academic essay jargon

+44 (0) 207 391 9032

17 academic words and phrases to use in your essay

(Last updated: 20 October 2022)

Since 2006, Oxbridge Essays has been the UK’s leading paid essay-writing and dissertation service

We have helped 10,000s of undergraduate, Masters and PhD students to maximise their grades in essays, dissertations, model-exam answers, applications and other materials. If you would like a free chat about your project with one of our UK staff, then please just reach out on one of the methods below.

For the vast majority of students, essay writing doesn't always come easily. Writing at academic level is an acquired skill that can literally take years to master – indeed, many students find they only start to feel really confident writing essays just as their undergraduate course comes to an end!

If this is you, and you've come here looking for words and phrases to use in your essay, you're in the right place. We’ve pulled together a list of essential academic words you can use in the introduction, body, and conclusion of your essays .

Whilst your ideas and arguments should always be your own, borrowing some of the words and phrases listed below is a great way to articulate your ideas more effectively, and ensure that you keep your reader’s attention from start to finish.

It goes without saying (but we'll say it anyway) that there's a certain formality that comes with academic writing. Casual and conversational phrases have no place. Obviously, there are no LOLs, LMFAOs, and OMGs. But formal academic writing can be much more subtle than this, and as we've mentioned above, requires great skill.

So, to get you started on polishing your own essay writing ability, try using the words in this list as an inspirational starting point.

Words to use in your introduction

The trickiest part of academic writing often comes right at the start, with your introduction. Of course, once you’ve done your plan and have your arguments laid out, you need to actually put pen to paper (or fingers to keyboard) and begin your essay.

You need to consider that your reader doesn’t have a clue about your topic or arguments, so your first sentence must summarise these. Explain what your essay is going to talk about as though you were explaining it to a five year old – without losing the formality of your academic writing, of course! To do this, use any of the below words or phrases to help keep you on track.

1. Firstly, secondly, thirdly

Even though it sounds obvious, your argument will be clearer if you deliver the ideas in the right order. These words can help you to offer clarity and structure to the way you expose your ideas. This is an extremely effective method of presenting the facts clearly. Don’t be too rigid and feel you have to number each point, but using this system can be a good way to get an argument off the ground, and link arguments together.

2. In view of; in light of; considering

These essay phrases are useful to begin your essay. They help you pose your argument based on what other authors have said or a general concern about your research. They can also both be used when a piece of evidence sheds new light on an argument. Here’s an example: The result of the American invasion has severely impaired American interests in the Middle East, exponentially increasing popular hostility to the United States throughout the region, a factor which has proved to be a powerful recruitment tool for extremist terrorist groups (Isakhan, 2015). Considering [or In light of / In view of] the perceived resulting threat to American interests, it could be argued that the Bush administration failed to fully consider the impact of their actions before pushing forward with the war.

3. According to X; X stated that; referring to the views of X

Introducing the views of an author who has a comprehensive knowledge of your particular area of study is a crucial part of essay writing. Including a quote that fits naturally into your work can be a bit of a struggle, but these academic phrases provide a great way in.

Even though it’s fine to reference a quote in your introduction, we don’t recommend you start your essay with a direct quote. Use your own words to sum up the views you’re mentioning, for example:

As Einstein often reiterated, experiments can prove theories, but experiments don’t give birth to theories.

Rather than:

“A theory can be proved by experiment, but no path leads from experiment to the birth of a theory.” {Albert Einstein, 1954, Einstein: A Biography}.

See the difference?

And be sure to reference correctly too, when using quotes or paraphrasing someone else's words.

Adding information and flow

The flow of your essay is extremely important. You don’t want your reader to be confused by the rhythm of your writing and get distracted away from your argument, do you? No! So, we recommend using some of the following ‘flow’ words, which are guaranteed to help you articulate your ideas and arguments in a chronological and structured order.

4. Moreover; furthermore; in addition; what’s more

These types of academic phrases are perfect for expanding or adding to a point you’ve already made without interrupting the flow altogether. “Moreover”, “furthermore” and “in addition” are also great linking phrases to begin a new paragraph.

Here are some examples: The dissociation of tau protein from microtubules destabilises the latter resulting in changes to cell structure, and neuronal transport. Moreover, mitochondrial dysfunction leads to further oxidative stress causing increased levels of nitrous oxide, hydrogen peroxide and lipid peroxidases.

On the data of this trial, no treatment recommendations should be made. The patients are suspected, but not confirmed, to suffer from pneumonia. Furthermore, five days is too short a follow up time to confirm clinical cure.

5. In order to; to that end; to this end

These are helpful academic phrases to introduce an explanation or state your aim. Oftentimes your essay will have to prove how you intend to achieve your goals. By using these sentences you can easily expand on points that will add clarity to the reader.

For example: My research entailed hours of listening and recording the sound of whales in order to understand how they communicate.

Dutch tech companies offer support in the ﬁght against the virus. To this end, an online meeting took place on Wednesday...

Even though we recommend the use of these phrases, DO NOT use them too often. You may think you sound like a real academic but it can be a sign of overwriting!

6. In other words; to put it another way; that is; to put it more simply

Complement complex ideas with simple descriptions by using these sentences. These are excellent academic phrases to improve the continuity of your essay writing. They should be used to explain a point you’ve already made in a slightly different way. Don’t use them to repeat yourself, but rather to elaborate on a certain point that needs further explanation. Or, to succinctly round up what just came before.

For example: A null hypothesis is a statement that there is no relationship between phenomena. In other words, there is no treatment effect.

Nothing could come to be in this pre-world time, “because no part of such a time possesses, as compared with any other, a distinguishing condition of existence rather than non-existence.” That is, nothing exists in this pre-world time, and so there can be nothing that causes the world to come into existence.

7. Similarly; likewise; another key fact to remember; as well as; an equally significant aspect of

These essay words are a good choice to add a piece of information that agrees with an argument or fact you just mentioned. In academic writing, it is very relevant to include points of view that concur with your opinion. This will help you to situate your research within a research context.

Also , academic words and phrases like the above are also especially useful so as not to repeat the word ‘also’ too many times. (We did that on purpose to prove our point!) Your reader will be put off by the repetitive use of simple conjunctions. The quality of your essay will drastically improve just by using academic phrases and words such as ‘similarly’, ‘as well as’, etc. Here, let us show you what we mean:

In 1996, then-transport minister Steve Norris enthused about quadrupling cycling trips by 2012. Similarly, former prime minister David Cameron promised a “cycling revolution” in 2013…

Or Renewable Energy Initiative (AREI) aims to bridge the gap of access to electricity across the continent (...). Another key fact to remember is that it must expand cost-efficient access to electricity to nearly 1 billion people.

The wording “not only… but also” is a useful way to elaborate on a similarity in your arguments but in a more striking way.

Comparing and contrasting information

Academic essays often include opposite opinions or information in order to prove a point. It is important to show all the aspects that are relevant to your research. Include facts and researchers’ views that disagree with a point of your essay to show your knowledge of your particular field of study. Below are a few words and ways of introducing alternative arguments.

8. Conversely; however; alternatively; on the contrary; on the other hand; whereas

Finding a seamless method to present an alternative perspective or theory can be hard work, but these terms and phrases can help you introduce the other side of the argument. Let's look at some examples:

89% of respondents living in joint families reported feeling financially secure. Conversely, only 64% of those who lived in nuclear families said they felt financially secure.

The first protagonist has a social role to fill in being a father to those around him, whereas the second protagonist relies on the security and knowledge offered to him by Chaplin.

“On the other hand” can also be used to make comparisons when worded together with “on the one hand.”

9. By contrast; in comparison; then again; that said; yet

These essay phrases show contrast, compare facts, and present uncertainty regarding a point in your research. “That said” and “yet” in particular will demonstrate your expertise on a topic by showing the conditions or limitations of your research area. For example:

All the tests were positive. That said, we must also consider the fact that some of them had inconclusive results.

10. Despite this; provided that; nonetheless

Use these phrases and essay words to demonstrate a positive aspect of your subject-matter regardless of lack of evidence, logic, coherence, or criticism. Again, this kind of information adds clarity and expertise to your academic writing.

A good example is:

Despite the criticism received by X, the popularity of X remains undiminished.

11. Importantly; significantly; notably; another key point

Another way to add contrast is by highlighting the relevance of a fact or opinion in the context of your research. These academic words help to introduce a sentence or paragraph that contains a very meaningful point in your essay.

Giving examples

A good piece of academic writing will always include examples. Illustrating your essay with examples will make your arguments stronger. Most of the time, examples are a way to clarify an explanation; they usually offer an image that the reader can recognise. The most common way to introduce an illustration is “for example.” However, in order not to repeat yourself here are a few other options.

12. For instance; to give an illustration of; to exemplify; to demonstrate; as evidence; to elucidate

The academic essays that are receiving top marks are the ones that back up every single point made. These academic phrases are a useful way to introduce an example. If you have a lot of examples, avoid repeating the same phrase to facilitate the readability of your essay.

Here’s an example:

‘High involvement shopping’, an experiential process described by Wu et al. (2015, p. 299) relies upon the development of an identity-based alliance between the customer and the brand. Celebrity status at Prada, for example, has created an alliance between the brand and a new generation of millennial customers.

Concluding your essay

Concluding words for essays are necessary to wrap up your argument. Your conclusion must include a brief summary of the ideas that you just exposed without being redundant. The way these ideas are expressed should lead to the final statement and core point you have arrived at in your present research.

13. In conclusion; to conclude; to summarise; in sum; in the final analysis; on close analysis

These are phrases for essays that will introduce your concluding paragraph. You can use them at the beginning of a sentence. They will show the reader that your essay is coming to an end:

On close analysis and appraisal, we see that the study by Cortis lacks essential features of the highest quality quantitative research.

14. Persuasive; compelling

Essay words like these ones can help you emphasize the most relevant arguments of your paper. Both are used in the same way: “the most persuasive/compelling argument is…”.

15. Therefore; this suggests that; it can be seen that; the consequence is

When you’re explaining the significance of the results of a piece of research, these phrases provide the perfect lead up to your explanation.

16. Above all; chiefly; especially; most significantly; it should be noted

Your summary should include the most relevant information or research factor that guided you to your conclusion. Contrary to words such as “persuasive” or “compelling”, these essay words are helpful to draw attention to an important point. For example:

The feasibility and effectiveness of my research has been proven chiefly in the last round of laboratory tests.

Film noir is, and will continue to be, highly debatable, controversial, and unmarketable – but above all, for audience members past, present and to come, extremely enjoyable as a form of screen media entertainment.

17. All things considered

This essay phrase is meant to articulate how you give reasons to your conclusions. It means that after you considered all the aspects related to your study, you have arrived to the conclusion you are demonstrating.

After mastering the use of these academic words and phrases, we guarantee you will see an immediate change in the quality of your essays. The structure will be easier to follow, and the reader’s experience will improve. You’ll also feel more confident articulating your ideas and using facts and examples. So jot them all down, and watch your essays go from ‘good’ to ‘great’!

Essay exams: how to answer ‘To what extent…’

How to write a master’s essay

academic writing
writing a good essay
writing essays
writing tips

Writing Services

Essay Plans
Critical Reviews
Literature Reviews
Presentations
Dissertation Title Creation
Dissertation Proposals
Dissertation Chapters
PhD Proposals
Journal Publication
CV Writing Service
Business Proofreading Services

Editing Services

Proofreading Service
Editing Service
Academic Editing Service

Additional Services

Marking Services
Consultation Calls
Personal Statements
Tutoring Services

Our Company

Frequently Asked Questions
Become a Writer

Terms & Policies

Fair Use Policy
Policy for Students in England
Privacy Policy
Terms & Conditions
[email protected]
Contact Form

Payment Methods

Cryptocurrency payments.

Last places remaining for June 30th, July 14th and July 28th courses . Enrol now and join students from 175 countries for the summer of a lifetime

40 Useful Words and Phrases for Top-Notch Essays

To be truly brilliant, an essay needs to utilise the right language. You could make a great point, but if it’s not intelligently articulated, you almost needn’t have bothered.

Developing the language skills to build an argument and to write persuasively is crucial if you’re to write outstanding essays every time. In this article, we’re going to equip you with the words and phrases you need to write a top-notch essay, along with examples of how to utilise them.

It’s by no means an exhaustive list, and there will often be other ways of using the words and phrases we describe that we won’t have room to include, but there should be more than enough below to help you make an instant improvement to your essay-writing skills.

If you’re interested in developing your language and persuasive skills, Oxford Royale offers summer courses at its Oxford Summer School , Cambridge Summer School , London Summer School , San Francisco Summer School and Yale Summer School . You can study courses to learn english , prepare for careers in law , medicine , business , engineering and leadership.

General explaining

Let’s start by looking at language for general explanations of complex points.

1. In order to

Usage: “In order to” can be used to introduce an explanation for the purpose of an argument. Example: “In order to understand X, we need first to understand Y.”

2. In other words

Usage: Use “in other words” when you want to express something in a different way (more simply), to make it easier to understand, or to emphasise or expand on a point. Example: “Frogs are amphibians. In other words, they live on the land and in the water.”

3. To put it another way

Usage: This phrase is another way of saying “in other words”, and can be used in particularly complex points, when you feel that an alternative way of wording a problem may help the reader achieve a better understanding of its significance. Example: “Plants rely on photosynthesis. To put it another way, they will die without the sun.”

4. That is to say

Usage: “That is” and “that is to say” can be used to add further detail to your explanation, or to be more precise. Example: “Whales are mammals. That is to say, they must breathe air.”

5. To that end

Usage: Use “to that end” or “to this end” in a similar way to “in order to” or “so”. Example: “Zoologists have long sought to understand how animals communicate with each other. To that end, a new study has been launched that looks at elephant sounds and their possible meanings.”

Adding additional information to support a point

Students often make the mistake of using synonyms of “and” each time they want to add further information in support of a point they’re making, or to build an argument. Here are some cleverer ways of doing this.

6. Moreover

Usage: Employ “moreover” at the start of a sentence to add extra information in support of a point you’re making. Example: “Moreover, the results of a recent piece of research provide compelling evidence in support of…”

7. Furthermore

Usage:This is also generally used at the start of a sentence, to add extra information. Example: “Furthermore, there is evidence to suggest that…”

8. What’s more

Usage: This is used in the same way as “moreover” and “furthermore”. Example: “What’s more, this isn’t the only evidence that supports this hypothesis.”

9. Likewise

Usage: Use “likewise” when you want to talk about something that agrees with what you’ve just mentioned. Example: “Scholar A believes X. Likewise, Scholar B argues compellingly in favour of this point of view.”

10. Similarly

Usage: Use “similarly” in the same way as “likewise”. Example: “Audiences at the time reacted with shock to Beethoven’s new work, because it was very different to what they were used to. Similarly, we have a tendency to react with surprise to the unfamiliar.”

11. Another key thing to remember

Usage: Use the phrase “another key point to remember” or “another key fact to remember” to introduce additional facts without using the word “also”. Example: “As a Romantic, Blake was a proponent of a closer relationship between humans and nature. Another key point to remember is that Blake was writing during the Industrial Revolution, which had a major impact on the world around him.”

12. As well as

Usage: Use “as well as” instead of “also” or “and”. Example: “Scholar A argued that this was due to X, as well as Y.”

13. Not only… but also

Usage: This wording is used to add an extra piece of information, often something that’s in some way more surprising or unexpected than the first piece of information. Example: “Not only did Edmund Hillary have the honour of being the first to reach the summit of Everest, but he was also appointed Knight Commander of the Order of the British Empire.”

14. Coupled with

Usage: Used when considering two or more arguments at a time. Example: “Coupled with the literary evidence, the statistics paint a compelling view of…”

15. Firstly, secondly, thirdly…

Usage: This can be used to structure an argument, presenting facts clearly one after the other. Example: “There are many points in support of this view. Firstly, X. Secondly, Y. And thirdly, Z.

16. Not to mention/to say nothing of

Usage: “Not to mention” and “to say nothing of” can be used to add extra information with a bit of emphasis. Example: “The war caused unprecedented suffering to millions of people, not to mention its impact on the country’s economy.”

Words and phrases for demonstrating contrast

When you’re developing an argument, you will often need to present contrasting or opposing opinions or evidence – “it could show this, but it could also show this”, or “X says this, but Y disagrees”. This section covers words you can use instead of the “but” in these examples, to make your writing sound more intelligent and interesting.

17. However

Usage: Use “however” to introduce a point that disagrees with what you’ve just said. Example: “Scholar A thinks this. However, Scholar B reached a different conclusion.”

18. On the other hand

Usage: Usage of this phrase includes introducing a contrasting interpretation of the same piece of evidence, a different piece of evidence that suggests something else, or an opposing opinion. Example: “The historical evidence appears to suggest a clear-cut situation. On the other hand, the archaeological evidence presents a somewhat less straightforward picture of what happened that day.”

19. Having said that

Usage: Used in a similar manner to “on the other hand” or “but”. Example: “The historians are unanimous in telling us X, an agreement that suggests that this version of events must be an accurate account. Having said that, the archaeology tells a different story.”

20. By contrast/in comparison

Usage: Use “by contrast” or “in comparison” when you’re comparing and contrasting pieces of evidence. Example: “Scholar A’s opinion, then, is based on insufficient evidence. By contrast, Scholar B’s opinion seems more plausible.”

21. Then again

Usage: Use this to cast doubt on an assertion. Example: “Writer A asserts that this was the reason for what happened. Then again, it’s possible that he was being paid to say this.”

22. That said

Usage: This is used in the same way as “then again”. Example: “The evidence ostensibly appears to point to this conclusion. That said, much of the evidence is unreliable at best.”

Usage: Use this when you want to introduce a contrasting idea. Example: “Much of scholarship has focused on this evidence. Yet not everyone agrees that this is the most important aspect of the situation.”

Adding a proviso or acknowledging reservations

Sometimes, you may need to acknowledge a shortfalling in a piece of evidence, or add a proviso. Here are some ways of doing so.

24. Despite this

Usage: Use “despite this” or “in spite of this” when you want to outline a point that stands regardless of a shortfalling in the evidence. Example: “The sample size was small, but the results were important despite this.”

25. With this in mind

Usage: Use this when you want your reader to consider a point in the knowledge of something else. Example: “We’ve seen that the methods used in the 19th century study did not always live up to the rigorous standards expected in scientific research today, which makes it difficult to draw definite conclusions. With this in mind, let’s look at a more recent study to see how the results compare.”

26. Provided that

Usage: This means “on condition that”. You can also say “providing that” or just “providing” to mean the same thing. Example: “We may use this as evidence to support our argument, provided that we bear in mind the limitations of the methods used to obtain it.”

27. In view of/in light of

Usage: These phrases are used when something has shed light on something else. Example: “In light of the evidence from the 2013 study, we have a better understanding of…”

28. Nonetheless

Usage: This is similar to “despite this”. Example: “The study had its limitations, but it was nonetheless groundbreaking for its day.”

29. Nevertheless

Usage: This is the same as “nonetheless”. Example: “The study was flawed, but it was important nevertheless.”

30. Notwithstanding

Usage: This is another way of saying “nonetheless”. Example: “Notwithstanding the limitations of the methodology used, it was an important study in the development of how we view the workings of the human mind.”

Giving examples

Good essays always back up points with examples, but it’s going to get boring if you use the expression “for example” every time. Here are a couple of other ways of saying the same thing.

31. For instance

Example: “Some birds migrate to avoid harsher winter climates. Swallows, for instance, leave the UK in early winter and fly south…”

32. To give an illustration

Example: “To give an illustration of what I mean, let’s look at the case of…”

Signifying importance

When you want to demonstrate that a point is particularly important, there are several ways of highlighting it as such.

33. Significantly

Usage: Used to introduce a point that is loaded with meaning that might not be immediately apparent. Example: “Significantly, Tacitus omits to tell us the kind of gossip prevalent in Suetonius’ accounts of the same period.”

34. Notably

Usage: This can be used to mean “significantly” (as above), and it can also be used interchangeably with “in particular” (the example below demonstrates the first of these ways of using it). Example: “Actual figures are notably absent from Scholar A’s analysis.”

35. Importantly

Usage: Use “importantly” interchangeably with “significantly”. Example: “Importantly, Scholar A was being employed by X when he wrote this work, and was presumably therefore under pressure to portray the situation more favourably than he perhaps might otherwise have done.”

Summarising

You’ve almost made it to the end of the essay, but your work isn’t over yet. You need to end by wrapping up everything you’ve talked about, showing that you’ve considered the arguments on both sides and reached the most likely conclusion. Here are some words and phrases to help you.

36. In conclusion

Usage: Typically used to introduce the concluding paragraph or sentence of an essay, summarising what you’ve discussed in a broad overview. Example: “In conclusion, the evidence points almost exclusively to Argument A.”

37. Above all

Usage: Used to signify what you believe to be the most significant point, and the main takeaway from the essay. Example: “Above all, it seems pertinent to remember that…”

38. Persuasive

Usage: This is a useful word to use when summarising which argument you find most convincing. Example: “Scholar A’s point – that Constanze Mozart was motivated by financial gain – seems to me to be the most persuasive argument for her actions following Mozart’s death.”

39. Compelling

Usage: Use in the same way as “persuasive” above. Example: “The most compelling argument is presented by Scholar A.”

40. All things considered

Usage: This means “taking everything into account”. Example: “All things considered, it seems reasonable to assume that…”

How many of these words and phrases will you get into your next essay? And are any of your favourite essay terms missing from our list? Let us know in the comments below, or get in touch here to find out more about courses that can help you with your essays.

At Oxford Royale Academy, we offer a number of summer school courses for young people who are keen to improve their essay writing skills. Click here to apply for one of our courses today, including law , business , medicine and engineering .

Comments are closed.

Find a Teacher
Currency ( RUB )
Site Language
50 linking words to use in academic writing

Fiona Oates

Features for Creative Writers
Features for Work
Features for Higher Education
Features for Teachers
Features for Non-Native Speakers
Learn Blog Grammar Guide Community Events FAQ
Grammar Guide

Words to Use in an Essay: 300 Essay Words

Hannah Yang

Words to use in the essay introduction, words to use in the body of the essay, words to use in your essay conclusion, how to improve your essay writing vocabulary.

It’s not easy to write an academic essay .

Many students struggle to word their arguments in a logical and concise way.

To make matters worse, academic essays need to adhere to a certain level of formality, so we can’t always use the same word choices in essay writing that we would use in daily life.

If you’re struggling to choose the right words for your essay, don’t worry—you’ve come to the right place!

In this article, we’ve compiled a list of over 300 words and phrases to use in the introduction, body, and conclusion of your essay.

The introduction is one of the hardest parts of an essay to write.

You have only one chance to make a first impression, and you want to hook your reader. If the introduction isn’t effective, the reader might not even bother to read the rest of the essay.

That’s why it’s important to be thoughtful and deliberate with the words you choose at the beginning of your essay.

Many students use a quote in the introductory paragraph to establish credibility and set the tone for the rest of the essay.

When you’re referencing another author or speaker, try using some of these phrases:

To use the words of X

According to X

As X states

Example: To use the words of Hillary Clinton, “You cannot have maternal health without reproductive health.”

