Academic Word List- Writing Tips

Academic writing tips with Academic Word List vocabulary

Use some of the words below to give advice on good academic writing.

abstract                                                                                    accompany

accurate/ accuracy/ inaccurate/ inaccuracy        acknowledge/ acknowledgement

adequate/ inadequate/ inadequacy                       adjust

advocate                                                                                  affect

aid                                                                                             alter/ alteration

alternative                                                                                ambiguous/ ambiguity/ unambiguous

analysis/ analyse                                                                   appendix/ appendices

approach/ approachable                                                       appropriate/ inappropriate/ appropriateness

approximate/ approximation                                   arbitrary/ arbitrariness

assign/ assignment                                                                assistance

assume/ assumption                                               attach/ attached/ unattached/ attachment

attribute                                                                                    author

authority/ authoritative                                             aware/ unaware/ awareness

bias/ biased                                                                             brief/ brevity

category/ categorize                                                chapter

chart                                                                                         cite/ citation

clarify/ clarity/ clarification                                                     clause

coherence/ coherent/ incoherent                                         compile/ compilation

comprehend/ comprehensive                                comprise

concept/ conceptual/ conceptualise                      confer/ conference

conclude/ conclusion/ (in)conclusive                    conflict/ conflicting

consent/ consensual                                               consistent/ consistency/ inconsistent

contact/ contactable                                                 content

contradict/ contradiction                                                        contribute/ contributor/ contribution

controversial/ controversy                                                     convention/ conventional/ unconventional

correspond/ correspondence                                 credit

criteria                                                                        data/ figures/ statistics

define/ definition                                                                     differentiate

diverse/ diversity                                                                    draft

eliminate/ elimination                                              emphasize/ emphasis

ensure                                                                        error

extract                                                                        feature

format                                                                                       framework

fundamental                                                                            goal

grant                                                                                         guideline

highlight                                                                                   hypothesis/ hypotheses/ hypothetical

ignorant/ ignorance                                                                illustration/ illustrate

impact                                                                                      imply/ implication

incorporate/ incorporation                                                     indicate/ indicative

infer/ inference                                                          insert/ insertion

instance                                                                                   interpret/ interpretation

issue                                                                                        journal

label                                                                                         methodology

minimal/ minimise/ minimum                                  modify/ modification

norm/ protocol                                                           objective

option/ optional                                                         overall

paragraph/ paragraphing                                                     precede

precise/ precision/ imprecise                                  principal

process                                                                      proportion/ proportionate/ disproportionate

publish/ publication(s)/ (un)published                   quote/ quotation

reject/ rejection                                                         relevance/ relevant/ irrelevance/ irrelevant

scope                                                                                       significant/ significance/ insignificant

source                                                                       specify/ specific

straightforward                                                          structure/ structural

style/ stylistic                                                                           submit/ submission

subordinate                                                                             sufficient/ insufficient

summarize                                                                               theory/ theoretical

thesis/ theses                                                            utilise/ utilisation

 

Useful words for giving advice avoid because/ as best can difficult don’t example generally if important impossible main make sure may must need never probably require/ requirements should some people believe sometimes therefore unless usually worth

Ask about any words above you don’t understand, couldn’t link to the speaking activity, etc.

Put at least one of the words above into each of the gaps below to make good advice about academic writing.

1. “The _______________________________________________________________” is an alternative to “I” in academic writing, though it can seem pretentious.
2. A _____________________________________________________ can be labelled “Fig. 1”, but shouldn’t be referred to as “The figure”, as that means “The number”.
3. A good title can really ______________________________ how many people read your paper, and therefore also influence how often your paper is cited in the future.
4. A second ______________________________________________________ of your writing should be edited versions of the first attempt, not the original version with notes. However, you can mark the changes to make them stand out, by using red fonts etc.
5. ________________________________________________________ of data should be written after the diagram or table, perhaps following a more basic description.
6. Any __________________________________________________________ made in researching or writing the paper should be written near the beginning of a paper.
7. Don’t confuse a summary and a _________________________________________.
8. Don’t confuse magazines and academic (usually meaning peer-reviewed) _________________________________________ – New Scientist and National Geographic, to give two examples, aren’t good models for your own academic writing.
9. Email approaches to academics who you have no connection to should be polite but state the reason for _____________________________________________________ them quite near the beginning of the email.
10. _____________________________________________________________________ your ideas while also sounding sufficiently academic can be difficult.
11. If you _________________________________ a quote (to make it understandable out of context or to shorten it), any changes should be marked with “…” and “[ ]”.
12. If you want to _______________________________________________________ a particular government policy, that should usually be left until the final conclusion.
13. ________________________________________________________ grammar and information in citations can be marked with the expression “[sic]” in square brackets.
14. ____________________________________________________ supporting evidence is the most common reason for rejecting academic papers, with being too similar to other research being the second most common cause for having a paper turned down.
15. It can be difficult to make your language sufficiently academic and diplomatic without making the meaning
16. It’s sometimes worth pasting things into an email rather than including an _____________________________________________________________________, as it saves formatting problems and being blocked by people’s spam filters.
17. It’s worth mentioning when sources are particularly _____________________________________ and so should be taken more seriously.
18. Most publishers automatically __________________________________________ permission to quote from their publications, but it can be difficult and time consuming to get in contact with the right person.
19. Nowadays, you will probably need ________________________________________ to use long or many extracts from a single publication. However, it’s not always obvious who to write to in order to get such permission.

