vrejection nrelax vrelaxation nrelease vrelease nrelevantadjreliableadjreliance nreliant adjrelocate vreluctancen reluctantadj rely vremovableadj removaln remove vremove nrequire vrequirementnreschedulev research nresearchv residevresidence nresidentnresident adjresidential adjresolutionn resolve vresolve nresource nresource vresourcefuladj respondvrespondentn responsenresponsiveadjrestorationn restore vrestoredadjrestrain vrestraint nrestrict vrestrictedadjrestrictionnrestrictiveadjrestructurev retain vretainer nretention nretentiveadj reveal vrevealing adjrevelation n revenuen reversal nreverse vreverse nreverse adjreversible adjrevise v revision nrevolution nrevolutionary adjrevolutionary nrevolutioniz e vrigidadjrole nroute nroute v scenario n schedule n schedule v schematicadj scheme n scheme vscope nsection n section v sector n secure adj secure v securelyadvsecurity n seek vselect vselect adj selection n selectiveadj selector n sequence n sequencing n sequential adj series n sex nsexism n sexual adj sexualityn shift vshift n significant adj significantly adv signify v similar adj similarityn similarly advsimulate v simulatedadj simulationn site nsole adjsolely adv somewhat adv source n source v specific adj specific n specifically adv specificatio n n specify v sphere n spherical adjstability nstabilize vstable adjstatistic nstatisticiannstatus nstraightforwardadjstrategicadjstrategist nstrategy nstress nstressvstressedadjstressfuladjstructural adjstructure nstructure vstructuredadj style nstyle vstyling nstylishadjstylizedadjsubmissionn submit vsubordinate adjsubordinate nsubordinate vsubsequent adjsubsequentlyadvsubsidiary adjsubsidize vsubsidy nsubstitute nsubstitute vsubstitutionn successionn successiveadj successorn sufficiencyn sufficientadj sum nsum vsummarize vsummary nsummary adjsummation nsupplement nsupplement vsupplementaryadj survey nsurvey vsurvival nsurvive vsurvivor nsuspend vsuspension nsustain vsustainableadj sustainedadjsustenance nsymbol n。