Near the end of the introduction, you should state the thesis to explain the central point of your paper.

If you’re not sure how to introduce your thesis, try using some of these phrases:

In this essay, I will…

The purpose of this essay…

This essay discusses…

In this paper, I put forward the claim that…

There are three main arguments for…

Example: In this essay, I will explain why dress codes in public schools are detrimental to students.

After you’ve stated your thesis, it’s time to start presenting the arguments you’ll use to back up that central idea.

When you’re introducing the first of a series of arguments, you can use the following words:

First and foremost

First of all

To begin with

Example: First , consider the effects that this new social security policy would have on low-income taxpayers.

All these words and phrases will help you create a more successful introduction and convince your audience to read on.

The body of your essay is where you’ll explain your core arguments and present your evidence.

It’s important to choose words and phrases for the body of your essay that will help the reader understand your position and convince them you’ve done your research.

Let’s look at some different types of words and phrases that you can use in the body of your essay, as well as some examples of what these words look like in a sentence.

Transition Words and Phrases

Transitioning from one argument to another is crucial for a good essay.

It’s important to guide your reader from one idea to the next so they don’t get lost or feel like you’re jumping around at random.

Transition phrases and linking words show your reader you’re about to move from one argument to the next, smoothing out their reading experience. They also make your writing look more professional.

The simplest transition involves moving from one idea to a separate one that supports the same overall argument. Try using these phrases when you want to introduce a second correlating idea:

Additionally

In addition

Furthermore

Another key thing to remember

In the same way

Correspondingly

Example: Additionally , public parks increase property value because home buyers prefer houses that are located close to green, open spaces.

Another type of transition involves restating. It’s often useful to restate complex ideas in simpler terms to help the reader digest them. When you’re restating an idea, you can use the following words:

In other words

To put it another way

That is to say

To put it more simply

Example: “The research showed that 53% of students surveyed expressed a mild or strong preference for more on-campus housing. In other words , over half the students wanted more dormitory options.”

Often, you’ll need to provide examples to illustrate your point more clearly for the reader. When you’re about to give an example of something you just said, you can use the following words:

For instance

To give an illustration of

To exemplify

To demonstrate

As evidence

Example: Humans have long tried to exert control over our natural environment. For instance , engineers reversed the Chicago River in 1900, causing it to permanently flow backward.

Sometimes, you’ll need to explain the impact or consequence of something you’ve just said.

When you’re drawing a conclusion from evidence you’ve presented, try using the following words:

As a result

Accordingly

As you can see

This suggests that

It follows that

It can be seen that

For this reason

For all of those reasons

Consequently

Example: “There wasn’t enough government funding to support the rest of the physics experiment. Thus , the team was forced to shut down their experiment in 1996.”

When introducing an idea that bolsters one you’ve already stated, or adds another important aspect to that same argument, you can use the following words:

What’s more

Not only…but also

Not to mention

To say nothing of

Another key point

Example: The volcanic eruption disrupted hundreds of thousands of people. Moreover , it impacted the local flora and fauna as well, causing nearly a hundred species to go extinct.

Often, you'll want to present two sides of the same argument. When you need to compare and contrast ideas, you can use the following words:

On the one hand / on the other hand

Alternatively

In contrast to

On the contrary

By contrast

In comparison

Example: On the one hand , the Black Death was undoubtedly a tragedy because it killed millions of Europeans. On the other hand , it created better living conditions for the peasants who survived.

Finally, when you’re introducing a new angle that contradicts your previous idea, you can use the following phrases:

Having said that

Differing from

In spite of

With this in mind

Provided that

Nevertheless

Nonetheless

Notwithstanding

Example: Shakespearean plays are classic works of literature that have stood the test of time. Having said that , I would argue that Shakespeare isn’t the most accessible form of literature to teach students in the twenty-first century.

Good essays include multiple types of logic. You can use a combination of the transitions above to create a strong, clear structure throughout the body of your essay.

Strong Verbs for Academic Writing

Verbs are especially important for writing clear essays. Often, you can convey a nuanced meaning simply by choosing the right verb.

You should use strong verbs that are precise and dynamic. Whenever possible, you should use an unambiguous verb, rather than a generic verb.

For example, alter and fluctuate are stronger verbs than change , because they give the reader more descriptive detail.

Here are some useful verbs that will help make your essay shine.

Verbs that show change:

Accommodate

Verbs that relate to causing or impacting something:

Verbs that show increase:

Verbs that show decrease:

Deteriorate

Verbs that relate to parts of a whole:

Comprises of

Is composed of

Constitutes

Encompasses

Incorporates

Verbs that show a negative stance:

Misconstrue

Verbs that show a positive stance:

Substantiate

Verbs that relate to drawing conclusions from evidence:

Corroborate

Demonstrate

Verbs that relate to thinking and analysis:

Contemplate

Hypothesize

Investigate

Verbs that relate to showing information in a visual format:

Useful Adjectives and Adverbs for Academic Essays

You should use adjectives and adverbs more sparingly than verbs when writing essays, since they sometimes add unnecessary fluff to sentences.

However, choosing the right adjectives and adverbs can help add detail and sophistication to your essay.

Sometimes you'll need to use an adjective to show that a finding or argument is useful and should be taken seriously. Here are some adjectives that create positive emphasis:

Significant

Other times, you'll need to use an adjective to show that a finding or argument is harmful or ineffective. Here are some adjectives that create a negative emphasis:

Controversial

Insignificant

Questionable

Unnecessary

Unrealistic

Finally, you might need to use an adverb to lend nuance to a sentence, or to express a specific degree of certainty. Here are some examples of adverbs that are often used in essays:

Comprehensively

Exhaustively

Extensively

Respectively

Surprisingly

Using these words will help you successfully convey the key points you want to express. Once you’ve nailed the body of your essay, it’s time to move on to the conclusion.

The conclusion of your paper is important for synthesizing the arguments you’ve laid out and restating your thesis.

In your concluding paragraph, try using some of these essay words:

In conclusion

To summarize

In a nutshell

Given the above

As described

All things considered

Example: In conclusion , it’s imperative that we take action to address climate change before we lose our coral reefs forever.

In addition to simply summarizing the key points from the body of your essay, you should also add some final takeaways. Give the reader your final opinion and a bit of a food for thought.

To place emphasis on a certain point or a key fact, use these essay words:

Unquestionably

Undoubtedly

Particularly

Importantly

Conclusively

It should be noted

On the whole

Example: Ada Lovelace is unquestionably a powerful role model for young girls around the world, and more of our public school curricula should include her as a historical figure.

These concluding phrases will help you finish writing your essay in a strong, confident way.

There are many useful essay words out there that we didn't include in this article, because they are specific to certain topics.

If you're writing about biology, for example, you will need to use different terminology than if you're writing about literature.

So how do you improve your vocabulary skills?

The vocabulary you use in your academic writing is a toolkit you can build up over time, as long as you take the time to learn new words.

One way to increase your vocabulary is by looking up words you don’t know when you’re reading.

Try reading more books and academic articles in the field you’re writing about and jotting down all the new words you find. You can use these words to bolster your own essays.

You can also consult a dictionary or a thesaurus. When you’re using a word you’re not confident about, researching its meaning and common synonyms can help you make sure it belongs in your essay.

Don't be afraid of using simpler words. Good essay writing boils down to choosing the best word to convey what you need to say, not the fanciest word possible.

Finally, you can use ProWritingAid’s synonym tool or essay checker to find more precise and sophisticated vocabulary. Click on weak words in your essay to find stronger alternatives.

ProWritingAid offering synonyms for great

There you have it: our compilation of the best words and phrases to use in your next essay . Good luck!

Good writing = better grades

ProWritingAid will help you improve the style, strength, and clarity of all your assignments.

Hannah Yang is a speculative fiction writer who writes about all things strange and surreal. Her work has appeared in Analog Science Fiction, Apex Magazine, The Dark, and elsewhere, and two of her stories have been finalists for the Locus Award. Her favorite hobbies include watercolor painting, playing guitar, and rock climbing. You can follow her work on hannahyang.com, or subscribe to her newsletter for publication updates.

Get started with ProWritingAid

Drop us a line or let's stay in touch via :

Academic Phrasebank

Defining terms.

GENERAL LANGUAGE FUNCTIONS
Being cautious
Being critical
Classifying and listing
Compare and contrast
Describing trends
Describing quantities
Explaining causality
Giving examples
Signalling transition
Writing about the past

In academic work students are often expected to give definitions of key words and phrases in order to demonstrate to their tutors that they understand these terms clearly. More generally, however, academic writers define terms so that their readers understand exactly what is meant when certain key terms are used. When important words are not clearly understood misinterpretation may result. In fact, many disagreements (academic, legal, diplomatic, personal) arise as a result of different interpretations of the same term. In academic writing, teachers and their students often have to explore these differing interpretations before moving on to study a topic.

Introductory phrases

The term ‘X’ was first used by … The term ‘X’ can be traced back to … Previous studies mostly defined X as … The term ‘X’ was introduced by Smith in her … Historically, the term ‘X’ has been used to describe … It is necessary here to clarify exactly what is meant by … This shows a need to be explicit about exactly what is meant by the word ‘X’.

Simple three-part definitions

A university is	an institution	where knowledge is produced and passed on to others
Social Economics may be defined as	the branch of economics	[which is] concerned with the measurement, causes, and consequences of social problems.
Research may be defined as	a systematic process	which consists of three elements or components: (1) a question, problem, or hypothesis, (2) data, and (3) analysis and interpretation of data.
Braille is	a system	of touch reading and writing for blind people in which raised dots on paper represent the letters of the alphabet.

General meanings or application of meanings

X can broadly be defined as … X can be loosely described as … X can be defined as … It encompasses … In the literature, the term tends to be used to refer to … In broad terms, X can be defined as any stimulus that is … Whereas X refers to the operations of …, Y refers to the … The broad use of the term ‘X’ is sometimes equated with … The term ‘disease’ refers to a biological event characterised by … Defined as …, X is now considered a worldwide problem and is associated with …

The term ‘X’

refers to …
encompasses A), B), and C).
has come to be used to refer to …
is generally understood to mean …
has been used to refer to situations in which …
carries certain connotations in some types of …
is a relatively new name for a Y, commonly referred to as …

Indicating varying definitions

The definition of X has evolved. There are multiple definitions of X. Several definitions of X have been proposed. In the field of X, various definitions of X are found. The term ‘X’ embodies a multitude of concepts which … This term has two overlapping, even slightly confusing meanings. Widely varying definitions of X have emerged (Smith and Jones, 1999). Despite its common usage, X is used in different disciplines to mean different things. Since the definition of X varies among researchers, it is important to clarify how the term is …

The meaning of this term

has evolved.
has varied over time.
has been extended to refer to …
has been broadened in recent years.
has not been consistent throughout …
has changed somewhat from its original definition …

Indicating difficulties in defining a term

X is a contested term. X is a rather nebulous term … X is challenging to define because … A precise definition of X has proved elusive. A generally accepted definition of X is lacking. Unfortunately, X remains a poorly defined term. There is no agreed definition on what constitutes … There is little consensus about what X actually means. There is a degree of uncertainty around the terminology in … These terms are often used interchangeably and without precision. Numerous terms are used to describe X, the most common of which are …. The definition of X varies in the literature and there is terminological confusion. Smith (2001) identified four abilities that might be subsumed under the term ‘X’: a) … ‘X’ is a term frequently used in the literature, but to date there is no consensus about … X is a commonly-used notion in psychology and yet it is a concept difficult to define precisely. Although differences of opinion still exist, there appears to be some agreement that X refers to …

The meaning of this term

has been disputed.
has been debated ever since …
has proved to be notoriously hard to define.
has been an object of major disagreement in …
has been a matter of ongoing discussion among …

Specifying terms that are used in an essay or thesis

The term ‘X’ is used here to refer to … In the present study, X is defined as … The term ‘X’ will be used solely when referring to … In this essay, the term ‘X’ will be used in its broadest sense to refer to all … In this paper, the term that will be used to describe this phenomenon is ‘X’. In this dissertation, the terms ‘X’ and ‘Y’ are used interchangeably to mean … Throughout this thesis, the term ‘X’ is used to refer to informal systems as well as … While a variety of definitions of the term ‘X’ have been suggested, this paper will use the definition first suggested by Smith (1968) who saw it as …

Referring to people’s definitions: author prominent

For Smith (2001), X means … Smith (2001) uses the term ‘X’ to refer to … Smith (1954) was apparently the first to use the term … In 1987, psychologist John Smith popularized the term ‘X’ to describe … According to a definition provided by Smith (2001:23), X is ‘the maximally … This definition is close to those of Smith (2012) and Jones (2013) who define X as … Smith, has shown that, as late as 1920, Jones was using the term ‘X’ to refer to particular … One of the first people to define nursing was Florence Nightingale (1860), who wrote: ‘… …’ Chomsky writes that a grammar is a ‘device of some sort for producing the ….’ (1957, p.11). Aristotle defines the imagination as ‘the movement which results upon an actual sensation.’ Smith et al . (2002) have provided a new definition of health: ‘health is a state of being with …

Referring to people’s definitions: author non-prominent

X is defined by Smith (2003: 119) as ‘… …’ The term ‘X’ is used by Smith (2001) to refer to … X is, for Smith (2012), the situation which occurs when … A further definition of X is given by Smith (1982) who describes … The term ‘X’ is used by Aristotle in four overlapping senses. First, it is the underlying … X is the degree to which an assessment process or device measures … (Smith et al ., 1986).

Commenting on a definition

This definition

includes …
allows for …
highlights the …
helps distinguish …
takes into account …
poses a problem for …
will continue to evolve.
can vary depending on …
was agreed upon after …
has been broadened to include …

The following definition is

intended to …
modelled on …
too simplistic:
useful because …
problematic as …
inadequate since …
in need of revision since …
important for what it excludes.
the most precise produced so far.

+44 (0) 161 306 6000

The University of Manchester Oxford Rd Manchester M13 9PL UK

Connect With Us

The University of Manchester

50 Useful Academic Words & Phrases for Research

Like all good writing, writing an academic paper takes a certain level of skill to express your ideas and arguments in a way that is natural and that meets a level of academic sophistication. The terms, expressions, and phrases you use in your research paper must be of an appropriate level to be submitted to academic journals.

Therefore, authors need to know which verbs , nouns , and phrases to apply to create a paper that is not only easy to understand, but which conveys an understanding of academic conventions. Using the correct terminology and usage shows journal editors and fellow researchers that you are a competent writer and thinker, while using non-academic language might make them question your writing ability, as well as your critical reasoning skills.

What are academic words and phrases?

One way to understand what constitutes good academic writing is to read a lot of published research to find patterns of usage in different contexts. However, it may take an author countless hours of reading and might not be the most helpful advice when faced with an upcoming deadline on a manuscript draft.

Briefly, “academic” language includes terms, phrases, expressions, transitions, and sometimes symbols and abbreviations that help the pieces of an academic text fit together. When writing an academic text–whether it is a book report, annotated bibliography, research paper, research poster, lab report, research proposal, thesis, or manuscript for publication–authors must follow academic writing conventions. You can often find handy academic writing tips and guidelines by consulting the style manual of the text you are writing (i.e., APA Style , MLA Style , or Chicago Style ).

However, sometimes it can be helpful to have a list of academic words and expressions like the ones in this article to use as a “cheat sheet” for substituting the better term in a given context.

How to Choose the Best Academic Terms

You can think of writing “academically” as writing in a way that conveys one’s meaning effectively but concisely. For instance, while the term “take a look at” is a perfectly fine way to express an action in everyday English, a term like “analyze” would certainly be more suitable in most academic contexts. It takes up fewer words on the page and is used much more often in published academic papers.

You can use one handy guideline when choosing the most academic term: When faced with a choice between two different terms, use the Latinate version of the term. Here is a brief list of common verbs versus their academic counterparts:

)
add up	calculate
carry out	execute
find out	discover
pass out	distribute
ask questions about	interrogate
make sense of	interpret
pass on	distribute

Although this can be a useful tip to help academic authors, it can be difficult to memorize dozens of Latinate verbs. Using an AI paraphrasing tool or proofreading tool can help you instantly find more appropriate academic terms, so consider using such revision tools while you draft to improve your writing.

Top 50 Words and Phrases for Different Sections in a Research Paper

The “Latinate verb rule” is just one tool in your arsenal of academic writing, and there are many more out there. But to make the process of finding academic language a bit easier for you, we have compiled a list of 50 vital academic words and phrases, divided into specific categories and use cases, each with an explanation and contextual example.

Best Words and Phrases to use in an Introduction section

1. historically.

An adverb used to indicate a time perspective, especially when describing the background of a given topic.

2. In recent years

A temporal marker emphasizing recent developments, often used at the very beginning of your Introduction section.

3. It is widely acknowledged that

A “form phrase” indicating a broad consensus among researchers and/or the general public. Often used in the literature review section to build upon a foundation of established scientific knowledge.

4. There has been growing interest in

Highlights increasing attention to a topic and tells the reader why your study might be important to this field of research.

5. Preliminary observations indicate

Shares early insights or findings while hedging on making any definitive conclusions. Modal verbs like may , might , and could are often used with this expression.

6. This study aims to

Describes the goal of the research and is a form phrase very often used in the research objective or even the hypothesis of a research paper .

7. Despite its significance

Highlights the importance of a matter that might be overlooked. It is also frequently used in the rationale of the study section to show how your study’s aim and scope build on previous studies.

8. While numerous studies have focused on

Indicates the existing body of work on a topic while pointing to the shortcomings of certain aspects of that research. Helps focus the reader on the question, “What is missing from our knowledge of this topic?” This is often used alongside the statement of the problem in research papers.

9. The purpose of this research is

A form phrase that directly states the aim of the study.

10. The question arises (about/whether)

Poses a query or research problem statement for the reader to acknowledge.

Best Words and Phrases for Clarifying Information

11. in other words.

Introduces a synopsis or the rephrasing of a statement for clarity. This is often used in the Discussion section statement to explain the implications of the study .

12. That is to say

Provides clarification, similar to “in other words.”

13. To put it simply

Simplifies a complex idea, often for a more general readership.

14. To clarify

Specifically indicates to the reader a direct elaboration of a previous point.

15. More specifically

Narrows down a general statement from a broader one. Often used in the Discussion section to clarify the meaning of a specific result.

16. To elaborate

Expands on a point made previously.

17. In detail

Indicates a deeper dive into information.

Points out specifics. Similar meaning to “specifically” or “especially.”

19. This means that

Explains implications and/or interprets the meaning of the Results section .

20. Moreover

Expands a prior point to a broader one that shows the greater context or wider argument.

Best Words and Phrases for Giving Examples

21. for instance.

Provides a specific case that fits into the point being made.

22. As an illustration

Demonstrates a point in full or in part.

23. To illustrate

Shows a clear picture of the point being made.

24. For example

Presents a particular instance. Same meaning as “for instance.”

25. Such as

Lists specifics that comprise a broader category or assertion being made.

26. Including

Offers examples as part of a larger list.

27. Notably

Adverb highlighting an important example. Similar meaning to “especially.”

28. Especially

Adverb that emphasizes a significant instance.

29. In particular

Draws attention to a specific point.

30. To name a few

Indicates examples than previously mentioned are about to be named.

Best Words and Phrases for Comparing and Contrasting

31. however.

Introduces a contrasting idea.

32. On the other hand

Highlights an alternative view or fact.

33. Conversely

Indicates an opposing or reversed idea to the one just mentioned.

34. Similarly

Shows likeness or parallels between two ideas, objects, or situations.

35. Likewise

Indicates agreement with a previous point.

36. In contrast

Draws a distinction between two points.

37. Nevertheless

Introduces a contrasting point, despite what has been said.

38. Whereas

Compares two distinct entities or ideas.

Indicates a contrast between two points.

Signals an unexpected contrast.

Best Words and Phrases to use in a Conclusion section

41. in conclusion.

Signifies the beginning of the closing argument.

42. To sum up

Offers a brief summary.

43. In summary

Signals a concise recap.

44. Ultimately

Reflects the final or main point.

45. Overall

Gives a general concluding statement.

Indicates a resulting conclusion.

Demonstrates a logical conclusion.

48. Therefore

Connects a cause and its effect.

49. It can be concluded that

Clearly states a conclusion derived from the data.

50. Taking everything into consideration

Reflects on all the discussed points before concluding.

Edit Your Research Terms and Phrases Before Submission

Using these phrases in the proper places in your research papers can enhance the clarity, flow, and persuasiveness of your writing, especially in the Introduction section and Discussion section, which together make up the majority of your paper’s text in most academic domains.

However, it's vital to ensure each phrase is contextually appropriate to avoid redundancy or misinterpretation. As mentioned at the top of this article, the best way to do this is to 1) use an AI text editor , free AI paraphrasing tool or AI proofreading tool while you draft to enhance your writing, and 2) consult a professional proofreading service like Wordvice, which has human editors well versed in the terminology and conventions of the specific subject area of your academic documents.

For more detailed information on using AI tools to write a research paper and the best AI tools for research , check out the Wordvice AI Blog .

Glossary of Academic Words

Acronyms (NATO), contractions (shouldn’t) and initialisms (WHO) are all types of abbreviation, which are when one or many words are shortened from their original form for quickness.

Related readers: Words , Word Structures , Abbreviations

The first section of a dissertation or thesis in which a summary of the entire primary research is provided to the reader in brief.

Related readers: Dissertations , Theses , The Abstract

These are the rules and regulations that students and tutors should follow if they wish to be considered functioning members of an academic community.

Related readers: Study Skills , Collusion Avoidance , Plagiarism Avoidance

The vocabulary and language structures which are acceptable in academic contexts, such as cohesive devices, hedging language or reporting verbs.

Related readers: Vocabulary , Academic Language , Academic Word Lists

When a member of an academic institution breaks the rules of that institution, such as by cheating, colluding or committing plagiarism.

A bank of words collected by linguistics (language scientists) which are used much more frequently in academic contexts than in general settings.

Related readers: Academic Language , Academic Word Lists

In referencing, an acknowledgement is when one author publicly recognises the ideas and research of another author, usually by including a combination of citations and references.

Related readers: Referencing , Citation Types , References and Reference Lists

A word class which is usually used to describe nouns within a sentence, such as difficult in difficult examination .

Related readers: Words , Word Types , Adjectives

A word class which is usually used to modify verbs within a sentence and which often end in the suffix -ly, such as slowly in speak slowly .

Related readers: Words , Word Types , Adverbs

A phrase function (like a subject or an object) in which a phrase acts like an adverb in an expression, modifying the verb, an adjective or another adverb.

Related readers: Grammar Practice , Phrase Functions , Adverbials and Complements

In grammar, this is a lexical process in which morphemes (pieces of words) are attached to an existing word to alter its grammar, meaning or class.

Related readers: Affixes , Prefixes , Suffixes

The organisation of a list of items (such as a reference list) using the alphabet, with items that start with ‘A’ coming first on that list and those that begin with ‘Z’ being placed last.

Related readers: Referencing , References and Reference Lists

When a word has the opposite meaning to another word, such as how big and small are antonyms of each other (related to synonym).