 

20. Only very long papers need _____________________________________________ – shorter ones should be just be divided into sections.
21. Perhaps the most important factors to make sure that your paper has an ___________________________________ are its title and where it is published, with publishing the right ideas and the right time (matching the zeitgeist) also being important.
22. Phrasal verbs and other idioms are generally not _____________________________ in academic writing, unless there is no other way of saying something.
23. Professors obviously won’t correct the grammar in your essays, but it can be worth asking for extra feedback on your
24. Some people believe it is impossible to avoid ______________________ in academic writing, so you should disclose all information which could affect your judgement.
25. Some publications demand an _________________________________ summarizing the content of your paper, perhaps to be used on the index page of their website.
26. Some publications have their own _______________________________________ on how to write for them, although some also refer you to style manuals such as the APA or The Chicago Manual of Style.
27. Starting a new paragraph is never _________________ – it is usually due to changing topic (in some way), but also can be because the paragraph has gone on too long.
28. The _______________________________________________________________ of a proof-reader doesn’t usually need to be mentioned in your paper.
29. The ___________________________ that online editors want can vary, including .doc (rather than more recent versions), .txt, or just the text pasted into an email.
30. The main thing to decide before starting to write an academic paper is your _____________________________________________________________________, in other words what you want to achieve by publishing that information in that way.
31. The most important thing is to ___________________________________________ that your ideas can be understood.
32. The punctuation etc of an academic paper may have to be __________________________ to meet the requirements of a particular publication.
33. When style guides _____________________________ each other it is usually best to follow the APA’s advice, unless the guidelines from the publication state otherwise.
34. Word limits are rarely ___________________________________________________, so you should stick to them exactly.
35. You can sometimes include ____________________________________________ of help with your research and/ or paper such as a list of people who you want to thank.
36. You must ____________________________________________________________ where your ideas come from, even if you aren’t directly quoting someone.
37. You need to be _______________________________________________________ with use of not of “I”, American or British English, referencing conventions, etc.
38. You need to _________________________________________________________ between direct quotes and paraphrases of people’s ideas.
39. You need to use ______________________________________________________ sources, for example not using the same dictionary for definitions throughout.
40. You should show an ___________________________________________________ of the limits of your research and the ability to come to conclusion based on it, for example in a section on this topic.

Mixed answers

These words can go in the gaps above (without needing to change the grammar).

• abstract
• acknowledge
• acknowledgement
• adjusted
• advocate
• affect
• aid/ assistance
• alter
• analysis
• appropriate
• approximate
• arbitrary
• assignment
• assumptions
• attachment
• author
• authoritative
• awareness
• bias
• chapters
• chart
• conclusion
• consent
• consistent
• contacting
• contradict
• differentiate
• diverse
• draft
• emphasising
• ensure
• format
• goals/ objectives
• grant
• guidelines
• impact
• inaccurate
• inadequate
• journals

Check with the suggested answers or as a class. Other answers are possible, so please check any which you filled with different words.

