Vocabulary

Why should you study academic vocabulary? 
Because studying these words helps advanced learners reinforce words that they have already studied or encountered in their texts, classes, etc..
Because studying these words helps beginner and intermediate learners "prime the pump" of word knowledge (learn the basics of words which they will definitely encounter in class later).


Wouldn't it be great if someone would go through the thousands and thousands of words in the English language to see which are used most often in textbooks, lectures, and other academic resources? 
Well, someone has! Averil Coxhead of Victoria University of Wellington, New Zealand, created the Academic Word List (AWL) as part of her graduate work over a decade ago, and you can benefit from that research. Focus on the most common words in those books, journals, lectures, etc.. Note: she did not include any of the vocabulary on the General Service List, a list of the 2000 most common English words, which are also in academic texts.

If you'd like to read about how the Academic Word List was created, go to the original source, the home of the AWL.

If you'd like to try some gap-fill exercises to test how well you know the words on the Academic Word List, go to this site, which also includes links to definitions of the words AND links and exercises about the General Service List mentioned above.

If you'd like to study the words comprehensively (there are LOTS of different tools and exercises to help you learn the words in many different ways here), go to the Using English for Academic Purposes vocabulary page.

If you'd like to use some Quizlet flashcards of many of the words from the list which have simplified definitions, check out my site here. Note: this collection also includes some academic words which are used in elementary and middle school, and the lists are organized from least to most difficult (1 to 66). The list does not include the rarest words from the AWL.