Related readers: Grammar Practice , Word Meanings , Antonyms and Synonyms

A type of punctuation mark (‘) which is particularly useful for forming abbreviations and possessive constructions.

Related readers: Punctuation , Apostrophes , Abbreviations

A collection of optional resources placed at the back of an assignment that are not essential to grading that work, including items such as transcripts, questionnaires or images.

Related readers: Referencing , Appendices and Bibliographies

In grammar, these are a type of determiner which can be divided into definite ( the ) and indefinite ( a/an ) forms, both of which are used to specify nouns.

Related readers: Grammar Practice , Word Types , Determiners

The name of the organisation or business that would like to be recognised as the author of a piece of work, such as the British Broadcasting Corporation .

Related readers: Referencing , Including Authors

The first type of (undergraduate) degree available at university, usually completed within three or four years of continuous on-campus or distance-learning study.

Related readers: Getting Qualified , Bachelor’s Degrees , Master’s Degrees

An element of an introductory paragraph that provides the reader with the context of the essay topic, such as a definition of key terms or the history of the topic in brief.

Related readers: Essay Writing , Introductory Paragraphs , Background Information

An alphabetical list of sources that were read when completing an academic assignment, usually placed at the end of that assignment with careful formatting (much the same way a reference list).

When learning is conducted both face-to-face in class and online in a mixed format, particularly popular in modern institutions.

The expressions and gestures which a presenter makes to provide information to the audience beyond and in addition to the spoken word.

Related readers: Presentation Skills , Body Language , Delivery Strategies

A written instruction such as AND, NOT, “” and * that is used in a library or internet search engine to expand or narrow a researcher’s search results.

Related readers: Research Skills , Conducting Digital Searches , Finding Academic Sources

The Certificate in Advanced English as created and managed by Cambridge University to test the proficiency in English of non-native speakers.

Related readers: Careers Advice , CAE , IELTS Tests

The combination of numbers and letters which are printed on the spine of a library book to indicate the precise location of that book within the library’s shelves.

The Cambridge University Certificate of English Language Teaching to Adults.

Related readers: Getting Qualified , Cambridge University CELTA

The organisation of a list of items (usually in a reference list) using historical dates, with items that have earlier dates (such as ‘2001’) being placed before those with more recent dates (such as ‘2019’).

A piece of text such as (Jones, 2020) that is placed within an academic assignment or published research to acknowledge a source being used as support for that work.

Related readers: Referencing , Referencing Features , Citation Types

In grammar, the combination of a subject and a verb creates a clause, which may be independent or dependent depending on whether another cause is required to form a complete sentence.

Related readers: Grammar Practice , Sentences , Sentence Clauses

Similar to a society, an academic club is a collection of like-minded people who work together to complete a goal, whether a sport, an activity or an intellectual pursuit.

Related readers: Getting Experienced , Clubs and Societies

The various words and phrases which are used to signpost and make connections within academic communication (particularly within essays), such as however , finally or the first .

Related readers: Academic Language , Cohesive Devices , Coherence and Cohesion

When words or phrases have a tendency to be found together, such as how give and advice or do and homework are found together.

Related readers: Academic Language , Phrases , Collocations

This is a type of academic misconduct in which two or more students work together on a piece of work that is intended to be completed alone, such as an essay.

A type of punctuation mark (:) which is often taken to mean for example and which is used to introduce a new independent clause

Related readers: Punctuation , Colons and Semicolons

A type of punctuation mark (,) which is most commonly used to list words or phrases or to separate clauses.

Key Terms in Academic Writing--Online Writing Center

Knowing and understanding terms and concepts related to academic writing, and being able to apply them, will help you organize your thoughts and ultimately produce a better essay or paper.

Important terms for you to know include:

Definition of Apply

Compare/Contrast

Evaluate/critique.

Relate information to real-life examples; ask how information "works" in a different context.

Academic argument is constructed to make a point, not to "argue" heatedly (using emotion). The characteristics of academic argument include language that is

impersonal (no personal references)
evidence-based (examples)

The purposes of academic argument are to

analyze an issue or a situation
make a case for your point of view
convince your reader or listener of the truth of something.

A convincing academic argument has two elements:

X is better than Y.
Scents in the office can affect people's work.
UFOs are really government-regulated.

In written argument, the argument usually is crystallized in an essay's thesis sentence.

Proof (evidence to show the truth of the argument)

The concept is simple: You state your point and back it up. But the backing-it-up part is trickier, because so many things can go awry between point and backup. Thus, the relationship between assertion and proof involves these:

There are different types of assertions; you need to choose one that can be proven logically.
There are different types of proof; you need to choose the appropriate type/s for your particular case.
There are many ways to influence the argument through language; you need to choose language that is dispassionate and unbiased so that you're focusing your proof on evidence instead of emotion.

What to Consider in Writing an Academic Argument

The argument itself.

An argument can be called

an assertion

Whatever term you choose, it needs to be proven.

Three examples of assertions:

UFO's are really government-regulated.

" Scents in the office can affect people's work" is an argument that probably can be proven.

There have been some studies done on the use of scents, especially in Japan, and their effect on workplace actions, workers' emotions, and productivity. It's likely that you will be able to find information on this in scientific or business journals that are written for professionals in those fields. So this actually might be provable by academic argument.

It's hard to determine whether the first example, "X is better than Y," is provable, as it's not specific enough an assertion. You'd need to define X and Y precisely, and you'd need to define the term "better" precisely in order even to approach having a provable argument. For example, the assertion "Learning through doing is more akin to the way most adults learn than learning through classroom lectures," is probably provable with evidence from psychologists, educators, and learning theorists. The point here is that an argument needs to be precise to be provable.

The last example, "UFOs are really government-regulated," may not be provable. "UFO" is a general term that needs to be more precise, as does " government" (whose?). Even if you define UFO and government, it may be impossible to find evidence to prove this assertion. Again, the point is that you won't have an argument if you don't have an assertion that can be proved.

Types of Proof

Proof generally falls into two categories: facts and opinions.

A "fact" is something that has been demonstrated or verified as true or something that is generally accepted as truth. For example, it's a fact that the world is round.
"Opinion" is based upon observation and is not as absolutely verifiable. It's my opinion that Frick and Frack argue too much.

Many students assume, incorrectly, that the more facts, the better support for an argument; and they try to load the support with dates or numbers. But the opinions of experts in the field are just as important as facts in constituting proof for an argument. Expert opinion means that a professional, well-versed in a field, has interpreted and drawn conclusions from facts.

In writing--or in analyzing--an argument, you need to ask whether the assertion has appropriate proof in terms of type and quantity.

It's not enough to argue that adults learn better by doing than by listening to lectures, and to use the experience of one adult learner to validate your argument. You'd need more than one person's experience, and you'd need both facts (generally accepted psychological and physiological observations about the way we learn) and expert opinion (studies done that confirm the facts).

Relationship Between Argument and Proof

The assertion and the proof need to relate to one another logically to have create a solid, acceptable argument. Problems commonly occur in the relationship when there are incorrect assumptions underlying the assertion, or incorrect conclusions drawn on the basis of inappropriate or insufficient proof.

For examples:

You can't logically argue that adult students don't like lectures on the basis of interviews with one or two adult students. You can't assume that because this situation is true for one or two adult learners, it's true for all.
You can't logically argue that our weather has changed on earth because of our forays into outer space. You can't conclude that one action has been the sole cause of another action.
You can't logically argue that we have to be either for or against a proposition. You can't assume that only those two responses exist.

In general, the assertion and any assumptions underlying the assertion need to be generally acceptable, while the proof needs to be sufficient, relevant to the assertion and free of incorrect assumptions and conclusions.

A good accessible text that examines the relationship between an assertion and proof (the nature of argument) is Annette Rottenberg's "Elements of Argument," which uses Stephen Toulmin's classic "The Uses of Argument" as its basis.

Rottenberg breaks argument down into

claim (the argument itself)
grounds (the proof)
warrant (the underlying assumptions)

She explores the relationship among these pieces of argument within the context of writing good arguments. Another good text is Marlys Mayfield's "Thinking for Yourself," which has particularly useful chapters on facts, opinions, assumptions, and inferences. Still another good text is Vincent Ruggerio's "The Art of Thinking" which looks at both critical and creative thought.

The Role of Language in Argument

Language style and use are crucially important to argument.

Has an attempt been made to use straightforward language, or is the language emotionally-charged?
Has an attempt been made to argue through reliance on evidence, or does the argument rely on swaying your thoughts through word choice and connotation?
Is the language precise or vague?
Is the language concrete or abstract?

Argument exists not only in ideas but also in the way those ideas are presented through language.

Comparison ordinarily answers the question: What are the ways in which these events, words, and/or people are similar?
Contrast ordinarily answers the question: What are the ways in which they are different?

Your instructor may mean "compare and contrast" when he or she tells you to "compare." Ask questions to clarify what is expected. Try to find interesting and unexpected similarities and differences. That's what your instructor is hoping for--ideas he or she hasn't thought of yet.

You are expected to be able to answer the question: What is the exact meaning of this word, term, expression (according to a school of thought, culture, text, individual) within the argument?

Generally, your definition is expected to conform to other people's understanding of how the term is used within a specific discipline or area of study. Your definition must distinguish the term you are defining from all other things. (For example, although it is true that an orange is a fruit, it is not a sufficient definition of an orange. Lemons are fruits too).

A clear definition of a term enables a reader to tell whether any event or thing they might encounter falls into the category designated.

Examples may clarify, but do not define, a word, term, or expression.

Tip : A definition is never "true"; it is always controversial, and depends on who's proposing it.

Answer the questions: What does or did this look like, sound like, feel like?

Usually you are expected to give a clear, detailed picture of something in a description. If this instruction is vague, ask questions so you know what level of specificity is expected in your description. While the ideal description would replicate the subject/thing described exactly, you will need to get as close to it as is practical and possible and desirable.

Usually you are asked to discuss an issue or controversy.

Ordinarily you are expected to consider all sides of a question with a fairly open mind rather than taking a firm position and arguing it.

Because "discuss" is a broad term, it's a good idea to clarify with your professor.

You are expected to answer the question: What is the value, truth or quality of this essay, book, movie, argument, and so forth?

Ordinarily, you are expected to consider how well something meets a certain standard. To critique a book, you might measure it against some literary or social value. You might evaluate a business presentation on the basis of the results you predict it will get.

Often you will critique parts of the whole, using a variety of criteria; for example, in critiquing another student's paper, you might consider: Where is it clear? not clear? What was interesting? Do the examples add to the paper? Is the conclusion a good one?

Be sure you know exactly which criteria you are expected to consider in the assigned evaluation.

If there are no established criteria, make sure you have carefully developed your own, and persuade the reader that you are right in your evaluation by clarifying your criteria and explaining carefully how the text or parts of the text in question measure up to them.

You are expected to answer the question: What is the meaning or the significance of this text or event, as I understand it?

You might be asked to interpret a poem, a slide on the stock market, a political event, or evidence from an experiment. You are not being asked for just any possible interpretation. You are being asked for your best interpretation. So even though it is a matter of opinion, ordinarily you are expected to explain why you think as you do.

You are expected to go beyond summarizing, interpreting, and evaluating the text. You attach meaning that is not explicitly stated in the text by bringing your own experiences and prior knowledge into the reading of the text. This kind of writing allows you to develop your understanding of what you read within the context of your own life and thinking and feeling. It facilitates a real conversation between you and the text.

You are expected to:

answer the question: What are the important points in this text?
condense a long text into a short one
boil away all the examples and non-essential details, leaving just the central idea and the main points.

A good summary shows your instructor that you understand what you have read and actually clarifies it for yourself.

A summary is almost always required preparation for deeper thinking, and is an important tool for research writing.
If you're going to test whether you really understand main ideas, you'll need to state them in your own words as completely and clearly as possible.

Tip: Summary and summary-reaction papers are commonly assigned at Empire State University. Read more at Writing Summaries and Paraphrases .

Blend information from many sources; determine which "fits together."

Need Assistance?

If you would like assistance with any type of writing assignment, learning coaches are available to assist you. Please contact Academic Support by emailing [email protected].

Questions or feedback about SUNY Empire's Writing Support?

Smart Cookies

They're not just in our classes – they help power our website. Cookies and similar tools allow us to better understand the experience of our visitors. By continuing to use this website, you consent to SUNY Empire State University's usage of cookies and similar technologies in accordance with the university's Privacy Notice and Cookies Policy .

I nfographics
Show AWL words
Subscribe to newsletter
Incidental learning
Incidental learning tool
Pronunciation
Part of speech
Word family
Common/uncommon
General/Academic
Collocation
About vocabulary building
AWL highlighter/gapfill
AWL tag cloud/gapfill
ACL highlighter/gapfill
AFL highlighter/gapfill
Multi highlighter
NAWL highlighter
AVL highlighter
DCL highlighter
EAWL highlighter
MAWL highlighter
MAVL highlighter
MAWL/MAVL highlighter
CAWL highlighter
CSAVL highlighter
SWL highlighter
SPL highlighter
SVL/MSVL profiler
GSL highlighter
NGSL highlighter
New-GSL highlighter
About the AWL
AWL word finder
AWL highlighter & gapfill
AWL tag cloud & gapfill
AWL word cloud
AWL word cloud (sublist)
About the ACL
ACL by headword
ACL by type
ACL by frequency
ACL highlighter & gapfill
ACL mind map
About the GSL
GSL by frequency
GSL alphabetical
GSL limiter
About technical vocab
Secondary Vocab Lists
Middle Sch Vocab Lists
Science Word List
Secondary Phrase Lists
Nursing Collocation List
Other specific lists
Text profiler
Word & phrase profiler
Academic concordancer
Guide to the concordancer
Academic corpora
Concordancers review
Environment
Physical Health

Show AWL words on this page.

Levels 1-5: grey Levels 6-10: orange

Show sorted lists of these words.

-->

Any words you don't know? Look them up in the website's built-in dictionary .

Choose a dictionary . Wordnet OPTED both

Academic vocab

The Academic Collocation List (ACL) Common academic collocations

This page describes the Academic Collocation List (ACL), explaining what it is and giving a full list of collocations in the ACL, sorted by headword . There is also, in another section, an ACL highlighter which can be used to highlight ACL words in a text, as well as an ACL mind map creator.

What is the ACL?

For another look at the same content, check out YouTube or Youku , or the infographic . There is a worksheet (with answers and teacher's notes) for this video.

The Academic Collocation List (ACL) is a list containing 2,469 of the most frequent and useful collocations which occur in written academic English. It can be seen as a collocational companion to the Academic Word List (AWL) , consisting of collocations (or word combinations) rather than single words.

The ACL was developed by Kirsten Ackermann and Yu-Hua Chen using the Pearson International Corpus of Academic English (PICAE), with advice from English teaching experts to ensure the collocations chosen would be useful to students of English. The ACL gives around 1.4% coverage of words in academic English (based on the source corpus used in the study). In contrast, the same collocations give only 0.1% coverage for a general corpus, showing they are indeed much more common in academic than general English.

Many of the words in the ACL are also contained in the AWL, e.g. alternative approach appears in the ACL, and both of these words appear in the AWL. However, there are many word combinations which are very common in academic writing which contain one word or no words from the AWL, such as generally agree (both of these words actually appear in the GSL ). Studying collocations is an important way to build up your academic vocabulary, and the Academic Collocation List is one possible tool to help you do this.

Check out the Quizzes section for exercises to practise using words in the ACL.

The Academic Collocation List

The 2,469 collocations in the ACL are listed below. The list has been adapted for this website by collecting collocations under headwords, in the same way that words in the AWL are categorised. In addition, the collocations have been listed under both of the headwords they contain in order to make them easier to find. This means, for example, that the collocation great accuracy appears both under the headword great and the headword accurate . The collocation accurate description likewise appears under accurate , as well as under the headword describe . This means each collocation appears twice in the list, once for each headword. Where words occur in the AWL , the AWL headword has been used, e.g. the AWL headword for academic is academy .

There are three versions of this list on the website:

ordered by headword ( this page )
listed according to collocation type ( adj + n etc.)
listed by frequency