Suggested answers

1. “The _____________ author ______________” is an alternative to “I” in academic writing, though it can seem pretentious.
2. A ________________________ chart _________________________ can be labelled “Fig. 1”, but shouldn’t be referred to as “The figure”, as that means “The number”.
3. A good title can really ______ affect ___________________ how many people read your paper, and therefore also influence how often your paper is cited in the future.
4. A second _______________ draft __________________________________ of your writing should be edited versions of the first attempt, not the original version with notes. However, you can mark the changes to make them stand out, by using red fonts etc.
5. _________________ analysis _______________________________ of data should be written after the diagram or table, perhaps following a more basic description.
6. Any _____________________ assumptions __________________________ made in researching or writing the paper should be written near the beginning of a paper.
7. Don’t confuse a summary and a ______________ conclusion __________________.
8. Don’t confuse magazines and academic (usually meaning peer-reviewed) ____________ journals _________________ – New Scientist and National Geographic, to give two examples, aren’t good models for your own academic writing.
9. Email approaches to academics who you have no connection to should be polite but state the reason for _______________ contacting __________________________ them quite near the beginning of the email.
10. ________ Emphasising ________________________________________________ your ideas while also sounding sufficiently academic can be difficult.
11. If you ___________ alter _________________ a quote (to make it understandable out of context or to shorten it), any changes should be marked with “…” and “[ ]”.
12. If you want to ______________ advocate ___________________________________ a particular government policy, that should usually be left until the final conclusion.
13. ___________ Inaccurate ___________________________________ grammar and information in citations can be marked with the expression “[sic]” in square brackets.
14. __________ Inadequate ______________________________ supporting evidence is the most common reason for rejecting academic papers, with being too similar to other research being the second most common cause for having a paper turned down.
15. It can be difficult to make your language sufficiently academic and diplomatic without making the meaning _____________ ambiguous ___________________________.
16. It’s sometimes worth pasting things into an email rather than including an _____________________ attachment ____________________________________, as it saves formatting problems and being blocked by people’s spam filters.
17. It’s worth mentioning when sources are particularly _______ authoritative ____ and so should be taken more seriously.
18. Most publishers automatically ____________ grant _________________________ permission to quote from their publications, but it can be difficult and time consuming to get in contact with the right person.
19. Nowadays, you will probably need ________consent ________________________ to use long or many extracts from a single publication. However, it’s not always obvious who to write to in order to get such permission.

 

20. Only very long papers need ________ chapters ______________________________ – shorter ones should be just be divided into sections.
21. Perhaps the most important factors to make sure that your paper has an _________ impact _______________ are its title and where it is published, with publishing the right ideas and the right time (matching the zeitgeist) also being important.
22. Phrasal verbs and other idioms are generally not ______ appropriate ____________ in academic writing, unless there is no other way of saying something.
23. Professors obviously won’t correct the grammar in your essays, but it can be worth asking for extra feedback on your ___________ assignment __________________.
24. Some people believe it is impossible to avoid __________ bias _______ in academic writing, so you should disclose all information which could affect your judgement.
25. Some publications demand an ____________abstract _____________ summarizing the content of your paper, perhaps to be used on the index page of their website.
26. Some publications have their own ________ guidelines ______________________ on how to write for them, although some also refer you to style manuals such as the APA or The Chicago Manual of Style.
27. Starting a new paragraph is never ________ arbitrary _ – it is usually due to changing topic (in some way), but also can be because the paragraph has gone on too long.
28. The _____________________ aid/ assistance ____________________________ of a proof-reader doesn’t usually need to be mentioned in your paper.
29. The ____________ format ________ that online editors want can vary, including .doc (rather than more recent versions), .txt, or just the text pasted into an email.
30. The main thing to decide before starting to write an academic paper is your _____________________________ goals/ objectives ______________________, in other words what you want to achieve by publishing that information in that way.
31. The most important thing is to ______________ensure ______________________ that your ideas can be understood.
32. The punctuation etc of an academic paper may have to be ______________ adjusted ________________ to meet the requirements of a particular publication.
33. When style guides _____________contradict ________ each other it is usually best to follow the APA’s advice, unless the guidelines from the publication state otherwise.
34. Word limits are rarely _______________approximate________________________, so you should stick to them exactly.
35. You can sometimes include ___________acknowledgement____________________ of help with your research and/ or paper such as a list of people who you want to thank.
36. You must ______________acknowledge_________________________________ where your ideas come from, even if you aren’t directly quoting someone.
37. You need to be _____________________consistent__________________________ with use of not of “I”, American or British English, referencing conventions, etc.
38. You need to ____________________ differentiate _________________________ between direct quotes and paraphrases of people’s ideas.
39. You need to use ______________diverse_________________________________ sources, for example not using the same dictionary for definitions throughout.
40. You should show an ________awareness____________ of the limits of your research and the ability to come to conclusion based on it, for example in a section on this topic.