Academic vocabulary

When you need it

Every university subject has its own technical terms, but most academic texts also share a layer of general words that appear in biology, law, economics and literature alike: analyse, evidence, approach, significant, factor. These words are rare in everyday conversation, so learners often meet them for the first time at university, in textbooks, lectures and exam questions.

You need this vocabulary to understand what you read and, just as importantly, what a task asks you to do. Describe, analyse, evaluate and compare are different instructions. You also need it to write essays and reports that sound precise rather than conversational.

Structure

Academic vocabulary is easier to learn when you see how it is organised.

1. Three layers. Everyday words (show, big, get), general academic words (demonstrate, substantial, obtain) and subject terms (photosynthesis, inflation). This lesson is about the middle layer, which is useful in every subject.
2. Word families. Most academic words come in families, and texts move between the forms constantly. Learn the family, not just one word.
3. Collocations. Academic words have fixed partners. You conduct or carry out research, you draw a conclusion, a factor plays a role. The wrong partner is noticed at once.
4. Formal equivalents. Many phrasal verbs have a one-word academic equivalent that suits written work better.

Useful phrases

Data was originally the plural of datum. In academic writing both the data show and the data shows are used; the plural verb is more traditional, and the singular is common in everyday and business English.

Model text

Recent research suggests that sleep plays a significant role in how well students remember new material. In one study, researchers examined the sleep patterns of 200 first-year students over a semester. The data showed that students who slept at least seven hours a night achieved higher exam results than those who slept less. However, the authors point out that this evidence does not prove that sleep causes better results, since other factors, such as stress or part-time work, may affect both. They therefore conclude that further research, using a different approach, is needed.

Common mistakes

• ✗ Many researches show that sleep is important.
  ✓ Many studies show that sleep is important. / A lot of research shows that…
  Ukrainian and Russian дослідження / исследования can be plural, but English research is uncountable; for a countable noun use study or studies.
• ✗ We made a research on this problem.
  ✓ We carried out research into this problem. / We conducted a study of this problem.
  Research collocates with do, carry out or conduct, not make, and it is followed by into or on.
• ✗ Stress effects memory.
  ✓ Stress affects memory. / Stress has an effect on memory.
  Affect is the verb and effect is the noun; the two sound almost the same, so the spelling shows which one you mean.
• ✗ This proves that sleep improves memory.
  ✓ This suggests that sleep may improve memory.
  Academic English avoids claiming more than the evidence shows, so suggest, indicate and may are more common than prove.
• ✗ The problematics of this study are complex.
  ✓ The issues raised by this study are complex.
  Проблематика has no direct English equivalent, and problematics is not a normal English word; use issues, questions or problems.

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