ability	cognitive ability
abstract	abstract concept
abuse	sexual abuse
academy	(in) academic circles, academic achievement, academic career, academic community, academic debate, academic discipline, academic discourse, academic institution, academic journal, academic life, academic performance, academic research, academic skills, academic study, academic success, academic work, academic world, academic writing, academic year
accept	accept responsibility, acceptable behaviour, socially acceptable, widespread acceptance, (be) commonly accepted, (be) generally accepted, (be) universally accepted, (be) widely accepted
access	allow access (to), deny access (to), direct access, easy access, electronic access, equal access, free access, gain access (to), give access (to), have access (to), internet access, limited access, online access, open access, provide access (to), public access, ready access, unlimited access, easily accessible, readily accessible
account	brief account, comprehensive account, historical account
accurate	great accuracy, accurate assessment, accurate description, accurate information, accurate measurement, accurate picture, accurate record
achieve	achieve (a) goal, achieve (an) objective, achieve (an) outcome, academic achievement
acquire	acquire knowledge, newly acquired
act	sexual act, appropriate action, collective action, legal action, military action, positive action, active involvement, active participant, active participation, active role, (be) actively involved, political activism, commercial activity, cultural activity, economic activity, engage in (an) activity, human activity, learning activity, physical activity, political activity, professional activity, related activity, social activity, undertake (an) activity
acute	particularly acute, acutely aware
add	add information
additional	additional cost, additional information, additional problem, additional resources, additional support
address	address (an) issue
adjust	structural adjustment, make adjustments
administrate	public administration, administrative practices
adopt	adopt (a) procedure, adopt (an) approach, (be) widely adopted
advance	advanced economy, advanced technology, technological advances
advantage	major advantage
adverse	adverse effect, adverse reaction, adversely affect
affair	economic affairs, financial affairs, internal affairs
affect	affect (the) development (of), affect (the) outcome, adversely affect, directly affect, severely affect, significantly affect, (be) directly affected
agency	federal agency, regulatory agency
agenda	political agenda, set (the) agenda
agree	generally agree, strongly agree, broad agreement, general agreement, international agreement, reach (an) agreement, strongly disagree
aim	overall aim, primary aim
allocate	allocate resources
allow	allow access (to)
ally	(be) closely allied (to, with)
almost	almost identical
alternative	alternative approach, alternative explanation, alternative form, alternative interpretion, alternative means, alternative method, alternative model, alternative solution, alternative source, alternative strategy, alternative view, alternative way, provide (an) alternative
amount	(a) considerable amount (of), (a) huge amount (of), (a) significant amount (of), (a) substantial amount (of), (a) vast amount (of), (an) enormous amount (of)
ample	ample evidence
analyse	careful analysis, comparative analysis, conduct (an) analysis, critical analysis, detailed analysis, economic analysis, final analysis, full analysis, further analysis, historical analysis, qualitative analysis, quantitative analysis, statistical analysis, subsequent analysis, systematic analysis, textual analysis, thematic analysis, theoretical analysis, use (the) analysis, analytical approach, analytical tool
ancestor	common ancestor
anecdotal	anecdotal evidence
annual	annual conference, annual meeting, annual rate, annual report, annual review
answer	final answer
apparent	become apparent, immediately apparent, particularly apparent
appearance	physical appearance
apply	apply (a) method, apply (the) theory, apply equally
approach	adopt (an) approach, alternative approach, analytical approach, common approach, comprehensive approach, critical approach, develop (an) approach, flexible approach, general approach, holistic approach, integrated approach, logical approach, methodological approach, qualitative approach, quantitative approach, similar approach, standard approach, systematic approach, take (an) approach, theoretical approach, traditional approach, use (an) approach
appropriate	appropriate action, appropriate behaviour, appropriate conditions, appropriate data, appropriate form, appropriate language, appropriate level, appropriate point, appropriate response, appropriate skills, appropriate treatment, appropriate way, consider appropriate, deem appropriate, particularly appropriate, seem appropriate, respond appropriately
area	complex area, core area, cover (an) area, geographic(al) area, identify (an) area, key area, local area, main area, major area, metropolitan area, particular area, problem area, related area, rural area, specific area, subject area, urban area, vast area, whole area, wide area
arena	political arena
argument	compelling argument, counter argument, develop (an) argument, general argument, logical argument, main argument, make (an) argument, present (an) argument, similar argument, support (an) argument, valid argument
armed	armed conflict
arrangement	institutional arrangement, make arrangements
array	(a) vast array (of), (a) wide array (of)
article	publish (an) article
artificial	artificial intelligence
aspect	certain aspect, consider (an) aspect, cultural aspect, focus on (an) aspect, fundamental aspect, general aspect, key aspect, negative aspect, particular aspect, positive aspect, related aspect, social aspect, specific aspect, technical aspect, various aspects
assess	assess (the) impact (of), assessment process, accurate assessment, make (an) assessment, risk assessment
assign	(be) randomly assigned (to)
assist	financial assistance, medical assistance, provide assistance, technical assistance
associate	associated factors, (be) closely associated (with), (be) commonly associated (with), (be) positively associated (with), (be) strongly associated (with)
assume	assume (the) role (of), assume responsibility, (be) generally assumed, basic assumption, common assumption, fundamental assumption, make (an) assumption, underlying assumption, certain assumptions
atom	atomic energy
attempt	deliberate attempt
attend	attend (a) conference
attention	careful attention, considerable attention, critical attention, draw attention (to), focus attention (on)
attitude	change (an) attitude, negative attitude, positive attitude, changing attitudes, cultural attitudes, public attitudes, social attitudes
audience	target audience, wider audience
author	first author, original author
authority	central authority, exercise authority, local authority, political authority, public authority
autonomy	greater autonomy, relative autonomy
available	available data, available evidence, available information, available resources, become available, currently available, freely available, make available, publicly available, readily available, widely available
average	average score, national average
aware	acutely aware, become aware, fully aware, increasingly aware, keenly aware, make aware, well aware, greater awareness, growing awareness, increase awareness, increased awareness, increasing awareness, public awareness, raise awareness
background	background knowledge, cultural background, diverse background, historical background, social background
base	(be) largely based (on), basic assumption, basic component, basic concept, basic element, basic function, basic information, basic premise, basic principle, basic research, basic structure, basic technique, legal basis, theoretical basis
bear	bear resemblance (to)
become	become (a) source (of), become (the) focus (of), become apparent, become available, become aware, become blurred, become established, become evident, become independent, become involved (with/in), become obvious, become visible, become widespread
begin	begin (a) process
behave	behave differently, acceptable behaviour, appropriate behaviour, human behaviour, individual behaviour, sexual behaviour, social behaviour
belief	religious belief, widespread belief, (be) widely believed
benefit	beneficial effect, provide (a) benefit, economic benefits, potential benefits
best	(be) best described (as, in terms of)
binary	binary opposition, binary system
biological	biological evolution, biological science, biological sex
blur	become blurred
body	international body, professional body
bond	strong bond
boundary	clear boundary, cultural boundary, national boundary
brief	brief account, brief description, brief discussion, brief history, brief introduction, brief overview, brief period, brief review, brief summary, brief time, briefly describe, briefly discuss
broad	(a) broad range (of), broad agreement, broad category, broad definition, broad spectrum, broader context, (be) broadly defined, broadly similar
business	business sector, business transaction
call	(be) commonly called
capacity	limited capacity
capitalism	global capitalism, industrial capitalism, capitalist country, capitalist economy, capitalist society, capitalist system, capitalist world
care	primary care, provide care, careful analysis, careful attention, careful consideration, careful thought, (be) carefully controlled, (be) carefully selected
career	career development, career opportunity, academic career
carry	carry information
carry out	carry out (the) task, carry out research (of)
case	civil case, exceptional case, individual case, specific case
cast	cast doubt (on)
category	broad category, fall into (the) category (of), general category, main category
causal	causal link, causal relation, causal relationship
cause	cause consequences, cause stress, major cause, underlying cause
centre	central authority, central concept, central concern, central control, central core, central feature, central focus, central government, central importance, central issue, central part, central point, central position, central problem, central question, central role, central tenet, central theme, urban centre
certain	certain aspect, certain assumptions, certain characteristics, certain circumstances
challenge	face (a) challenge, major challenge, pose (a) challenge, present (a) challenge, serious challenge
change	change (an) attitude, change constantly, change dramatically, change rapidly, climate change, cultural change, demographic change, dramatic change, economic change, fundamental change, historical change, major change, minor change, radical change, significant change, structural change, technological change, environmental changes, changing attitudes, changing circumstances, changing nature, changing needs, changing pattern, changing world, ever changing, rapidly changing, remain unchanged
chapter	final chapter, following chapter, introductory chapter, opening chapter, preceding chapter, previous chapter, subsequent chapter
characteristic	characteristic feature, common characteristic, defining characteristic, key characteristic, salient characteristic, specific characteristic, certain characteristics, demographic characteristics, individual characteristics, main characteristics, physical characteristics, similar characteristics
charge	(be) highly charged
chemical	chemical reaction
choose	individual choice, personal choice, (be) randomly chosen
circle	(in) academic circles
circumstance	certain circumstances, changing circumstances, exceptional circumstances, historical circumstances, local circumstances, personal circumstances, political circumstances, social circumstances, special circumstances
cite	(be) frequently cited
civil	civil case, civil society
class	class consciousness, lower class, ruling class
classic	classic example, classic study, classic text, classic work, classical theory
clear	clear boundary, clear distinction, clear evidence, clear focus, clear indication, clear relationship, clear statement, clear structure, entirely clear, fairly clear, (be) clearly defined, (be) clearly demonstrated, (be) clearly established, (be) clearly identified, (be) clearly related (to), clearly evident, clearly important, clearly understand, clearly visible, remain unclear
climate	climate change, current climate, political climate, climatic conditions
close	close contact, close proximity, close relationship, close scrutiny, (be) closely allied (to, with), (be) closely associated (with), (be) closely connected (to, with), (be) closely linked (to, with), (be) closely related (to), (be) closely tied, closely resemble, (on/upon) closer inspection, (upon, on) closer examination, closer look
clue	provide (a) clue
cognitive	cognitive ability, cognitive development, cognitive skills
collaborative	collaborative learning
colleague	professional colleague
collect	collect data, collect information, collective action, collective identity, collective memory
combine	combined effect
come into	come into conflict (with)
come into	come into contact (with)
comment	make (a) comment, written comment
commercial	commercial activity, commercial transaction
commit	commit (a) crime, commit (an) offence
common	common ancestor, common approach, common assumption, common characteristic, common culture, common error, common feature, common goal, common method, common source, common theme, common usage, fairly common, increasingly common, relatively common, (be) commonly accepted, (be) commonly associated (with), (be) commonly called, (be) commonly encountered, (be) commonly found (in), (be) commonly known (as), (be) commonly referred (to) (as), (be) commonly used
communicate	communicate effectively, direct communication, effective communication, electronic communication, personal communication, verbal communication, written communication
community	academic community, ethnic community, international community, local community, rural community, scientific community, virtual community, wider community
compare	comparative analysis, comparative research, comparative study
compel	compelling argument, compelling evidence, compelling reason
compete	increased competition, competitive market, competitive pressure, highly competitive
competence	demonstrate competence
complete	complete (a) task
complex	complex area, complex interaction, complex issue, complex pattern, complex problem, complex process, complex question, complex relationship, complex set, complex situation, complex structure, complex system, extremely complex, highly complex, increasingly complex, increasing complexity
component	basic component, essential component, fundamental component, individual component, key component, main component, major component
comprehensive	comprehensive account, comprehensive approach, comprehensive overview, comprehensive review, comprehensive system
concentrate	high concentration
concept	abstract concept, basic concept, central concept, defining concept, key concept, theoretical concept, use (the) concept concept, conceptual framework
concern	central concern, environmental concern, major concern, primary concern, (be) mainly concerned (with), (be) particularly concerned (with), (be) primarily concerned (with)
concerted	concerted effort
conclude	concluding remarks, concluding section, draw (a) conclusion, general conclusion, lead to (the) conclusion, logical conclusion
condition	sufficient condition, conditional probability, appropriate conditions, climatic conditions, create conditions, economic conditions, experimental conditions, living conditions, natural conditions, normal conditions
conduct	conduct (a) study, conduct (a) survey, conduct (an) analysis, conduct (an) interview, conduct research
confer	annual conference, attend (a) conference, hold (a) conference, international conference, national conference
confine	(be) largely confined (to)
conflict	conflict resolution, armed conflict, come into conflict (with), internal conflict, political conflict, potential conflict, resolve (a) conflict, social conflict, conflicting interests
connect	(be) closely connected (to, with), (be) directly connected (to, with), (be) intimately connected (to, with)
connotation	negative connotation, positive connotation
consciousness	class consciousness, political consciousness
consent	general consensus, political consensus, reach (a) consensus, give consent, informed consent
consequent	cause consequences, direct consequences, economic consequences, environmental consequences, have consequences, negative consequences, political consequences, possible consequences, serious consequences, social consequences, unintended consequences
consider	consider (a) possibility, consider (an) aspect, consider (an) issue, consider (the) impact (of), consider (the) implications, consider (the) role (of), consider appropriate, consider relevant, careful consideration, ethical consideration, further consideration, give consideration, political consideration, practical consideration, require consideration, take into consideration, (be) generally considered
considerable	(a) considerable amount (of), (a) considerable degree (of), (be of) considerable importance, (in) considerable detail, (to a) considerable extent, considerable attention, considerable debate, considerable effort, considerable evidence, considerable influence, considerable interest, considerable research, considerable support, considerable variation, differ considerably, vary considerably
consist	consistent pattern, consistent results
constant	constant rate, relatively constant, remain constant, change constantly
constitute	constituent elements, constituent parts
constrain	impose constraints
construct	social construct, (be) socially constructed
contact	close contact, come into contact (with), direct contact, first contact, maintain contact, make contact, personal contact, physical contact, sexual contact, social contact
contain	contain (an) element, contain information
contemporary	contemporary debate, contemporary issue, contemporary life, contemporary society, contemporary world
context	broader context, cultural context, economic context, global context, historical context, institutional context, international context, original context, political context, present context, provide context, social context, specific context, wider context, contextual factors
continue	continued existence, continued growth, continued use, continuous process
contrast	marked contrast, sharp contrast, stark contrast, striking contrast
contribute	contribute significantly, contribute to (the) development (of), major contribution, make (a) contribution, significant contribution
control	central control, government control, internal control, personal control, (be) carefully controlled, (be) tightly controlled
controversy	controversial issue, highly controversial
convene	conventional view, conventional wisdom
convey	convey (a) message, convey information, convey meaning
convince	convincing evidence
cope	coping strategy
core	core area, core element, core issue, core skills, core value, central core
correct	correct (an) error, correct interpretation, politically correct
correlate	(be) highly correlated (with), (be) negatively correlated (with), (be) positively correlated (with), (be) significantly correlated (with), (be) strongly correlated (with), high correlation, negative correlation, positive correlation, significant correlation, significant correlation, strong correlation
cost	additional cost, rising cost
counter	counter argument
country	capitalist country, industrial country, industrialized country
cover	cover (a) range (of), cover (a) topic, cover (an) area, media coverage, provide coverage
create	create (an) environment, create (an) impression, create (an) opportunity, create conditions, create opportunities, create problems, newly created, creative process, creative thinking, creative work
crime	commit (a) crime, criminal offence
crisis	economic crisis
criteria	meet criteria, objective criteria, use criteria
critical	critical analysis, critical approach, critical attention, critical essay, critical evaluation, critical examination, critical factor, critical importance, critical inquiry, critical introduction, critical issue, critical perspective, critical point, critical reflection, critical review, critical role, critical scrutiny, critical theory, critical thinking, critical writing, highly critical, critically evaluate, radical critique
crucial	crucial difference, crucial factor, crucial importance, crucial part, crucial point, crucial question, crucial role
culture	cultural activity, cultural aspect, cultural attitudes, cultural background, cultural boundary, cultural change, cultural context, cultural differences, cultural dimension, cultural diversity, cultural factors, cultural heritage, cultural history, cultural identity, cultural influence, cultural institution, cultural issue, cultural life, cultural norm, cultural perspective, cultural phenomenon, cultural practice, cultural significance, cultural theory, cultural tradition, cultural values, culturally specific, common culture, dominant culture, global culture, local culture, modern culture, national culture, political culture, popular culture, traditional culture
currency	foreign currency, single currency
current	current climate, current issue, current policy, current research, current status, current technology, current trend, currently available
customer	potential customer
daily	daily living
damage	environmental damage
dangerous	potentially dangerous
data	data gathering, data set, appropriate data, available data, collect data, empirical data, existing data, experimental data, extract data, gather data, historical data, interpret data, missing data, numerical data, obtain data, original data, preliminary data, present data, primary data, process data, provide data, qualitative data, quantitative data, raw data, record data, relevant data, reliable data, report data, secondary data, statistical data, store data, survey data, transmit data, use (the) data data, online database
deal	deal (with an) issue
death	premature death
debate	academic debate, considerable debate, contemporary debate, heated debate, ongoing debate, political debate, public debate, theoretical debate
decade	next decade, previous decade, early decades, recent decades
decide	final decision, major decision, strategic decision
deem	deem appropriate, deem necessary
deep	(a) deep understanding (of), (at/on a) deeper level, (be) deeply embedded, (be) deeply rooted
define	(be) broadly defined, (be) clearly defined, defining characteristic, defining concept, defining feature, broad definition, general definition, narrow definition, precise definition, use (the) definition
degradation	environmental degradation
degree	(a) considerable degree (of), (a) higher degree (of), (a) significant degree (of), varying degree
deliberate	deliberate attempt
demand	increased demand, increasing demand
democracy	liberal democracy, social democracy, western democracy, democratic institution, democratic process, democratic society, democratic state
demographic	demographic change, demographic characteristics, demographic factor
demonstrate	demonstrate competence, (be) clearly demonstrated
densely	(be) densely populated
deny	deny access (to)
department	government department
dependent	dependent variable, highly dependent
describe	describe (a) procedure, describe (a) method, describe (a) process, briefly describe, (be) best described (as, in terms of), previously described, accurate description, brief description, descriptive statistics
design	experimental design, urban design, (be) specifically designed (to, for), well designed
desire	highly desirable, socially desirable, desired outcome
detail	(in) considerable detail, sufficient detail, technical detail, detailed analysis, detailed examination, detailed information, detailed study
determined	(be) largely determined (by)
develop	develop (a) method, develop (a) strategy, develop (a) technique, develop (a) theory, develop (an) argument, develop (an) approach, (be) fully developed, (be) highly developed, (be) originally developed, career development, cognitive development, contribute to (the) development (of), encourage (the) development (of), facilitate (the) development (of), further development, future development, historical development, industrial development, normal development, physical development, professional development, promote (the) development (of), regional development, significant development, subsequent development, technological development, urban development, affect (the) development (of), developmental process, developmental stage
diagnostic	diagnostic test
differ	differ considerably, differ significantly, differ widely, crucial difference, fundamental difference, major difference, obvious difference, sexual difference, significant difference, substantial difference, cultural differences, ethnic differences, individual differences, racial differences, radical differences, regional differences, (be) markedly different, entirely different, fundamentally different, qualitatively different, radically different, slightly different, substantially different, totally different, widely different, behave differently, think differently, treat differently
difficult	increasingly difficult, encounter difficulties, experience difficulties, face difficulties, learning difficulties, practical difficulties, present difficulties
digital	digital information, digital media, digital technology
dilemma	ethical dilemma, face (a) dilemma, moral dilemma
dimension	cultural dimension, political dimension, social dimension
direct	direct access, direct communication, direct consequences, direct contact, direct evidence, direct impact, direct involvement, direct link, direct observation, direct relationship, direct role, (be) directly affected, (be) directly connected (to, with), (be) directly involved (in), (be) directly linked (to), (be) directly linked (to, with), (be) directly proportional (to), (be) directly related (to), (be) directly responsible (for), directly affect
disaster	natural disaster
discipline	academic discipline
disclose	disclose information
discourse	academic discourse, dominant discourse, public discourse, scientific discourse
discover	newly discovered
discriminate	face discrimination, positive discrimination, racial discrimination
discuss	discuss (a) topic, discuss (an) issue, briefly discuss, (be) widely discussed, previously discussed, brief discussion, earlier discussion, fuller discussion, preceding discussion, previous discussion
disperse	(be) widely dispersed
display	public display
dispose	disposable income
dispute	resolve (a) dispute
distinct	distinct group, distinct type, clear distinction, draw (a) distinction, make (a) distinction, sharp distinction, distinctive feature
distinguish	distinguishing feature
distribute	(be) widely distributed, geographic(al) distribution, normal distribution
diverse	(a) diverse range (of), diverse background, diverse group, cultural diversity, ethnic diversity, great diversity
divide	(be) further divided (into), dividing line
document	(be) well documented
documentary	documentary evidence
domain	public domain
domestic	domestic market, domestic sphere, domestic violence
dominate	male dominance, dominant culture, dominant discourse, dominant form, dominant group, dominant ideology, dominant paradigm, dominant position, dominant role
doubt	cast doubt (on)
draft	first draft
drama	dramatic change, dramatic effect, dramatic increase, change dramatically, increase dramatically
draw	draw (a) conclusion, draw (a) distinction, draw (a) line, draw attention (to)
drive	driving force
due	due process
duration	long duration, maximum duration, short duration
dynamic	dynamic equilibrium, dynamic nature, dynamic process, dynamic system
early	earlier discussion, earlier period, earlier research, earlier stage, earlier study, earlier times, earlier version, earlier work, early decades, early study
easy	(be) easily identified, (be) easily understood, easily accessible, easy access
economy	economic activity, economic affairs, economic analysis, economic benefits, economic change, economic conditions, economic consequences, economic context, economic crisis, economic exploitation, economic factors, economic forces, economic goal, economic growth, economic inequality, economic integration, economic interests, economic policy, economic power, economic prosperity, economic reform, economic relations, economic relationships, economic resources, economic sector, economic stability, economic status, economic structure, economic success, economic system, economic theory, economic value, economic welfare, advanced economy, capitalist economy, global economy, local economy, national economy, political economy, rural economy
edit	revised edition
educate	(be) highly educated, well educated, higher education, primary education, secondary education, educational institution, educational opportunity, educational policy, educational programme, educational provision, educational qualification, educational research, educational setting, educational system
effect	adverse effect, beneficial effect, combined effect, dramatic effect, negative effect, overall effect, positive effect, profound effect, significant effect, similar effect, effective communication, effective implementation, effective intervention, effective management, effective method, effective participation, effective policy, effective treatment, highly effective, particularly effective, communicate effectively, use effectively, work effectively, environmental effects
efficient	highly efficient
effort	concerted effort, considerable effort, research effort
election	presidential election
electronic	electronic access, electronic communication, electronic media, electronic resources, electronic version
element	basic element, contain (an) element, core element, essential element, individual element, key element, main element, single element, structural element, constituent elements
embed	(be) deeply embedded
emerge	newly emerging
emission	reduce emissions
emotion	emotional impact, emotional intelligence, emotional reaction, emotional response, emotional support
emphasis	give emphasis, greater emphasis, increasing emphasis, particular emphasis, place emphasis, shift emphasis, special emphasis, strong emphasis
empirical	empirical data, empirical evidence, empirical investigation, empirical research, empirical study, empirical support, empirical work
employ	employ (a) method, employ (a) technique, employment opportunities, full employment, paid employment, high unemployment, low unemployment
encounter	encounter difficulties, encounter problems, first encounter, (be) commonly encountered
encourage	encourage (the) development (of)
energy	atomic energy, nuclear energy, renewable energy, solar energy
engage in	engage in (an) activity
enhance	enhance learning, enhance performance, greatly enhance
enormous	(an) enormous amount (of), enormous impact
entire	(the) entire range (of), entire period, entirely clear, entirely different, entirely new
entity	separate entity, single entity
environment	create (an) environment, external environment, immediate environment, learning environment, natural environment, physical environment, political environment, social environment, urban environment, environmental changes, environmental concern, environmental consequences, environmental damage, environmental degradation, environmental effects, environmental factors, environmental impact, environmental issues, environmental policy, environmental pollution, environmental protection
equal	equal access, equal opportunity, equal status, equal treatment, roughly equal, gender equality, greater equality, promote equality, racial equality, social equality, equally important, equally likely, equally true, equally valid, apply equally, treat equally, economic inequality, social inequality, unequal power
equilibrium	dynamic equilibrium
equivalent	roughly equivalent
error	common error, correct (an) error, random error, standard error
essay	critical essay
essential	essential component, essential element, essential feature, essential function, essential information, essential role
establish	establish (a) relationship, established order, established practice, established principle, (be) clearly established, (be) firmly established, (be) well established, become established, long established, newly established, once established
ethic	ethical consideration, ethical dilemma, ethical issue, ethical principle, ethical problem, ethical question
ethnic	ethnic community, ethnic differences, ethnic diversity, ethnic group, ethnic identity, ethnic minority, ethnic origin
evaluate	critically evaluate, critical evaluation
event	historical event
ever	ever changing, ever increasing
evident	ample evidence, anecdotal evidence, available evidence, clear evidence, compelling evidence, considerable evidence, convincing evidence, direct evidence, documentary evidence, empirical evidence, experimental evidence, find evidence, further evidence, give evidence, historical evidence, little evidence, present evidence, provide evidence, recent evidence, research evidence, scientific evidence, show evidence, strong evidence, substantial evidence, sufficient evidence, supporting evidence, (be) particularly evident, become evident, clearly evident
evolve	biological evolution, evolutionary process, evolutionary theory
examine	(upon, on) closer examination, critical examination, detailed examination, examine (the) role (of)
example	classic example, obvious example, prime example, provide (an) example, specific example, striking example, typical example
exception	notable exception, exceptional case, exceptional circumstances
exclude	social exclusion, mutually exclusive
exercise	exercise authority
exist	continued existence, existing data, existing research, existing structure
expand	expand rapidly, rapid expansion
expect	high expectations, meet expectations, social expectations
expend	government expenditure, public expenditure
experience	experience difficulties, experience problems, individual experience, personal experience, previous experience, prior experience, professional experience, shared experience, experiential learning
experiment	experimental conditions, experimental data, experimental design, experimental evidence, experimental method, experimental research, experimental results, experimental study, experimental work
expert	expert opinion, technical expertise
explain	alternative explanation, further explanation, give (an) explanation, plausible explanation, possible explanation, provide (an) explanation, explanatory power
explicit	make explicit, state explicitly
exploit	economic exploitation, sexual exploitation
explore	explore (an) issue, explore further
expression	facial expression
extend	extended period, extensive research, (be) extensively used, (to a) considerable extent
external	external environment, external factors, external forces, external influences, external source, external threat, external world
extract	extract data, extract information
extreme	extremely complex, extremely powerful, extremely sensitive, extremely useful, extremely valuable
face	face (a) challenge, face (a) dilemma, face (a) problem, face difficulties, face discrimination, facial expression
facilitate	facilitate (the) development (of)
fact	factual information
factor	critical factor, crucial factor, demographic factor, key factor, main factor, major factor, related factor, significant factor, specific factor, associated factors, contextual factors, cultural factors, economic factors, environmental factors, external factors, historical factors, identify factors, political factors, relevant factors, social factors
fair	fair treatment, fairly clear, fairly common, fairly obvious, fairly straightforward, unfair treatment
faith	religious faith
fall into	fall into (the) category (of)
family	nuclear family
far	(be) far removed (from)
feature	central feature, characteristic feature, common feature, defining feature, distinctive feature, distinguishing feature, essential feature, general feature, key feature, main feature, major feature, particular feature, positive feature, prominent feature, salient feature, significant feature, specific feature, striking feature, structural feature, identify features, physical features
federal	federal agency, federal government, federal state
feedback	give feedback, negative feedback, positive feedback, provide feedback, provide feedback, receive feedback
feminist	feminist movement
few	relatively few
field	field research
figure	significant figures
final	final analysis, final answer, final chapter, final decision, final outcome, final phase, final point, final position, final product, final result, final section, final stage, final step, final version
finance	financial affairs, financial assistance, financial institution, financial management, financial market, financial problem, financial resources, financial support
find	find evidence, find information, key findings, main findings, preliminary findings, report findings, research findings
finite	finite number, infinite number
firmly	(be) firmly established
first	first author, first contact, first draft, first encounter, first generation, first impression, first phase, first priority
flexible	greater flexibility, flexible approach
flow	information flow
focal	focal point
focus	focus attention (on), become (the) focus (of), central focus, clear focus, main focus, major focus, particular focus, primary focus, provide (a) focus, specific focus, focus on (an) aspect
follow	follow (a) format, follow (a) procedure, follow instructions, following chapter, immediately following
force	driving force, military force, powerful force, economic forces, external forces
foreign	foreign currency, foreign investment, foreign investor, foreign policy
form	alternative form, appropriate form, dominant form, modified form, specific form, traditional form, newly formed
formal	formal structure
format	follow (a) format, standard format, use (a) format
formula	general formula
found	(be) commonly found (in), (be) frequently found, (be) generally found
foundation	provide (a) foundation (for)
fraction	small fraction
framework	conceptual framework, institutional framework, legal framework, regulatory framework, theoretical framework
free	free access, free movement, religious freedom, freely available
frequency	high/er frequency, low/er frequency, (be) frequently cited, (be) frequently found, (be) frequently referred (to), (be) frequently used, occur frequently
fulfil	fulfil (an) obligation
full	(a, the) full range (of), full analysis, full employment, full information, full participation, full potential, fuller discussion, (be) fully developed, (be) fully informed, (be) fully integrated, (be) fully realized, fully aware, fully understand
function	basic function, essential function, main function, perform (a) function, primary function, serve (a) function, social function, specific function, functional requirement
fund	public funds
fundamental	fundamental aspect, fundamental assumption, fundamental change, fundamental component, fundamental difference, fundamental importance, fundamental principle, fundamental problem, fundamental question, fundamentally different
further	(be) further divided (into), further analysis, further consideration, further development, further evidence, further explanation, further information, further investigation, further research, further study, explore further
future	future development, future prospects, future research, future study
gain	gain access (to), gain information, gain insight (into)
gather	gather data, gather information, data gathering, information gathering
gender	gender equality, gender stereotype
general	general agreement, general approach, general argument, general aspect, general category, general conclusion, general consensus, general definition, general feature, general formula, general overview, general principle, general statement, general tendency, general theory, general trend, (be) generally accepted, (be) generally assumed, (be) generally considered, (be) generally found, (be) generally known (as, by), generally agree
generation	first generation, next generation, previous generation, younger generation
genetic	genetic variation
geography	geographic(al) area, geographic(al) distribution, geographic(al) location
get	get involved (with/in)
give	give (a) presentation, give (an) explanation, give (an) indication (of), give (an) overview (of), give (sb an) impression, give (sb) treatment, give access (to), give consent, give consideration, give emphasis, give evidence, give feedback, give priority (to), give guidance, give information, give insight (into), given information, given period
globe	global capitalism, global context, global culture, global economy, global issue, global market, global marketplace, global media, global network, global perspective, global shift, global structure, global trade, global village
goal	achieve (a) goal, common goal, economic goal, set (a) goal, ultimate goal
goods	imported goods
government	government control, government department, government expenditure, government intervention, government policy, central government, federal government, local government, municipal government, national government, representative government
graphical	graphical representation
great	(a) great proportion (of), (a) great range (of), great accuracy, great diversity, great impact, great majority, great potential, great significance, greater autonomy, greater awareness, greater emphasis, greater equality, greater flexibility, greater likelihood, (be) greatly influenced (by), (be) greatly reduced, greatly enhance, greatly increase, vary greatly
group	distinct group, diverse group, dominant group, ethnic group, homogeneous group, minority group, powerful group, racial group, religious group, vulnerable group
grow	grow rapidly, growing awareness, growing trend, rapidly growing, continued growth, economic growth, significant growth
guide	give guidance, provide guidance, guiding principle
hardly	hardly surprising
harm	potential harm
have	have (a) strategy, have (a) tendency (to), have (an) obligation, have access (to), have consequences, have limitations, have potential
health	mental health, physical health
heat	heated debate
heavy	(be) heavily influenced (by), rely heavily (on)
help	seek help
heritage	cultural heritage
hierarchy	hierarchical structure
high	(a) high proportion (of), high concentration, high correlation, high expectations, high incidence, high intensity, high level, high order, high percentage, high priority, high probability, high profile, high quality, high rate, high score, high standard, high status, high turnover, high unemployment, high value, relatively high, high/er frequency, (a) higher degree (of), higher education, significantly higher, slightly higher, (be) highly charged, (be) highly correlated (with), (be) highly developed, (be) highly educated, (be) highly structured, (be) highly valued, highly competitive, highly complex, highly controversial, highly critical, highly dependent, highly desirable, highly effective, highly efficient, highly influential, highly likely, highly problematic, highly relevant, highly selective, highly sensitive, highly significant, highly skilled, highly sophisticated, highly successful, highly unlikely, highly variable
history	historical account, historical analysis, historical background, historical change, historical circumstances, historical context, historical data, historical development, historical event, historical evidence, historical factors, historical interpretation, historical knowledge, historical period, historical perspective, historical reality, historical record, historical roots, historical study, historical writing, historically specific, brief history, cultural history, natural history, oral history
hold	hold (a) conference
holistic	holistic approach
homogeneous	homogeneous group
huge	(a) huge amount (of)
human	human activity, human behaviour, human interaction, human society, human species
ideally	(be) ideally suited
identical	almost identical
identify	(be) clearly identified, (be) easily identified, identify (a) problem, identify (a) way, identify (an) area, identify (an) issue, identify factors, identify features, multiple identities, collective identity, cultural identity, ethnic identity, national identity, political identity, religious identity, sexual identity, social identity
ideology	dominant ideology, political ideology
ignorant	(be) largely ignored
illness	mental illness
illustrate	provide (an) illustration
image	positive image, public image, visual image
immediate	immediate environment, immediately apparent, immediately following, immediately obvious, immediately preceding
impact	assess (the) impact (of), consider (the) impact (of), direct impact, emotional impact, enormous impact, environmental impact, great impact, likely impact, little impact, major impact, make (an) impact, negative impact, positive impact, potential impact, profound impact, significant impact
implement	effective implementation, successful implementation
imply	consider (the) implications, major implications, political implications, social implications, wider implications
import	imported goods, imported products
important	(be of) considerable importance, (be of) paramount importance, (be of) vital importance, central importance, critical importance, crucial importance, fundamental importance, increased importance, increasing importance, perceived importance, strategic importance, clearly important, equally important, increasingly important
impose	impose constraints, impose limitations, impose restrictions
impossible	virtually impossible
impression	create (an) impression, first impression, give (sb an) impression, make (an) impression
improve	improved performance, significant improvement
incidence	high incidence
income	disposable income, low income, middle income, national income, total income
increase	increase (the) likelihood, increase awareness, increase dramatically, dramatic increase, greatly increase, significant increase, significantly increase, increased awareness, increased competition, increased demand, increased importance, increased interest, increased level, increased number, increased pressure, increased production, increased productivity, increased risk, (a) increasing proportion (of), increasing awareness, increasing complexity, increasing demand, increasing emphasis, increasing importance, increasing interest, increasing pressure, increasing tendency, increasing trend, ever increasing, increasingly aware, increasingly common, increasingly complex, increasingly difficult, increasingly important, increasingly popular, increasingly sophisticated
independent	independent state, independent variable, become independent
indicate	clear indication, give (an) indication (of), provide (an) indication (of)
indigenous	indigenous people, indigenous population
individual	individual behaviour, individual case, individual characteristics, individual choice, individual component, individual differences, individual element, individual experience, individual interests, individual item, individual needs, individual response, individual responsibility, individual rights, individual variable, individual variation, particular individual, private individual, single individual, unique individual
industrial	industrial capitalism, industrial country, industrial development, industrial production, industrial society, industrialized country, industrialized nation
inextricably	(be) inextricably linked (to, with)
influence	considerable influence, cultural influence, major influence, positive influence, powerful influence, significant influence, (be) greatly influenced (by), (be) heavily influenced (by), (be) strongly influenced (by), external influences, highly influential, particularly influential
inform	informed consent, (be) fully informed
information	information flow, information gathering, information processing, information retrieval, information sharing, accurate information, add information, additional information, available information, basic information, carry information, collect information, contain information, convey information, detailed information, digital information, disclose information, essential information, extract information, factual information, find information, full information, further information, gain information, gather information, give information, given information, limited information, little information, necessary information, obtain information, personal information, process information, provide information, receive information, related information, relevant information, reliable information, seek information, share information, specific information, statistical information, store information, sufficient information, transmit information, useful information, valuable information
initial	initial period, initial phase, initial position, initial research, initial stage
initiate	new initiative, take initiative
innovate	technological innovation
inquire	critical inquiry
insight	gain insight (into), give insight (into), new insight, offer insight (into), provide insight (into)
inspect	(on/upon) closer inspection
institute	academic institution, cultural institution, democratic institution, educational institution, financial institution, national institution, political institution, public institution, social institution, institutional arrangement, institutional context, institutional framework, institutional structure, institutional support
instruct	follow instructions
integral	integral part
integrate	integrated approach, integrated system, (be) fully integrated, economic integration, social integration
intellectual	intellectual property, intellectual work
intelligent	artificial intelligence, emotional intelligence
intend	(be) originally intended, original intent, unintended consequences
intense	high intensity, low intensity, intensive study
interact	complex interaction, human interaction, significant interaction, social interaction
intercourse	sexual intercourse
interest	considerable interest, increased interest, increasing interest, national interest, personal interest, renewed interest, vested interest, interested party, conflicting interests, economic interests, individual interests
internal	internal affairs, internal conflict, internal control, internal market, internal organ, internal structure
international	international agreement, international body, international community, international conference, international context, international journal, international organization, international treaty
internet	internet access
interpersonal	interpersonal relationships, interpersonal skills
interpret	interpret data, correct interpretation, historical interpretation, literal interpretation, alternative interpretion
intervene	effective intervention, government intervention
interview	conduct (an) interview
intimate	intimate relationship, (be) intimately connected (to, with)
intrinsic	intrinsic value
introduce	introduce legislation, brief introduction, critical introduction, introductory chapter, introductory section, introductory text
invest	foreign investment, private investment, foreign investor
investigate	empirical investigation, further investigation, scientific investigation
involve	(be) actively involved, (be) directly involved (in), become involved (with/in), get involved (with/in), active involvement, direct involvement
isolate	social isolation
issue	address (an) issue, central issue, complex issue, consider (an) issue, contemporary issue, controversial issue, core issue, critical issue, cultural issue, current issue, deal (with an) issue, discuss (an) issue, ethical issue, explore (an) issue, global issue, identify (an) issue, key issue, legal issue, main issue, major issue, methodological issue, practical issue, raise (an) issue, real issue, related issue, relevant issue, similar issue, single issue, special issue, specific issue, technical issue, theoretical issue, wider issue, environmental issues
item	individual item
journal	academic journal, international journal, online journal, publish (a) journal, scholarly journal
judgement	make(a) judgement
keenly	keenly aware
key	key area, key aspect, key characteristic, key component, key concept, key element, key factor, key feature, key findings, key issue, key objective, key player, key policy, key principle, key role, key source, key text, key theme, key topic
know	(be) commonly known (as), (be) generally known (as, by), (be) widely known, previously known
knowledge	acquire knowledge, background knowledge, historical knowledge, personal knowledge, previous knowledge, prior knowledge, professional knowledge, require knowledge, specific knowledge, tacit knowledge, technical knowledge
language	appropriate language, national language, natural language, verbal language
large	(a) large proportion (of), (a) large range (of), large majority, large percentage, large portion, large quantities (of), (be) largely based (on), (be) largely confined (to), (be) largely determined (by), (be) largely ignored, (be) largely responsible (for)
later	later work, later writings
law	natural law
lead	lead to (the) conclusion, opinion leader, party leader, political leader, leading role
learn	learning activity, learning difficulties, learning environment, learning objective, learning outcome, learning process, learning resources, learning strategy, collaborative learning, enhance learning, experiential learning, lifelong learning
legal	legal action, legal basis, legal framework, legal issue, legal obligation, legal position, legal proceedings, legal protection, legal requirement, legal right, legal rule, legal status, legal system
legislate	introduce legislation, national legislation, proposed legislation, legislative measures, legislative power
level	(at/on a) deeper level, appropriate level, high level, increased level, low level, minimum level, overall level, stress level
liberal	liberal democracy
life	academic life, contemporary life, cultural life, lifelong learning
likely	greater likelihood, increase (the) likelihood, reduce (the) likelihood, likely impact, likely outcome, equally likely, highly likely, highly unlikely, seem unlikely
limit	have limitations, impose limitations, (a) limited range (of), limited access, limited capacity, limited information, limited opportunity, limited resources, unlimited access
line	dividing line, draw (a) line, linear relationship
link	causal link, direct link, strong link, (be) closely linked (to, with), (be) directly linked (to), (be) directly linked (to, with), (be) inextricably linked (to, with), (be) strongly linked
literal	(in a) literal sense, literal interpretation, literal meaning
literary	literary text, literary tradition
literature	published literature, relevant literature, scholarly literature
little	little evidence, little impact, little information, little research, little significance, relatively little
living	living conditions, living organism, living standard, daily living, make (a) living
local	local area, local authority, local circumstances, local community, local culture, local economy, local government
locate	geographic(al) location
logic	logical approach, logical argument, logical conclusion
long	long duration, long established
longitudinal	longitudinal study
look	closer look
low	low/er frequency, low income, low intensity, low level, low percentage, low priority, low probability, low profile, low quality, low status, low turnover, low unemployment, relatively low, lower class
main	main area, main argument, main category, main characteristics, main component, main element, main factor, main feature, main findings, main focus, main function, main issue, main principle, main source, main task, main theme, (be) mainly concerned (with)
maintain	maintain contact
major	major advantage, major area, major cause, major challenge, major change, major component, major concern, major contribution, major decision, major difference, major factor, major feature, major focus, major impact, major implications, major influence, major issue, major part, major problem, major reason, major role, major shift, major source, major theme, great majority, large majority, overwhelming majority, simple majority, vast majority
make	make (a) comment, make (a) contribution, make (a) distinction, make (a) living, make (a) prediction, make (a) recommendation, make (a) statement, make (a) transition, make (an) argument, make (an) assessment, make (an) assumption, make (an) impact, make (an) impression, make (an) observation, make adjustments, make arrangements, make available, make aware, make contact, make explicit, make policy, make provision, make visible, make(a) judgement
male	male dominance
manage	effective management, financial management, middle management, senior management, strategic management, top management
manual	manual worker
manufacture	manufacturing sector
marked	marked contrast, (be) markedly different
market	competitive market, domestic market, financial market, global market, internal market, national market, global marketplace
material	provide material, published material, relevant material, source material, useful material
maximise	maximum duration
mean	mean score
meaning	convey meaning, literal meaning, original meaning, particular meaning, shared meaning, specific meaning, (in a) meaningful way
means	alternative means, useful means
measure	accurate measurement, legislative measures
media	media coverage, digital media, electronic media, global media, national media, popular media, visual media
medical	medical assistance, medical treatment
meet	meet (a) target, meet (a) requirement, meet (an) objective, meet criteria, meet expectations, annual meeting
member	prominent member
memory	collective memory
mental	mental health, mental illness, mental state
mention	previously mentioned
merit	relative merits
message	convey (a) message
method	alternative method, apply (a) method, common method, describe (a) method, develop (a) method, effective method, employ (a) method, experimental method, modern method, qualitative method, quantitative method, scientific method, standard method, statistical method, traditional method, use (a) method, methodological approach, methodological issue, methodological problem, research methodology, use (a) methodology
metropolitan	metropolitan area
middle	middle income, middle management
migrate	migrant worker
military	military action, military force, military power, military service
minimum	minimum level, minimum requirement, minimum standard, minimum value, minimum wage
minor	minor change, minor role, relatively minor, minority group, ethnic minority, small minority
missing	missing data
mobility	social mobility, political mobilization
model	alternative model, original model, theoretical model
modern	modern culture, modern method, modern society, modern technology
modify	modified form, modified version
moral	moral dilemma, moral philosophy, moral principle
motive	(be) politically motivated
movement	feminist movement, free movement, national movement, political movement, religious movement, social movement
multiple	multiple identities, multiple sources
municipal	municipal government
mutual	mutual recognition, mutual support, mutual trust, mutual understanding, mutually exclusive
narrow	(a) narrow range (of), narrow definition
nation	industrialized nation, national average, national boundary, national conference, national culture, national economy, national government, national identity, national income, national institution, national interest, national language, national legislation, national market, national media, national movement, national policy, national press, national security, national survey
native	native speaker
nature	natural conditions, natural disaster, natural environment, natural history, natural language, natural law, natural order, natural philosophy, natural process, natural resources, natural right, natural science, natural tendency, natural world, naturally occurring, occur naturally, changing nature, dynamic nature, precise nature
necessary	necessary information, deem necessary
need	perceived need, changing needs, individual needs, physical needs, specific needs
negate	negative aspect, negative attitude, negative connotation, negative consequences, negative correlation, negative effect, negative feedback, negative impact, negative outcome, negative side, negative stereotype, negative value, negative view, (be) negatively correlated (with)
network	global network
new	new initiative, new insight, new perspective, entirely new, newly acquired, newly created, newly discovered, newly emerging, newly established, newly formed
next	next decade, next generation, next phase
norm	cultural norm, social norm
normal	normal conditions, normal development, normal distribution, normal practice
notable	notable exception
nuclear	nuclear energy, nuclear family, nuclear power, nuclear war, nuclear weapon
number	finite number, increased number, infinite number, significant number, substantial number, vast number, numerical data, numerical value, numerous studies
objective	objective criteria, objective reality, achieve (an) objective, key objective, learning objective, meet (an) objective, primary objective, set (an) objective, strategic objective, scientific objectivity
obligation	fulfil (an) obligation, have (an) obligation, legal obligation
observation	direct observation, make (an) observation
obtain	obtain (a) result, obtain data, obtain information
obvious	obvious difference, obvious example, obvious point, obvious reason, become obvious, fairly obvious, immediately obvious, seem obvious
occur	occur frequently, occur naturally, naturally occurring
offence	commit (an) offence, criminal offence, serious offence
offer	offer (an) opportunity, offer insight (into)
official	official statistics
once	once established
ongoing	ongoing debate, ongoing process
online	online access, online database, online journal, online version
open	open access, opening chapter, opening section
opinion	opinion leader, expert opinion
opportunity	create opportunities, employment opportunities, career opportunity, create (an) opportunity, educational opportunity, equal opportunity, limited opportunity, offer (an) opportunity, provide (an) opportunity, unique opportunity
oppose	(be) strongly opposed, binary opposition
optimal	optimal solution
oral	oral history, oral presentation
order	established order, high order, natural order
organ	internal organ
organise	organising principle, international organization, political organization, social organization, organizational structure
organism	living organism
orient	sexual orientation
origin	ethnic origin, original author, original context, original data, original intent, original meaning, original model, original position, original research, original source, original text, original version, original work, (be) originally developed, (be) originally intended
outcome	achieve (an) outcome, affect (the) outcome, desired outcome, final outcome, learning outcome, likely outcome, negative outcome, positive outcome, possible outcome
overall	overall aim, overall effect, overall level, overall performance, overall picture, overall rate, overall structure
overview	brief overview, comprehensive overview, general overview, give (an) overview (of), provide (an) overview (of)
overwhelming	overwhelming majority
paid	paid employment
panel	solar panel
paradigm	dominant paradigm
paragraph	previous paragraph
parameter	set (the) parameters
paramount	(be of) paramount importance
part	central part, crucial part, integral part, major part, previous part, significant part, substantial part, vital part, (be) partly responsible (for), constituent parts
participate	active participant, active participation, effective participation, full participation, political participation
particular	particular area, particular aspect, particular emphasis, particular feature, particular focus, particular individual, particular meaning, (be) particularly concerned (with), (be) particularly evident, (be) particularly suited (to), particularly acute, particularly apparent, particularly appropriate, particularly effective, particularly influential, particularly relevant, particularly sensitive, particularly significant, particularly striking, particularly successful, particularly useful, particularly valuable
party	party leader, interested party, political party, ruling party, third party
past	past research
pattern	changing pattern, complex pattern, consistent pattern, similar pattern
peace	peace treaty
peak	reach (a) peak
people	indigenous people
perceive	perceived importance, perceived need, perceived threat, public perception, visual perception
percent	high percentage, large percentage, low percentage, small percentage
perform	perform (a) function, perform (a) study, perform (a) task, academic performance, enhance performance, improved performance, overall performance, superior performance
period	brief period, earlier period, entire period, extended period, given period, historical period, initial period, short period, whole period
personal	personal choice, personal circumstances, personal communication, personal contact, personal control, personal experience, personal information, personal interest, personal knowledge, personal quality, personal relationship, personal responsibility, personal safety, personal space
perspective	critical perspective, cultural perspective, global perspective, historical perspective, new perspective, theoretical perspective
phase	final phase, first phase, initial phase, next phase
phenomenon	cultural phenomenon, social phenomenon
philosophy	moral philosophy, natural philosophy, political philosophy
physical	physical activity, physical appearance, physical characteristics, physical contact, physical development, physical environment, physical features, physical health, physical needs, physical presence, physical properties, physical proximity, physical science, physical space, physical symptom, physical world
picture	accurate picture, overall picture
pilot	pilot study
pioneering	pioneering work
pivotal	pivotal role
place	place emphasis
planning	planning stage, strategic planning
plausible	plausible explanation, seem plausible
play	play (a) role (in), key player
point	appropriate point, central point, critical point, crucial point, final point, focal point, obvious point
policy	current policy, economic policy, educational policy, effective policy, environmental policy, foreign policy, government policy, key policy, make policy, national policy, public policy, security policy, social policy
political	political activism, political activity, political agenda, political arena, political authority, political circumstances, political climate, political conflict, political consciousness, political consensus, political consequences, political consideration, political context, political culture, political debate, political dimension, political economy, political environment, political factors, political identity, political ideology, political implications, political instability, political institution, political leader, political mobilization, political movement, political organization, political participation, political party, political philosophy, political reality, political reform, political representation, political significance, political spectrum, political stability, political status, political structure, (be) politically motivated, politically correct
pollution	environmental pollution
poorly	(be) poorly understood
popular	popular culture, popular media, increasingly popular
population	(be) densely populated, (be) sparsely populated, indigenous population, rural population
portion	large portion, significant portion, small portion
pose	pose (a) challenge, pose (a) problem, pose (a) question, pose (a) threat (to)
position	central position, dominant position, final position, initial position, legal position, original position, privileged position, unique position
positive	positive action, positive aspect, positive attitude, positive connotation, positive correlation, positive discrimination, positive effect, positive feature, positive feedback, positive image, positive impact, positive influence, positive outcome, positive relationship, positive result, positive value, positive view, (be) positively associated (with), (be) positively correlated (with)
possible	consider (a) possibility, possible consequences, possible explanation, possible outcome, possible source
potential	potential benefits, potential conflict, potential customer, potential harm, potential impact, potential problem, potential risk, potential source, potential value, full potential, great potential, have potential, potentially dangerous
power	economic power, explanatory power, legislative power, military power, nuclear power, predictive power, purchasing power, solar power, unequal power, powerful force, powerful group, powerful influence, powerful tool, extremely powerful
practical	practical consideration, practical difficulties, practical issue, practical significance
practice	cultural practice, established practice, normal practice, professional practice, reflective practice, religious practice, traditional practice, administrative practices
precede	take precedence (over), preceding chapter, preceding discussion, preceding section, immediately preceding
precise	precise definition, precise nature
predict	make (a) prediction
predictive	predictive power
preferential	preferential treatment
preliminary	preliminary data, preliminary findings, preliminary result
premature	premature death
premise	basic premise
present	physical presence, present (a) challenge, present (a) summary, present (an) argument, present context, present data, present difficulties, present evidence
presentation	give (a) presentation, oral presentation
presidential	presidential election
press	national press
pressure	competitive pressure, increased pressure, increasing pressure
previous	previous chapter, previous decade, previous discussion, previous experience, previous generation, previous knowledge, previous paragraph, previous part, previous research, previous section, previous study, previous work, previously described, previously discussed, previously known, previously mentioned, previously thought
primary	(be) primarily concerned (with), (be) primarily responsible (for), primary aim, primary care, primary concern, primary data, primary education, primary focus, primary function, primary objective, primary purpose, primary reason, primary research, primary responsibility, primary source, primary task
prime	prime example, prime time
principal	principal source
principle	basic principle, established principle, ethical principle, fundamental principle, general principle, guiding principle, key principle, main principle, moral principle, organising principle, underlying principle
prior	prior experience, prior knowledge
priority	first priority, give priority (to), high priority, low priority
private	private individual, private investment, private sector, private sphere
privileged	privileged position
probability	conditional probability, high probability, low probability
problem	problem area, additional problem, central problem, complex problem, ethical problem, face (a) problem, financial problem, fundamental problem, identify (a) problem, major problem, methodological problem, pose (a) problem, potential problem, related problem, specific problem, technical problem, highly problematic, create problems, encounter problems, experience problems
proceed	adopt (a) procedure, describe (a) procedure, follow (a) procedure, use (a) procedure, legal proceedings
process	process data, process information, assessment process, begin (a) process, complex process, continuous process, creative process, democratic process, describe (a) process, developmental process, due process, dynamic process, evolutionary process, learning process, natural process, ongoing process, slow process, start (a) process, thinking process, thought process, underlying process, information processing
product	final product, increased production, industrial production, increased productivity, imported products
professional	professional activity, professional body, professional colleague, professional development, professional experience, professional knowledge, professional practice, professional qualification, professional staff, professional standard, professional status, professional support, professional training, professional work
profile	high profile, low profile
profound	profound effect, profound impact
programme	educational programme
progress	technological progress
prominent	prominent feature, prominent member, prominent role
promote	promote (the) development (of), promote equality
properly	(be) properly understood
property	physical properties, similar properties, structural properties, intellectual property
proportion	(a) great proportion (of), (a) high proportion (of), (a) increasing proportion (of), (a) large proportion (of), (a) significant proportion (of), (a) small proportion (of), (be) directly proportional (to)
propose	proposed legislation
prospect	future prospects
prosperity	economic prosperity
protection	environmental protection, legal protection
prove	prove successful, prove useful
provide	provide (a) benefit, provide (a) clue, provide (a) focus, provide (a) foundation (for), provide (a) service, provide (a) source, provide (a) summary, provide (an) alternative, provide (an) example, provide (an) explanation, provide (an) illustration, provide (an) indication (of), provide (an) opportunity, provide (an) overview (of), provide access (to), provide assistance, provide care, provide context, provide coverage, provide data, provide evidence, provide feedback, provide guidance, provide information, provide material, provide resources, provide support, provide feedback, provide insight (into), educational provision, make provision
proximity	close proximity, physical proximity
public	public access, public administration, public attitudes, public authority, public awareness, public debate, public discourse, public display, public domain, public expenditure, public funds, public image, public institution, public perception, public policy, public sector, public sphere, public transport, public welfare, wider public, publicly available
publish	publish (a) journal, publish (a) report, publish (an) article, publish research, published literature, published material, published research, published work
purchase	purchasing power
purpose	primary purpose, specific purpose
purposes	(for) research purposes
qualification	educational qualification, professional qualification
qualitative	qualitative analysis, qualitative approach, qualitative data, qualitative method, qualitative research, qualitative study, qualitatively different
quality	high quality, low quality, personal quality
quantity	quantitative analysis, quantitative approach, quantitative data, quantitative method, quantitative research, quantitative result, quantitative study, large quantities (of), small quantities (of), vast quantities (of)
question	central question, complex question, crucial question, ethical question, fundamental question, pose (a) question, raise (a) question, reflective question, related question, specific question
racial	racial differences, racial discrimination, racial equality, racial group, racial stereotype
radical	radical change, radical critique, radical differences, radical transformation, radically different
raise	raise (a) question, raise (an) issue, raise awareness
random	random error, random sample, random variable, (be) randomly assigned (to), (be) randomly chosen, (be) randomly selected
range	(a) broad range (of), (a) diverse range (of), (a) great range (of), (a) large range (of), (a) limited range (of), (a) narrow range (of), (a) vast range (of), (a) whole range (of), (a) wide range (of), (a, the) full range (of), (the) entire range (of), cover (a) range (of)
rapid	rapid expansion, rapidly changing, rapidly growing, change rapidly, expand rapidly, grow rapidly
rare	relatively rare
rate	annual rate, constant rate, high rate, overall rate
raw	raw data
reach	reach (a) consensus, reach (a) peak, reach (an) agreement
react	adverse reaction, chemical reaction, emotional reaction, strong reaction
read	widely read
ready	(be) readily understood, readily accessible, readily available, ready access
real	real issue, historical reality, objective reality, political reality
realize	(be) fully realized
reason	compelling reason, major reason, obvious reason, primary reason, underlying reason
receive	receive feedback, receive information, receive treatment, well received
recent	recent decades, recent evidence, recent research, recent study, recent survey, relatively recent
reciprocal	reciprocal relationship
recognize	mutual recognition, (be) widely recognized
recommend	make (a) recommendation
record	record data, accurate record, historical record
recurrent	recurrent theme
reduce	reduce (the) likelihood, reduce emissions, reduce stress, (be) greatly reduced, (be) significantly reduced, significant reduction
refer	specific reference, (be) commonly referred (to) (as), (be) frequently referred (to)
reflect	critical reflection, reflective practice, reflective question
reform	economic reform, political reform, social reform, welfare reform
regarded	(be) widely regarded (as)
region	regional development, regional differences, regional variation
regulate	regulatory agency, regulatory framework
relate	related activity, related area, related aspect, related factor, related information, related issue, related problem, related question, related topic, (be) clearly related (to), (be) closely related (to), (be) directly related (to), (be) strongly related (to), causal relation, economic relations, causal relationship, clear relationship, close relationship, complex relationship, direct relationship, establish (a) relationship, intimate relationship, linear relationship, personal relationship, positive relationship, reciprocal relationship, significant relationship, social relationship, special relationship, strong relationship, symbiotic relationship, economic relationships, interpersonal relationships, relative autonomy, relative merits, relative status, relatively common, relatively constant, relatively few, relatively high, relatively little, relatively low, relatively minor, relatively rare, relatively recent, relatively simple, relatively stable, relatively straightforward
relevant	relevant data, relevant factors, relevant information, relevant issue, relevant literature, relevant material, consider relevant, highly relevant, particularly relevant
religious	religious belief, religious faith, religious freedom, religious group, religious identity, religious movement, religious practice
rely	reliable data, reliable information, rely heavily (on)
remain	remain constant, remain stable, remain unchanged, remain unclear
remark	remarkably similar, concluding remarks
remove	(be) far removed (from)
renew	renewable energy, renewed interest
report	report data, report findings, annual report, publish (a) report
representation	graphical representation, political representation, schematic representation, visual representation
representative	representative government
require	require consideration, require knowledge, require resources, functional requirement, legal requirement, meet (a) requirement, minimum requirement
research	(for) research purposes, research effort, research evidence, research findings, research methodology, research topic, academic research, basic research, carry out research (of), comparative research, conduct research, considerable research, current research, earlier research, educational research, empirical research, existing research, experimental research, extensive research, field research, further research, future research, initial research, little research, original research, past research, previous research, primary research, publish research, published research, qualitative research, quantitative research, recent research, scholarly research, scientific research, traditional research, undertake research
resemble	bear resemblance (to), closely resemble
resolve	conflict resolution, resolve (a) conflict, resolve (a) dispute
resource	additional resources, allocate resources, available resources, economic resources, electronic resources, financial resources, learning resources, limited resources, natural resources, provide resources, require resources, scarce resources, sufficient resources, use resources, valuable resources
respond	respond appropriately, appropriate response, emotional response, individual response
responsible	accept responsibility, assume responsibility, individual responsibility, personal responsibility, primary responsibility, social responsibility, take responsibility, (be) directly responsible (for), (be) largely responsible (for), (be) partly responsible (for), (be) primarily responsible (for), socially responsible
restrict	impose restrictions
result	final result, obtain (a) result, positive result, preliminary result, quantitative result, similar result, consistent results, experimental results
retrieval	information retrieval
review	review (a) study, annual review, brief review, comprehensive review, critical review
revise	revised edition, revised version
rich	rich source
right	legal right, natural right, individual rights
rising	rising cost
risk	risk assessment, increased risk, potential risk
role	active role, assume (the) role (of), central role, consider (the) role (of), critical role, crucial role, direct role, dominant role, essential role, examine (the) role (of), key role, leading role, major role, minor role, pivotal role, play (a) role (in), prominent role, significant role, take (a) role (in), take on (the) role (of, as), take up (the) role (of, as), vital role
root	(be) deeply rooted, historical roots
roughly	roughly equal, roughly equivalent
rule	legal rule, ruling class, ruling party
rural	rural area, rural community, rural economy, rural population, rural society
safe	safe sex, personal safety
salient	salient characteristic, salient feature
sample	random sample
scarce	scarce resources
scheme	schematic representation
scholarly	scholarly journal, scholarly literature, scholarly research, scholarly work
science	biological science, natural science, physical science, scientific community, scientific discourse, scientific evidence, scientific investigation, scientific method, scientific objectivity, scientific research, scientific theory
score	average score, high score, mean score, test score
scrutiny	close scrutiny, critical scrutiny
secondary	secondary data, secondary education, secondary source
section	concluding section, final section, introductory section, opening section, preceding section, previous section
sector	business sector, economic sector, manufacturing sector, private sector, public sector, service sector, state sector
secure	security policy, national security
seek	seek help, seek information
seem	seem appropriate, seem obvious, seem plausible, seem unlikely
select	(be) carefully selected, (be) randomly selected, highly selective
seminal	seminal study, seminal work
senior	senior management
sense	(in a) literal sense, specific sense, extremely sensitive, highly sensitive, particularly sensitive
separate	separate entity
serious	serious challenge, serious consequences, serious offence
serve	serve (a) function
service	service sector, military service, provide (a) service
set	set (a) goal, set (a) target, set (an) objective, set (the) agenda, set (the) parameters, complex set, data set
setting	educational setting, social setting
severely	severely affect
sex	biological sex, safe sex, sexual abuse, sexual act, sexual behaviour, sexual contact, sexual difference, sexual exploitation, sexual identity, sexual intercourse, sexual orientation, sexual violence
share	share information, shared experience, shared meaning, shared values, widely shared, information sharing
sharp	sharp contrast, sharp distinction
shift	global shift, major shift, significant shift, shift emphasis
short	short duration, short period
show	show (a) tendency, show (a) trend, show evidence, show variation
side	negative side
sign	sign (a) treaty
significant	cultural significance, great significance, little significance, political significance, practical significance, social significance, statistical significance, (a) significant amount (of), (a) significant degree (of), (a) significant proportion (of), significant change, significant contribution, significant correlation, significant correlation, significant development, significant difference, significant effect, significant factor, significant feature, significant figures, significant growth, significant impact, significant improvement, significant increase, significant influence, significant interaction, significant number, significant part, significant portion, significant reduction, significant relationship, significant role, significant shift, significant variation, highly significant, particularly significant, statistically significant, (be) significantly correlated (with), (be) significantly reduced, significantly affect, significantly higher, significantly increase, contribute significantly, differ significantly, vary significantly
similar	similar approach, similar argument, similar characteristics, similar effect, similar issue, similar pattern, similar properties, similar result, similar situation, broadly similar, remarkably similar
simple	simple majority, relatively simple, simplified version
single	single currency, single element, single entity, single individual, single issue, single source, single variable
situation	complex situation, similar situation
skill	technical skill, transferable skill, skilled worker, highly skilled, academic skills, appropriate skills, cognitive skills, core skills, interpersonal skills, unskilled worker
slightly	slightly different, slightly higher
slow	slow process
small	(a) small proportion (of), small fraction, small minority, small percentage, small portion, small quantities (of)
social	social activity, social aspect, social attitudes, social background, social behaviour, social circumstances, social conflict, social consequences, social construct, social contact, social context, social democracy, social dimension, social environment, social equality, social exclusion, social expectations, social factors, social function, social identity, social implications, social inequality, social institution, social integration, social interaction, social isolation, social mobility, social movement, social norm, social organization, social phenomenon, social policy, social reform, social relationship, social responsibility, social setting, social significance, social status, social structure, social theory, social transformation, social trend, social welfare, (be) socially constructed, socially acceptable, socially desirable, socially responsible, capitalist society, civil society, contemporary society, democratic society, human society, industrial society, modern society, rural society, traditional society, western society, wider society, socioeconomic status
solar	solar energy, solar panel, solar power, solar system
solution	alternative solution, optimal solution
sophisticated	highly sophisticated, increasingly sophisticated
source	source material, alternative source, become (a) source (of), common source, external source, key source, main source, major source, original source, possible source, potential source, primary source, principal source, provide (a) source, rich source, secondary source, single source, use (a) source, useful source, multiple sources
sovereign	sovereign state
space	personal space, physical space
sparingly	use sparingly
sparsely	(be) sparsely populated
speaker	native speaker
special	special circumstances, special emphasis, special issue, special relationship, special status
species	human species
specific	specific area, specific aspect, specific case, specific characteristic, specific context, specific example, specific factor, specific feature, specific focus, specific form, specific function, specific information, specific issue, specific knowledge, specific meaning, specific needs, specific problem, specific purpose, specific question, specific reference, specific sense, specific type, culturally specific, historically specific, (be) specifically designed (to, for)
spectrum	broad spectrum, political spectrum
sphere	domestic sphere, private sphere, public sphere
stable	political instability, economic stability, political stability, relatively stable, remain stable
staff	professional staff
stage	developmental stage, earlier stage, final stage, initial stage, planning stage
standard	standard approach, standard error, standard format, standard method, high standard, living standard, minimum standard, professional standard
stark	stark contrast
start	start (a) process
state	state explicitly, state sector, democratic state, federal state, independent state, mental state, sovereign state, clear statement, general statement, make (a) statement, written statement
statistic	statistical analysis, statistical data, statistical information, statistical method, statistical significance, statistical technique, statistical test, statistically significant, descriptive statistics, official statistics, use statistics
status	current status, economic status, equal status, high status, legal status, low status, political status, professional status, relative status, social status, socioeconomic status, special status
step	final step
stereotype	gender stereotype, negative stereotype, racial stereotype
store	store data, store information
straightforward	fairly straightforward, relatively straightforward
strategy	strategic decision, strategic importance, strategic management, strategic objective, strategic planning, alternative strategy, coping strategy, develop (a) strategy, have (a) strategy, learning strategy, teaching strategy, use (a) strategy
stress	stress level, cause stress, reduce stress
striking	striking contrast, striking example, striking feature, particularly striking
strong	strong bond, strong correlation, strong emphasis, strong evidence, strong link, strong reaction, strong relationship, strong tendency, (be) strongly associated (with), (be) strongly correlated (with), (be) strongly influenced (by), (be) strongly linked, (be) strongly opposed, (be) strongly related (to), strongly agree, strongly disagree, strongly suggest
structure	structural adjustment, structural change, structural element, structural feature, structural properties, basic structure, clear structure, complex structure, economic structure, existing structure, formal structure, global structure, hierarchical structure, institutional structure, internal structure, organizational structure, overall structure, political structure, social structure, underlying structure, (be) highly structured
study	numerous studies, academic study, classic study, comparative study, conduct (a) study, detailed study, earlier study, early study, empirical study, experimental study, further study, future study, historical study, intensive study, longitudinal study, perform (a) study, pilot study, previous study, qualitative study, quantitative study, recent study, review (a) study, seminal study, subsequent study, systematic study, theoretical study
subject	subject area
subsequent	subsequent analysis, subsequent chapter, subsequent development, subsequent study, subsequent work
substantial	(a) substantial amount (of), substantial difference, substantial evidence, substantial number, substantial part, substantially different
success	academic success, economic success, successful implementation, highly successful, particularly successful, prove successful
sufficient	sufficient condition, sufficient detail, sufficient evidence, sufficient information, sufficient resources
suggest	strongly suggest
suited	(be) ideally suited, (be) particularly suited (to)
summary	brief summary, present (a) summary, provide (a) summary, useful summary
superior	superior performance
support	support (an) argument, additional support, considerable support, emotional support, empirical support, financial support, institutional support, mutual support, professional support, provide support, technical support, widespread support, supporting evidence
surprising	hardly surprising
survey	survey data, conduct (a) survey, national survey, recent survey
symbiotic	symbiotic relationship
symptom	physical symptom
system	binary system, capitalist system, complex system, comprehensive system, dynamic system, economic system, educational system, integrated system, legal system, solar system, transport system
systematic	systematic analysis, systematic approach, systematic study
tacit	tacit knowledge
take	take (a) role (in), take (an) approach, take initiative, take precedence (over), take responsibility, take into consideration, take on (the) role (of, as), take up (the) role (of, as)
target	target audience, meet (a) target, set (a) target
task	carry out (the) task, complete (a) task, main task, perform (a) task, primary task
teach	teaching strategy
technical	technical aspect, technical assistance, technical detail, technical expertise, technical issue, technical knowledge, technical problem, technical skill, technical support, technical term
technique	basic technique, develop (a) technique, employ (a) technique, statistical technique, use (a) technique
technology	technological advances, technological change, technological development, technological innovation, technological progress, advanced technology, current technology, digital technology, modern technology
tendency	general tendency, have (a) tendency (to), increasing tendency, natural tendency, show (a) tendency, strong tendency
tenet	central tenet
term	technical term
test	test (a) theory, test score, diagnostic test, statistical test
text	classic text, introductory text, key text, literary text, original text, textual analysis
theme	thematic analysis, central theme, common theme, key theme, main theme, major theme, recurrent theme
theory	theoretical analysis, theoretical approach, theoretical basis, theoretical concept, theoretical debate, theoretical framework, theoretical issue, theoretical model, theoretical perspective, theoretical study, theoretical understanding, theoretical work, apply (the) theory, classical theory, critical theory, cultural theory, develop (a) theory, economic theory, evolutionary theory, general theory, scientific theory, social theory, test (a) theory, use (a) theory
think	think differently, thinking process, creative thinking, critical thinking
third	third party
thought	thought process, careful thought, previously thought
threat	external threat, perceived threat, pose (a) threat (to)
tied	(be) closely tied
tightly	(be) tightly controlled
time	brief time, prime time
times	earlier times
tool	analytical tool, powerful tool, useful tool
top	top management
topic	cover (a) topic, discuss (a) topic, key topic, related topic, research topic
total	total income, totally different
trade	global trade
tradition	cultural tradition, literary tradition, western tradition, traditional approach, traditional culture, traditional form, traditional method, traditional practice, traditional research, traditional society, traditional value, traditional view
training	professional training
transaction	business transaction, commercial transaction
transfer	transferable skill
transform	radical transformation, social transformation, undergo transformation
transit	make (a) transition
transmit	transmit data, transmit information
transport	transport system, public transport
treat	treat differently, treat equally, appropriate treatment, effective treatment, equal treatment, fair treatment, give (sb) treatment, medical treatment, preferential treatment, receive treatment, unfair treatment
treaty	international treaty, peace treaty, sign (a) treaty
trend	current trend, general trend, growing trend, increasing trend, show (a) trend, social trend
true	equally true
trust	mutual trust
turnover	high turnover, low turnover
type	distinct type, specific type
typical	typical example
ultimate	ultimate goal
undergo	undergo transformation
underlie	underlying assumption, underlying cause, underlying principle, underlying process, underlying reason, underlying structure
understand	clearly understand, fully understand, (a) deep understanding (of), mutual understanding, theoretical understanding, (be) easily understood, (be) poorly understood, (be) properly understood, (be) readily understood
undertake	undertake (an) activity, undertake research, undertake work
unique	unique individual, unique opportunity, unique position
universally	(be) universally accepted
urban	urban area, urban centre, urban design, urban development, urban environment
usage	common usage
use	use (a) format, use (a) method, use (a) methodology, use (a) procedure, use (a) source, use (a) strategy, use (a) technique, use (a) theory, use (an) approach, use (the) analysis, use (the) concept concept, use (the) data data, use (the) definition, use criteria, use effectively, use resources, use sparingly, use statistics, continued use, widespread use, (be) commonly used, (be) extensively used, (be) frequently used, (be) widely used, useful information, useful material, useful means, useful source, useful summary, useful tool, extremely useful, particularly useful, prove useful
valid	valid argument, equally valid
value	valuable information, valuable resources, extremely valuable, particularly valuable, core value, economic value, high value, intrinsic value, minimum value, negative value, numerical value, positive value, potential value, traditional value, (be) highly valued, cultural values, shared values
various	various aspects
vary	dependent variable, highly variable, independent variable, individual variable, random variable, single variable, considerable variation, genetic variation, individual variation, regional variation, show variation, significant variation, wide variation, vary considerably, vary greatly, vary significantly, vary widely, varying degree
vast	(a) vast amount (of), (a) vast array (of), (a) vast range (of), vast area, vast majority, vast number, vast quantities (of)
verbal	verbal communication, verbal language
version	earlier version, electronic version, final version, modified version, online version, original version, revised version, simplified version
vested	vested interest
view	alternative view, conventional view, negative view, positive view, traditional view
village	global village
violence	domestic violence, sexual violence
virtual	virtual community, virtually impossible
visible	become visible, clearly visible, make visible
visual	visual image, visual media, visual perception, visual representation
vital	(be of) vital importance, vital part, vital role
vulnerable	vulnerable group
wage	minimum wage
war	nuclear war
way	(in a) meaningful way, alternative way, appropriate way, identify (a) way
weapon	nuclear weapon
welfare	welfare reform, economic welfare, public welfare, social welfare
well	(be) well documented, (be) well established, well aware, well designed, well educated, well received
western	western democracy, western society, western tradition
whole	(a) whole range (of), whole area, whole period
wide	(a) wide array (of), (a) wide range (of), wide area, wide variation, (be) widely accepted, (be) widely adopted, (be) widely believed, (be) widely discussed, (be) widely dispersed, (be) widely distributed, (be) widely known, (be) widely recognized, (be) widely regarded (as), (be) widely used, widely available, widely different, widely read, widely shared, differ widely, vary widely, wider audience, wider community, wider context, wider implications, wider issue, wider public, wider society
widespread	widespread acceptance, widespread belief, widespread support, widespread use, become widespread
wisdom	conventional wisdom
work	work effectively, academic work, classic work, creative work, earlier work, empirical work, experimental work, intellectual work, later work, original work, pioneering work, previous work, professional work, published work, scholarly work, seminal work, subsequent work, theoretical work, undertake work, manual worker, migrant worker, skilled worker, unskilled worker
world	academic world, capitalist world, changing world, contemporary world, external world, natural world, physical world
write	academic writing, critical writing, historical writing, later writings, written comment, written communication, written statement
year	academic year
young	younger generation

GET FREE EBOOK

Like the website? Try the books. This extract from Unlock the Academic Wordlist: Sublists 1-3 contains all sublist 1 words, plus exercises, answers and more!

Author: Sheldon Smith ‖ Last modified: 28 November 2022.

Sheldon Smith is the founder and editor of EAPFoundation.com. He has been teaching English for Academic Purposes since 2004. Find out more about him in the about section and connect with him on Twitter , Facebook and LinkedIn .

The AWL highlighter allows you to highlight words from the AWL (Academic Word List) in any text you choose.

The Academic Word List (AWL) contains 570 word families which frequently appear in academic texts.

The Academic Collocation List (ACL) is a list containing 2,469 of the most frequent and useful collocations which occur in written academic English.

Academic vocabulary consists of general words, non-general academic words, and technical words.

Resources for vocabulary contains additional activities and information (requires users to be logged in).

Learning vocabulary depends on knowing how much to learn, the type of vocabulary to study, and how to study it properly.

Get science-backed answers as you write with Paperpal's Research feature

How to Structure an Essay

Essay writing is a fundamental skill, a basic task, that is expected of those who choose to pursue their undergraduate and master’s degrees. It constitutes a key requirement for students to complete a given course credit. However, many students and early career researchers find themselves struggling with the challenge of organizing their thoughts into a coherent, engaging structure. This article is especially for those who see essay writing as a daunting task and face problems in presenting their work in an impactful way.

Writing an essay: basic elements and some key principles
Essay structure template
Chronological structure
Problem-methods-solutions structure
Compare and contrast structures
Frequently asked questions on essay structure

Read on as we delve into the basic elements of essay writing, outline key principles for organizing information, and cover some foundational features of writing essays.

Writing an essay: basic elements and some key principles

Essays are written in a flowing and continuous pattern but with a structure of its own. An introduction, body and conclusion are integral to it. The key is to balance the amount and kind of information to be presented in each part. Various disciplines may have their own conventions or guidelines on the information to be provided in the introduction.

A clear articulation of the context and background of the study is important, as is the definition of key terms and an outline of specific models or theories used. Readers also need to know the significance of the study and its implications for further research. Most importantly, the thesis or the main proposition should be clearly presented.

The body of the essay is therefore organized into paragraphs that hold the main ideas and arguments and is presented and analyzed in a logical manner. Ideally, each paragraph of the body focuses on one main point or a distinct topic and must be supported by evidence and analysis. The concluding paragraph should bring back to the reader the key arguments, its significance and food for thought. It is best not to re-state all the points of the essay or introduce a new concept here.

In other words, certain general guidelines help structure the information in the essay. The information must flow logically with the context or the background information presented in the introductory part of the essay. The arguments are built organically where each paragraph in the body of the essay deals with a different point, yet closely linked to the para preceding and following it. Importantly, when writing essays, early career researchers must be careful in ensuring that each piece of information relates to the main thesis and is a building block to the arguments.

Essay structure template

Introduction
Provide the context and share significance of the study
Clearly articulate the thesis statement
Body
Paragraph 1 consisting of the first main point, followed by supporting evidence and an analysis of the findings. Transitional words and phrases can be used to move to the next main point.
There can be as many paragraphs with the above-mentioned elements as there are points and arguments to support your thesis.
Conclusion
Bring in key ideas and discuss their significance and relevance
Call for action
References

Essay structures

The structure of an essay can be determined by the kind of essay that is required.

Chronological structure

Also known as the cause-and-effect approach, this is a straightforward way to structure an essay. In such essays, events are discussed sequentially, as they occurred from the earliest to the latest. A chronological structure is useful for discussing a series of events or processes such as historical analyses or narratives of events. The introduction should have the topic sentence. The body of the essay should follow a chorological progression with each para discussing a major aspect of that event with supporting evidence. It ends with a summarizing of the results of the events.

Problem-methods-solutions structure

Where the essay focuses on a specific problem, the problem-methods-solutions structure can be used to organize the essay. This structure is ideal for essays that address complex issues. It starts with presenting the problem, the context, and thesis statement as introduction to the essay. The major part of the discussion which forms the body of the essay focuses on stating the problem and its significance, the author’s approach or methods adopted to address the problem along with its relevance, and accordingly proposing solution(s) to the identified problem. The concluding part offers a recap of the research problem, methods, and proposed solutions, emphasizing their significance and potential impact.

Compare and contrast structures

This structure of essay writing is ideally used when two or more key subjects require a comparison of ideas, theories, or phenomena. The three crucial elements, introduction, body, and conclusion, remain the same. The introduction presents the context and the thesis statement. The body of the essay seeks to focus on and highlight differences between the subjects, supported by evidence and analysis. The conclusion is used to summarize the key points of comparison and contrast, offering insights into the significance of the analysis.

Depending on how the subjects will be discussed, the body of the essay can be organized according to the block method or the alternating method. In the block method, one para discusses one subject and the next para the other subject. In the alternative method, both subjects are discussed in one para based on a particular topic or issue followed by the next para on another issue and so on.

Frequently asked questions on essay structure

An essay structure serves as a framework for presenting ideas coherently and logically. It comprises three crucial elements: an introduction that communicates the context, topic, and thesis statement; the body focusing on the main points and arguments supported with appropriate evidence followed by its analysis; and a conclusion that ties together the main points and its importance .

An essay structure well-defined essay structure enhances clarity, coherence, and readability, and is crucial for organizing ideas and arguments to effectively communicate key aspects of a chosen topic. It allows readers to better understand arguments presented and demonstrates the author’s ability to organize and present information systematically.

Yes, while expert recommend following an essay structure, early career researchers may choose how best to adapt standard essay structures to communicate and share their research in an impactful and engaging way. However, do keep in mind that deviating too far from established structures can hinder comprehension and weaken the overall effectiveness of the essay, By understanding the basic elements of essay writing and employing appropriate structures such as chronological, problem-methods-solutions, or compare and contrast, researchers can effectively organize their ideas and communicate their findings with clarity and precision.

Paperpal is a comprehensive AI writing toolkit that helps students and researchers achieve 2x the writing in half the time. It leverages 21+ years of STM experience and insights from millions of research articles to provide in-depth academic writing, language editing, and submission readiness support to help you write better, faster.

Get accurate academic translations, rewriting support, grammar checks, vocabulary suggestions, and generative AI assistance that delivers human precision at machine speed. Try for free or upgrade to Paperpal Prime starting at US$19 a month to access premium features, including consistency, plagiarism, and 30+ submission readiness checks to help you succeed.

Experience the future of academic writing – Sign up to Paperpal and start writing for free!

Leveraging Generative AI to Enhance Student Understanding of Complex Research Concepts

You may also like, leveraging generative ai to enhance student understanding of..., how to write a good hook for essays,..., addressing peer review feedback and mastering manuscript revisions..., how paperpal can boost comprehension and foster interdisciplinary..., what is the importance of a concept paper..., how to write the first draft of a..., mla works cited page: format, template & examples, how to ace grant writing for research funding..., how to write a high-quality conference paper.

100+ Useful Words and Phrases to Write a Great Essay

By: Author Sophia

Posted on Last updated: October 25, 2023

Sharing is caring!

How to Write a Great Essay in English! This lesson provides 100+ useful words, transition words and expressions used in writing an essay. Let’s take a look!

The secret to a successful essay doesn’t just lie in the clever things you talk about and the way you structure your points.

Useful Words and Phrases to Write a Great Essay

Overview of an essay.

Useful Phrases for Proficiency Essays

Developing the argument

The first aspect to point out is that…
Let us start by considering the facts.
The novel portrays, deals with, revolves around…
Central to the novel is…
The character of xxx embodies/ epitomizes…

The other side of the argument

It would also be interesting to see…
One should, nevertheless, consider the problem from another angle.
Equally relevant to the issue are the questions of…
The arguments we have presented… suggest that…/ prove that…/ would indicate that…
From these arguments one must…/ could…/ might… conclude that…
All of this points to the conclusion that…
To conclude…

Ordering elements

Firstly,…/ Secondly,…/ Finally,… (note the comma after all these introductory words.)
As a final point…
On the one hand, …. on the other hand…
If on the one hand it can be said that… the same is not true for…
The first argument suggests that… whilst the second suggests that…
There are at least xxx points to highlight.

Adding elements

Furthermore, one should not forget that…
In addition to…
Moreover…
It is important to add that…

Accepting other points of view

Nevertheless, one should accept that…
However, we also agree that…

Personal opinion

We/I personally believe that…
Our/My own point of view is that…
It is my contention that…
I am convinced that…
My own opinion is…

Others’ opinions

According to some critics… Critics:
believe that
suggest that
are convinced that
point out that
emphasize that
contend that
go as far as to say that
argue for this

Introducing examples

For example…
For instance…
To illustrate this point…

Introducing facts

It is… true that…/ clear that…/ noticeable that…
One should note here that…

Saying what you think is true

This leads us to believe that…
It is very possible that…
In view of these facts, it is quite likely that…
Doubtless,…
One cannot deny that…
It is (very) clear from these observations that…
All the same, it is possible that…
It is difficult to believe that…

Accepting other points to a certain degree

One can agree up to a certain point with…
Certainly,… However,…
It cannot be denied that…

Emphasizing particular points

The last example highlights the fact that…
Not only… but also…
We would even go so far as to say that…

Moderating, agreeing, disagreeing

By and large…
Perhaps we should also point out the fact that…
It would be unfair not to mention the fact that…
One must admit that…
We cannot ignore the fact that…
One cannot possibly accept the fact that…

Consequences

From these facts, one may conclude that…
That is why, in our opinion, …
Which seems to confirm the idea that…
Thus,…/ Therefore,…
Some critics suggest…, whereas others…
Compared to…
On the one hand, there is the firm belief that… On the other hand, many people are convinced that…

How to Write a Great Essay | Image 1

100+ Useful Words and Phrases to Write a Great Essay 1

How to Write a Great Essay | Image 2

100+ Useful Words and Phrases to Write a Great Essay 2

Phrases For Balanced Arguments

Introduction

It is often said that…
It is undeniable that…
It is a well-known fact that…
One of the most striking features of this text is…
The first thing that needs to be said is…
First of all, let us try to analyze…
One argument in support of…
We must distinguish carefully between…
The second reason for…
An important aspect of the text is…
It is worth stating at this point that…
On the other hand, we can observe that…
The other side of the coin is, however, that…
Another way of looking at this question is to…
What conclusions can be drawn from all this?
The most satisfactory conclusion that we can come to is…
To sum up… we are convinced that…/ …we believe that…/ …we have to accept that…

How to Write a Great Essay | Image 3

100+ Useful Words and Phrases to Write a Great Essay 3

Recent Posts
Plural of Process in the English Grammar - October 3, 2023
Best Kahoot Names: Get Creative with These Fun Ideas! - October 2, 2023
List of Homophones for English Learners - September 30, 2023

How to Write a Formal Letter | Useful Phrases with ESL Image
50+ Questions to Start a Conversation with Anyone in English
Useful English Greetings and Expressions for English Learners
Asking for Help, Asking for Opinions and Asking for Approval

Nur Syuhadah Zainuddin

Friday 19th of August 2022

thank u so much its really usefull

12thSeahorse

Wednesday 3rd of August 2022

He or she who masters the English language rules the world!

Friday 25th of March 2022

Thank you so so much, this helped me in my essays with A+

Theophilus Muzvidziwa

Friday 11th of March 2022

Monday 21st of February 2022

Have a language expert improve your writing

Run a free plagiarism check in 10 minutes, generate accurate citations for free.

Knowledge Base
Academic writing

What Is Academic Writing? | Dos and Don’ts for Students

Academic writing is a formal style of writing used in universities and scholarly publications. You’ll encounter it in journal articles and books on academic topics, and you’ll be expected to write your essays , research papers , and dissertation in academic style.

Academic writing follows the same writing process as other types of texts, but it has specific conventions in terms of content, structure and style.

Academic writing is…	Academic writing is not…

Instantly correct all language mistakes in your text

Upload your document to correct all your mistakes in minutes

Types of academic writing, academic writing is…, academic writing is not…, useful tools for academic writing, academic writing checklist.

Academics mostly write texts intended for publication, such as journal articles, reports, books, and chapters in edited collections. For students, the most common types of academic writing assignments are listed below.

Type of academic text	Definition
	A fairly short, self-contained argument, often using sources from a class in response to a question provided by an instructor.
	A more in-depth investigation based on independent research, often in response to a question chosen by the student.
	The large final research project undertaken at the end of a degree, usually on a of the student’s choice.
	An outline of a potential topic and plan for a future dissertation or research project.
	A critical synthesis of existing research on a topic, usually written in order to inform the approach of a new piece of research.
	A write-up of the aims, methods, results, and conclusions of a lab experiment.
	A list of source references with a short description or evaluation of each source.

Different fields of study have different priorities in terms of the writing they produce. For example, in scientific writing it’s crucial to clearly and accurately report methods and results; in the humanities, the focus is on constructing convincing arguments through the use of textual evidence. However, most academic writing shares certain key principles intended to help convey information as effectively as possible.

Whether your goal is to pass your degree, apply to graduate school , or build an academic career, effective writing is an essential skill.

Check for common mistakes

Use the best grammar checker available to check for common mistakes in your text.

Fix mistakes for free

Formal and unbiased

Academic writing aims to convey information in an impartial way. The goal is to base arguments on the evidence under consideration, not the author’s preconceptions. All claims should be supported with relevant evidence, not just asserted.

To avoid bias, it’s important to represent the work of other researchers and the results of your own research fairly and accurately. This means clearly outlining your methodology and being honest about the limitations of your research.

The formal style used in academic writing ensures that research is presented consistently across different texts, so that studies can be objectively assessed and compared with other research.

Because of this, it’s important to strike the right tone with your language choices. Avoid informal language , including slang, contractions , clichés, and conversational phrases:

Also , a lot of the findings are a little unreliable.
Moreover , many of the findings are somewhat unreliable.

Clear and precise

It’s important to use clear and precise language to ensure that your reader knows exactly what you mean. This means being as specific as possible and avoiding vague language :

People have been interested in this thing for a long time .
Researchers have been interested in this phenomenon for at least 10 years .

Avoid hedging your claims with words like “perhaps,” as this can give the impression that you lack confidence in your arguments. Reflect on your word choice to ensure it accurately and directly conveys your meaning:

This could perhaps suggest that…
This suggests that…

Specialist language or jargon is common and often necessary in academic writing, which generally targets an audience of other academics in related fields.

However, jargon should be used to make your writing more concise and accurate, not to make it more complicated. A specialist term should be used when:

It conveys information more precisely than a comparable non-specialist term.
Your reader is likely to be familiar with the term.
The term is commonly used by other researchers in your field.

The best way to familiarize yourself with the kind of jargon used in your field is to read papers by other researchers and pay attention to their language.

Focused and well structured

An academic text is not just a collection of ideas about a topic—it needs to have a clear purpose. Start with a relevant research question or thesis statement , and use it to develop a focused argument. Only include information that is relevant to your overall purpose.

A coherent structure is crucial to organize your ideas. Pay attention to structure at three levels: the structure of the whole text, paragraph structure, and sentence structure.

Overall structure	and a . .
Paragraph structure	when you move onto a new idea. at the start of each paragraph to indicate what it’s about, and make clear between paragraphs.
Sentence structure	to express the connections between different ideas within and between sentences. to avoid .

Well sourced

Academic writing uses sources to support its claims. Sources are other texts (or media objects like photographs or films) that the author analyzes or uses as evidence. Many of your sources will be written by other academics; academic writing is collaborative and builds on previous research.

It’s important to consider which sources are credible and appropriate to use in academic writing. For example, citing Wikipedia is typically discouraged. Don’t rely on websites for information; instead, use academic databases and your university library to find credible sources.

You must always cite your sources in academic writing. This means acknowledging whenever you quote or paraphrase someone else’s work by including a citation in the text and a reference list at the end.

APA citation example
In-text citation	Elsewhere, it has been argued that the method is “the best currently available” (Smith, 2019, p. 25).
Reference list	Smith, J. (2019). (2nd ed.). New York, NY: Norton.

There are many different citation styles with different rules. The most common styles are APA , MLA , and Chicago . Make sure to consistently follow whatever style your institution requires. If you don’t cite correctly, you may get in trouble for plagiarism . A good plagiarism checker can help you catch any issues before it’s too late.

You can easily create accurate citations in APA or MLA style using our Citation Generators.

APA Citation Generator MLA Citation Generator

Correct and consistent

As well as following the rules of grammar, punctuation, and citation, it’s important to consistently apply stylistic conventions regarding:

How to write numbers
Introducing abbreviations
Using verb tenses in different sections
Capitalization of terms and headings
Spelling and punctuation differences between UK and US English

In some cases there are several acceptable approaches that you can choose between—the most important thing is to apply the same rules consistently and to carefully proofread your text before you submit. If you don’t feel confident in your own proofreading abilities, you can get help from Scribbr’s professional proofreading services or Grammar Checker .

Academic writing generally tries to avoid being too personal. Information about the author may come in at some points—for example in the acknowledgements or in a personal reflection—but for the most part the text should focus on the research itself.

Always avoid addressing the reader directly with the second-person pronoun “you.” Use the impersonal pronoun “one” or an alternate phrasing instead for generalizations:

As a teacher, you must treat your students fairly.
As a teacher, one must treat one’s students fairly.
Teachers must treat their students fairly.

The use of the first-person pronoun “I” used to be similarly discouraged in academic writing, but it is increasingly accepted in many fields. If you’re unsure whether to use the first person, pay attention to conventions in your field or ask your instructor.

When you refer to yourself, it should be for good reason. You can position yourself and describe what you did during the research, but avoid arbitrarily inserting your personal thoughts and feelings:

In my opinion…
I think that…
I like/dislike…
I conducted interviews with…
I argue that…
I hope to achieve…

Long-winded

Many students think their writing isn’t academic unless it’s over-complicated and long-winded. This isn’t a good approach—instead, aim to be as concise and direct as possible.

If a term can be cut or replaced with a more straightforward one without affecting your meaning, it should be. Avoid redundant phrasings in your text, and try replacing phrasal verbs with their one-word equivalents where possible:

Interest in this phenomenon carried on in the year 2018 .
Interest in this phenomenon continued in 2018 .

Repetition is a part of academic writing—for example, summarizing earlier information in the conclusion—but it’s important to avoid unnecessary repetition. Make sure that none of your sentences are repeating a point you’ve already made in different words.

Emotive and grandiose

An academic text is not the same thing as a literary, journalistic, or marketing text. Though you’re still trying to be persuasive, a lot of techniques from these styles are not appropriate in an academic context. Specifically, you should avoid appeals to emotion and inflated claims.

Though you may be writing about a topic that’s sensitive or important to you, the point of academic writing is to clearly communicate ideas, information, and arguments, not to inspire an emotional response. Avoid using emotive or subjective language :

This horrible tragedy was obviously one of the worst catastrophes in construction history.
The injury and mortality rates of this accident were among the highest in construction history.

Students are sometimes tempted to make the case for their topic with exaggerated , unsupported claims and flowery language. Stick to specific, grounded arguments that you can support with evidence, and don’t overstate your point:

Charles Dickens is the greatest writer of the Victorian period, and his influence on all subsequent literature is enormous.
Charles Dickens is one of the best-known writers of the Victorian period and has had a significant influence on the development of the English novel.

There are a a lot of writing tools that will make your writing process faster and easier. We’ll highlight three of them below.

Paraphrasing tool

AI writing tools like ChatGPT and a paraphrasing tool can help you rewrite text so that your ideas are clearer, you don’t repeat yourself, and your writing has a consistent tone.

They can also help you write more clearly about sources without having to quote them directly. Be warned, though: it’s still crucial to give credit to all sources in the right way to prevent plagiarism .

Grammar checker

Writing tools that scan your text for punctuation, spelling, and grammar mistakes. When it detects a mistake the grammar checke r will give instant feedback and suggest corrections. Helping you write clearly and avoid common mistakes .

You can use a summarizer if you want to condense text into its most important and useful ideas. With a summarizer tool, you can make it easier to understand complicated sources. You can also use the tool to make your research question clearer and summarize your main argument.

Use the checklist below to assess whether you have followed the rules of effective academic writing.

Checklist: Academic writing

I avoid informal terms and contractions .

I avoid second-person pronouns (“you”).

I avoid emotive or exaggerated language.

I avoid redundant words and phrases.

I avoid unnecessary jargon and define terms where needed.

I present information as precisely and accurately as possible.

I use appropriate transitions to show the connections between my ideas.

My text is logically organized using paragraphs .

Each paragraph is focused on a single idea, expressed in a clear topic sentence .

Every part of the text relates to my central thesis or research question .

I support my claims with evidence.

I use the appropriate verb tenses in each section.

I consistently use either UK or US English .

I format numbers consistently.

I cite my sources using a consistent citation style .

Your text follows the most important rules of academic style. Make sure it's perfect with the help of a Scribbr editor!

Is this article helpful?

Other students also liked.

Taboo words in academic writing
How to write more concisely
Transition Words & Phrases | List & Examples

What is your plagiarism score?

Purdue Online Writing Lab Purdue OWL® College of Liberal Arts

Academic Writing

Welcome to the Purdue OWL

This page is brought to you by the OWL at Purdue University. When printing this page, you must include the entire legal notice.

Copyright ©1995-2018 by The Writing Lab & The OWL at Purdue and Purdue University. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, reproduced, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed without permission. Use of this site constitutes acceptance of our terms and conditions of fair use.

In this section

Subsections.

Dictionaries home
American English
Collocations
German-English
Grammar home
Practical English Usage
Learn & Practise Grammar (Beta)
Word Lists home
My Word Lists
Recent additions
Resources home
Text Checker

The Academic Word List from the Oxford Learner's Dictionary of Academic English

The Academic Word List

constitutional
distribution
environmental
authoritative
availability
beneficiary
consistency
consistently
constituency
constituent 1
constitution
constitutive
contextualize
derivative 1
distributive
distributor
economically
environment
environmentalist
established
establishment
financially
formulation
functionally
identifiable
identification
inconsistency

Ohio State nav bar

The Ohio State University

BuckeyeLink
Find People
Search Ohio State

The One-Stop Shop for Academic Jargon Definitions

Please find this post at: https://clairekampdush.com/2016/10/21/the-one-stop-shop-for-academic-jargon-definitions/.

Tenure. Postdoc. Service. ABD. There are so many terms that we use in academia that beginning grad students don’t understand, and may be embarrassed to ask about. First generation college students in particular – I feel your pain! I am a first generation college student, and I had no idea what a lot of these terms meant when I went to graduate school. I somehow learned them along the way, largely informally, but the purpose of this post is to help you learn a lot of academic jargon. It is a very long post, but this is primarily aimed at new grad students, and it would be worth many new grad students’ time to read it at least once.

A few notes on this post:

First, there are exceptions to almost every definition in this post. Feel free to leave a comment with some additional definitions of each term.
Second, this post is really long, because every time I wrote a definition, I realized I was using jargon in the definition, which resulted in another definition.
This list is not exhaustive, because there are idiosyncratic terms within every discipline and university. It is just intended as a (thorough) starting point for new graduate students.

photo credit: barnimages.com Dictionary page via photopin (license)

How to Search This List

The definitions in this post are not in alphabetical order, but rather in the order that definitions came up as I was defining terms, or are roughly grouped according to area of academic life (i.e. grad student, tenure track). Thus, if you are looking for a specific definition, the easiest way to find it is to search the page for that word using CTRL+F.

Definitions

Funding – a global term that most often refers to the money and/or tuition waiver a student receives for working for the university. In some graduate programs, all students are “funded” and in others, some students are “funded” and in still others none are and all students are paying for their degrees out of pocket, or themselves, most likely with student loans. Funding can be competitive in some graduate programs whereby only the best students receive funding. For faculty, funding can refer to money garnered for research. Thus, a funded faculty member may have money from a federal agency such at the National Science Foundation that they use to pay for their research.

Summer funding – summer funding means that you are getting paid over the summer, usually from a fellowship, research associateship, or teaching associateship.

Tuition waiver – a waiver, usually provided by a department, funding agency, or foundation, that pays your tuition in full

Stipend – the money you will receive each month as a graduate student. It is paid as a a paycheck, and you receive it most often for teaching, or assisting with teaching a course, for research assistance, or in the case of a fellow (see below), for completing your own research agenda

Fellow – a graduate student who does not have to teach or be a teaching assistant to receive their stipend. Some fellows only work on their own research during the fellowship. Other fellows will still work in their mentor’s lab as a research assistant. There is variation here, especially across the social sciences. Fellowships are often 12-months and thus include funding over the summer.

Assistantship/Associateship – these words are largely interchangeable, and refer to the work that you will do to get your stipend.

Research assistantship/associateship – students that have research-focused assistantships and associateships are paid to do research activities like collect or analyze data, or conduct literature reviews, usually for their advisor or another faculty member. Students can also be paid for assisting a journal editor with editing the journal. Note that these are most often 9-month contracts and may not include summer.

Teaching assistantship/associateship – students who have teaching-focused assistantships and associateships are paid to teach their own section of a course (or courses), or to assistant the instructor (or instructors) of a course (or courses). Note that these are most often 9-month contracts and may not include summer.

Graduate Studies Chair/ Graduate Director / Director of Graduate Studies – there are lots of terms for this person, but it is usually a faculty member who is in charge of the graduate program. What do I mean by in charge? In my case, I sign all of the documents that students need signed, update the graduate handbook, work with administrators to figure out student funding and scholarships, help students who want to change their advisor or who have questions, etcetera. Sometimes this person gets a course release or summer salary for this work.

Candidacy/comprehensive exam – this varies from program to program, but in general, it is an exam you have to take and pass to be able to proceed to doing your dissertation.

ABD – stands for All But Dissertation. Again, this can vary from program to program, but most often, it is used to as a status to refer to students who have successfully passed their candidacy or comprehensive exam. From time to time, it is reserved for students who have successfully defended their dissertation proposal.

Defense – a meeting where you go into a room with your advisor and any other committee members and are asked questions about a document that you gave them, most often a proposal, thesis, or dissertation. You are supposed to intelligently and coherently answer the committee’s questions. Often students are asked to leave the room at the beginning of the meeting so that the faculty can discuss whether you should get to defend, and at the end so the faculty can discuss whether or not you passed. Usually involves everyone in the room besides you having to sign off on some sort of document as to whether or not you passed.

Advisor – the tenure-track faculty member who is supposed to be primarily responsible for guiding you through the process of obtaining your graduate degree.

Committee/Committee Member – group of other faculty members who are supposed to advise you on your thesis and/or dissertation. Committee members usually have some expertise in your research topic and may be inside or outside of your department. Committees are usually small for theses, most often only one additional committee member besides your advisor, and larger for dissertations, usually between 4 and 6 members. You are sometimes required to have at least one committee member from outside of your graduate program on your dissertation committee.

Proposal – a document that outlines your planned project. You may be required to write proposals for master’s theses and for dissertation projects. Proposals vary in length, quality, and level of detail.

Dissertation – a piece of scholarship that you crafted, sweated over, hated, loved, lived with, and ultimately, will decide if you get a PhD. You have to successfully finish it to your committee’s satisfaction and defend it to their satisfaction to get your PhD.

Thesis – same as the dissertation, only it is shorter and more narrow in scope and is necessary in order to receive a master’s degree in many programs, though there are master’s degree programs that only require courses.

Annual review – a review of your research, service, and teaching over the previous year. Faculty and graduate students are usually required to submit these materials once a year, and they may be reviewed by the graduate faculty or the graduate studies chair if you are a graduate student, and if you are a faculty member, they are most often reviewed by your department chair.

Postdoctoral Scholar/Postdoctoral Researcher – also known as a “postdoc”, are most often research positions for PhDs to gain additional training, publications, and/or experience while they wait to get a tenure-track position.

Assistant Professor – most often a tenure-track position that involves some combination of research, teaching, and service, and how much of each depends on the university. At Ohio State, most 9-month faculty have a 40% teaching, 40% research, and 20% service appointment. At a small liberal arts college, the distribution might be 60% teaching, 20% research, and 20% service.

9-month faculty or 9-month appointment – faculty who are paid for 9 months of work per year, referred to as a 9-month appointment. In most cases, the university distributes the pay over 12-months. 9-month faculty can supplement their pay with summer salary, or off-duty pay.

12-month faculty or 12-month appointment – faculty who are paid year round to work for the university.

Course release – a course release is a term that means that the faculty member does not have to teach a class. Sometimes the faculty member’s time is charged to a grant – i.e. for me to be released from teaching one of the 4 courses I am required to teach, I have to have a grant pay 15% of my salary. Sometimes departments, colleges, and universities will provide course releases for extra service. An associate dean might receive three course releases and only teach once a year, a department chair might receive several course releases and forgo teaching. New assistant professors often negotiate for course releases at research-focused universities.

Summer salary/off-duty pay – summer salary and off-duty pay are most often referring to the same thing – it is money that you get paid when you are technically not working for the university, like over the summer months if you are a 9-month faculty member. This money most often comes from grants and contracts.

Service – service comprises activities that faculty do that are work related but are not related to teaching and/or mentoring or research. For example, serving on external and internal committees, reviewing papers for a journal, or being the graduate studies chair.

Grants/contracts – these are monies that faculty receive from entities outside of their university to fund their research activities and their time.

Second/Third/Fourth Year Review – a major review that can result in a tenure-track faculty member’s contract not being renewed. A dossier is usually reviewed and voted on by the departmental promotion and tenure committee that consists of tenured faculty members, the department chair, the college/school promotion and tenure committee which includes tenured faculty from around the college or school, and the dean or director of the college or school. If the votes are mostly positive, the tenure-track faculty member continues on the tenure-track; if the votes are negative, the faculty member usually has one year of employment at the university, then must leave. This gives the faculty member time to go back on the job market.

Dossier – a dossier is a document that includes everything a faculty member has done related to teaching, publications, grants, and service. Unfunded grants are listed in a dossier, but rejected publications are not. Courses taught and the course evaluations are included. Lists of committees and journals reviewed for are included. Publication impact factors and citations are often included. The time-frame within each section can vary between sections, across departments, and between universities. For example, all publications might be listed, but often only service from the date of hire at the current university is included. Dossiers are used to evaluate faculty annually at some institutions, but certainly for promotions to tenure as well as promotions to full professor.

Tenure-track – the years leading up to the tenure decision, usually 6 years.

Tenure – tenure, at most universities, means that you have a job for life and that it is very hard to fire you. It is a marker of job security. Tenure at one university can often go with you to other universities. For example, if I would leave Ohio State, I would most likely be hired at my next university with tenure, and would not endure the tenure track again. To get tenure at my institution, you submit your dossier to your department P&T committee. They solicit external letters from individuals that you have never published with, and have never supervised you. These “tenure letter” writers, who are most often senior scholars in your area of research who are at your university’s peer institutions (institutions that are a similar rank as your institution in the US News and World Report and a similar type of institution) evaluate your research, teaching, and service and write a letter supporting you receiving tenure, or not. The primary focus of most letters is research however, at least at research-focused universities. The letters and the dossier, and at Ohio State all of your annual review letters, are reviewed by the P&T committee at the department, then the department chair or head, then the college P&T committee, then the dean, then the university P&T committee, and then the provost, and tenure is awarded by the Board of Trustees, at least it is at Ohio State. The process takes the better part of the academic year in your 6 th year. If you have an extension to your tenure clock, you are not to be evaluated any differently than someone who did not have an extension.

Promotion and tenure committee/P&T committee – these committees most often reside at the department, college and university levels. At the department level, these committees usually include everyone in the department that is tenured. Sometimes there are smaller subcommittees of the promotion and tenure committee that evaluate faculty on an annual basis, but usually the full committee of tenured faculty vote on promotions. The college P&T committee usually includes representatives from each department in the college, and the university committee usually includes representatives from each college.

Department – a department is a group of faculty who share an administrative structure. In some cases, everyone is from the same discipline, or are faculty in the same graduate program. In my current situation, our department consists of at least 5 different graduate programs and several undergrad majors, and has four “program areas” within the department, but we are all governed by a single department chair with three associate chairs.

College/School – a college is a usually a group of departments that are governed by a single person, a dean. Sometimes a college can be called a school, and have a dean. Sometimes departments can be referred to as schools. There is some variability around these terms.

TIU, or Tenure Initiating Unit – a tenure initiating unit, or TIU, is the unit, usually a department, that is your home for the P&T process. Sometimes faculty have appointments across units or departments, and may go through the tenure process in two departments, such as women’s studies and sociology. In that case, there are two TIUs.

APT Document – this document goes by several names across universities, but this is the document that outlines appointments, promotion, and tenure criteria and procedures. You can see Ohio State’s department documents here .

Associate Professor – a tenure-track professor who has received tenure, in most cases. It does happen from time to time that a faculty member is hired as associate professor without tenure, and then they go up for tenure on a shortened clock (i.e. 4 years instead of 6 years).

Full Professor – a tenure-track professor who has received tenure, and has been promoted above the “associate professor” level. Full professor comes with more prestige, and usually a salary bump. To get promoted to full, the same procedures are followed as the procedures followed for tenure (i.e. dossier, external letters, etcetera) at most universities, with a few exceptions. Only other full professors vote on whether or not a faculty should receive the promotion to full. There is no automatic timeline for review for full professor, and some faculty never ask to be considered for full professor. The criteria are higher for full than for tenure, and an international reputation is often one of the criteria.

Named professor/Endowed professor – a named professor, or an endowed professor, is a faculty line that has been paid for by a donor or donor(s) to the university, and the professorship is usually named for that person. Sometimes these positions come with research accounts and other perks.

Dean – the Dean of a college is the leader of the college, and is kind of like the boss of the department chairs/heads. The Dean represents and advocates for the college to the university and provost, which is usually the person the Dean reports to. The Dean often shapes the direction of the college and manages the budget. The Dean is often heavily involved in fundraising.

Associate/Assistant Dean – Associate or Assistant Deans assist the Dean, and are often in charge of specific areas of the college. The associate dean for curriculum might handle curricular matters, and associate dean for research might handle research-related activities, such as a college seed-grant program.

Department Chair/Department Head – a Department chair (also known as a department head) is the person in charge of the governance of an academic department. There may sometimes be associate chairs in charge of specific areas of the department as well. The Department chair advocates for the department to the Dean, and makes budgetary and personnel decisions.

Clinical Professor – a Clinical professor is a full-time, non-tenure track faculty position. Clinical faculty usually have longer contracts (i.e. 3 or 5 years), and may have duties related to teaching, supervising clinical internship programs, etcetera. These appointments most often focus on teaching and service, though there are sometimes clinical research professor that may be on soft-money.

Soft-money – soft-money most often refers to grant dollars. A professor or researcher who is on 100% soft-money will have to fund their salary through external grants, most often from the federal government. In Public Health, faculty are often required to fund at least a portion of their salary on soft-money. Excellent grant writing skills are very important for soft-money positions.

Lecturer – a lecturer is a full-time, non-tenure track position that often involves a heavy teaching load, perhaps four courses a semester. Lecturer contracts are often for a single year.

Adjunct – an adjunct is a part-time, non-tenure track position that most often involves teaching a course or two for a department, and the contract is most likely semester to semester.

Non-academic job – a non-academic job is any job outside of academe (i.e. the university setting). For example, jobs at research firms, think tanks, in policy, in industry, etctera.

Extension to the clock – at some universities, the tenure clock, or how long the faculty member has to achieve tenure, can be extended for extenuating circumstances, or in some cases, automatically, if a faculty member has a child on the tenure track. For example, at Ohio State, faculty that have a child, either through their own pregnancy or a partner’s pregnancy, or through adoption, automatically have their tenure clock extended by one year. Other circumstances that could get a tenure clock extended may be a significant personal or family illness, a major life event like a divorce, or a major problem out of the assistant professor’s control, such as a necessary piece of equipment being put on back order, hence making it impossible for the professor to conduct their research. Not all universities and colleges have policies that allow the clock to be extended.

Job Market – this term is primarily used as part of the phrase “on the job market” and refers to the process of finding a job after graduation, usually an academic job. It involves applying for jobs as postdocs, assistant professors, or after tenure, associate and full professor positions. Applications can include a CV, cover letter, publications, teaching portfolio, diversity statement, research statement, etcetera.

CV or Curriculum Vitae – the academic resume. It is longer and more detailed than a resume, and includes your name, academic positions, education, publications, grants, presentations, awards, fellowships, teaching experience, mentoring experience, national and local service, and sometimes references.

Job Talk – a job talk is a 45 minutes to 1 hour talk that is given by a candidate for a tenure-track position (in most cases). Faculty, grad students, and other interested persons attend the talk, and ask questions. It is supposed to be a way for the faculty to evaluate the research and teaching skills of the candidate.

Teaching Portfolio – a teaching portfolio is sometimes part of an academic job application package and includes statements about the job applications approach to teaching (a teaching philosophy), teaching evaluations (how students rated how well you did at teaching the course), syllabi, assignments, and other teaching related materials.

Cover Letter – a cover letter is a two or three page letter that states a job applicant’s interest in a job, and why they would be a good fit and well-qualified for the position. It accompanies almost every academic job application, and many non-academic job applications as well.

Campus Visit – a campus visit is a several day interview where the candidate visits the campus that is hiring. At the visit, the candidate meets with faculty and students, gives a job talk and sometimes a guest lecture in a class, and in general asks, and is asked, a lot of questions about the job and their qualifications.

Seed grant – a seed grant is an internally funded grant to fund data collection, a graduate students’ time, or a faculty members’ time, and is usually open to tenure-track faculty to apply. The money may come from a college or a center that may be funded internally or externally (by an external grant funding agency). These grants are usually small (i.e. < $50K) and are often intended to help the faculty member receiving the grant write a strong application for additional funding from an external grant agency such as the National Institutes of Health or the National Science Foundation.

Start-up Package – a start-up package is a group of benefits that a university offers a tenure-track faculty member upon hire. It may include course releases, funding for a graduate student, money in a research account that can be used for travel or participant payments, etcetera.

Extension – extension is at many land grant universities and is the application of research for rural populations, often related to agriculture, food, and family life. Many states have extension specialists and faculty that have extension appointments that conduct translational and applied research and practice.

Land Grant – a land grant university is a university that is the recipient of federal monies from the Morrill Act; there is at least one in every state. These universities have as part of their mission the translational and application of research for the greater good of the people of their state. I was educated and/or have been employed at the land grant universities of Illinois, Pennsylvania, New York, and Ohio.

For more information on Publications , see A Publishing Primer

7 thoughts on “ The One-Stop Shop for Academic Jargon Definitions ”

Hi, I like your blog very much. Congratulations on having such a blog. It was a very informative article. receive temp SMS

Well done, personally I think overjoyed I discovered the blogs. You can get the Best SEO company in Erbil .

Al-Qurtas bank is the best and one of the fastest-growing bank in Iraq. Offers the most stable and reliable bank services in Iraq. Best Visa Card in Iraq .

Well done! I’m personally thrilled that I found the blogs and that I suggest you take my online course for me is a very crucial and initiative platform for all academic students.

matka prabhat Customers who have a receipt can participate in a fan survey to share their thoughts on their DQ experience.

forty people that work with all the services Oasis provides, and he is a very busy man, he toto228

I am glad this it turned out so well and I hope it will continue in the future because it is so interesting and meaningful to the community. hantu togel

Subscribe By Email

Get every new post delivered right to your inbox.

Your Email Leave this field blank

This form is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

UH Undergraduate Admissions

Test Optional Admissions

Freshman applicants have the option to apply for admission with or without a test score for the following academic terms: spring 2025, summer 2025 and fall 2025. So, what exactly does that mean? Learn more below.

What is test optional admission?

Test optional admission is our review philosophy to give you the choice to submit SAT or ACT scores or not as part of your application. In other words, test scores are not required and will not impact our admissions decision.

3 Things You need to Know

You are not disadvantaged by applying without a test score. Please review your academic record and determine the best application option for you.

Apply through the Common App or ApplyTexas . Submit just one application. This is where you’ll indicate whether you want to be reviewed with a test score or without a test score. Be sure to complete the short admissions essay and tell us about your extracurricular activities.

See the admission requirements

You can change how you are considered for admission after you submit your application. Just fill out the Admissions Review Option Change Form. If you already received a decision, however, you will not be able to change how you are considered for admission.

Complete the form

The Process

Applicants can apply for admission to the University of Houston through Common App or ApplyTexas . This is where you'll specify whether you want to apply with or without a test score. All applicants applying with or without a test score must submit a short admissions essay and extracurricular activities — both can be submitted through Common App or ApplyTexas. Make sure to complete these sections before you finish and submit your application. You will not be able to go back and add your admissions essay or extracurricular activities once you’ve submitted your application.

If applying with a test score:

Have your ACT or SAT score(s) sent directly from the testing agency to us.

University of Houston ACT Code:   4236 University of Houston SAT Code:  6870

If applying for admission with test scores, we will use the highest total or composite score submitted. We do not super score. To comply with Texas Success Initiative standards, scores may not be more than five years old at the time of submission. Be sure to complete the short admissions essay and tell us about your extracurricular activities.

If applying without a test score:

If you don’t meet the assured admissions requirements, we may require additional documentation (like updated grades), which we’ll request from you to help us make our decision. Be sure to complete the short admissions essay and tell us about your extracurricular activities.

Changed your mind? If you want to change how your application is reviewed (with or without a test score), fill out the Admissions Review Option Change Form. You cannot submit this request if you have already received an admissions decision.

Admission Requirements

Admission requirements are different if you choose to apply without a test score. The admission criteria for each choice is below.

Class Rank	or





		Assured Admission

*If you don’t meet the assured admissions requirements, we may consider additional factors in the admissions process. If we require additional documentation, we’ll request those materials from you.

 **This unweighted GPA will be calculated by the University of Houston (out of a 4.0 scale) using English, math, science and social studies grades on your transcript. Extracurricular classes will not be included. 

Majors With Additional Requirements

Some majors have additional requirements on top of the ones listed above. For more information, visit uh .edu/freshman-majors-ar .

Expand All Collapse All

Which option should I choose?

Everyone’s situation is different, so we recommend reaching out to your recruitment specialist to see which option may be best for you. The great thing is, whatever option you choose, can be changed later. So, if you decide that you want to change from applying with test scores to without or vice versa, there’s a form that can be filled out on our website. Remember, you can only submit this form if you have not received an admissions decision yet.

Will I be less likely to be admitted if I apply without a test score?

Not at all! You’re not penalized in any way for choosing to apply without a test score. Just keep our assured admission criteria in mind.

If I choose to apply without a test score, what other documents will I need?

It depends. If you meet the assured admissions criteria, we won’t need anything other than your official transcript. If you don’t, we’ll individually review your file. For that, we’ll need a resume and a personal statement. We’ll let you know if we need those documents.

I already applied without a test score, but now I wish I had applied with a test score instead. Can I change how my application is reviewed?

If i choose to apply without a test score, will i still be eligible for scholarships, ready to apply.

Apply with the Common Application
Apply with the Apply Texas Application
Learn more about freshman admissions

Share full article

Supported by

Guest Essay

Surgeon General: Why I’m Calling for a Warning Label on Social Media Platforms

An illustration of a girl lying in bed in a darkened room. The glow from her phone illuminates her pillow with a warning sign, a triangle with an exclamation point inside it.

By Vivek H. Murthy

Dr. Murthy is the surgeon general.

One of the most important lessons I learned in medical school was that in an emergency, you don’t have the luxury to wait for perfect information. You assess the available facts, you use your best judgment, and you act quickly.

The mental health crisis among young people is an emergency — and social media has emerged as an important contributor. Adolescents who spend more than three hours a day on social media face double the risk of anxiety and depression symptoms, and the average daily use in this age group, as of the summer of 2023, was 4.8 hours . Additionally, nearly half of adolescents say social media makes them feel worse about their bodies.

It is time to require a surgeon general’s warning label on social media platforms, stating that social media is associated with significant mental health harms for adolescents. A surgeon general’s warning label, which requires congressional action, would regularly remind parents and adolescents that social media has not been proved safe. Evidence from tobacco studies show that warning labels can increase awareness and change behavior. When asked if a warning from the surgeon general would prompt them to limit or monitor their children’s social media use, 76 percent of people in one recent survey of Latino parents said yes.

To be clear, a warning label would not, on its own, make social media safe for young people. The advisory I issued a year ago about social media and young people’s mental health included specific recommendations for policymakers, platforms and the public to make social media safer for kids. Such measures, which already have strong bipartisan support, remain the priority.

Legislation from Congress should shield young people from online harassment, abuse and exploitation and from exposure to extreme violence and sexual content that too often appears in algorithm-driven feeds. The measures should prevent platforms from collecting sensitive data from children and should restrict the use of features like push notifications, autoplay and infinite scroll, which prey on developing brains and contribute to excessive use.

Additionally, companies must be required to share all of their data on health effects with independent scientists and the public — currently they do not — and allow independent safety audits. While the platforms claim they are making their products safer, Americans need more than words. We need proof.

We are having trouble retrieving the article content.

Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.

Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.

Thank you for your patience while we verify access.

Already a subscriber? Log in .

Want all of The Times? Subscribe .

News from Brown

With new investments and affiliation agreements, lifespan to become brown university health.

Lifespan and Brown University finalized agreements to expand their longtime affiliation, outlining new financial investments, academic and governance terms, and a new name for Rhode Island’s largest health care system.

The new agreements extend a relationship between Brown and Lifespan that dates back to 1969. Rhode Island Hospital (shown here) will continue to serve as the principal teaching hospital of Brown's Warren Alpert Medical School. Photo by Nick Dentamaro.

PROVIDENCE, R.I. [Lifespan and Brown University] — Amid ongoing headwinds facing the health care sector, Lifespan health system and Brown University have finalized terms on a set of expanded affiliation agreements to strengthen top-quality patient care, medical education and biomedical research in Rhode Island.

As part of the agreements, Lifespan will change its name to Brown University Health later this year through a rebranding effort to be developed over the next several months, enhancing its ability to recruit and retain world-class physicians and reflecting a deeper alignment between Lifespan’s clinical care and Brown’s academic and research focus.

The agreements also include reciprocal financial investments between Lifespan and Brown, which will continue as separate, independent organizations after the implementation of the Lifespan rebrand to Brown University Health. A $15 million to $25 million annual investment from Brown to Lifespan, totaling $150 million over seven years, will be devoted to strengthening Lifespan’s financial capacity to sustain and advance the shared academic mission of the two organizations. Following that period, Lifespan will invest $15 million annually to support the Warren Alpert Medical School’s education and research efforts.

Lifespan President and Chief Executive Officer John Fernandez and Brown President Christina H. Paxson shared details on the new agreements in a Thursday, June 20, event at Hasbro Children’s Hospital. Fernandez said these continue to be difficult times in health care, and it is more important than ever that Lifespan solidify and strengthen ties between patient care delivery and Brown as its academic partner.

“We are excited to move forward with robust plans to expand our facilities and improve our systems and technology to be able to compete with new entrants to the health delivery market, such as national chains,” Fernandez said. “This enhanced relationship with Brown is one part of the solution to ensure that our health system can continue to offer the people of Rhode Island the opportunity to access high-quality treatment close to home.”

As part of a set of expanded affiliation agreements, Lifespan will change its name to Brown University Health later this year through a rebranding effort to be developed over the next several months. Photos by Bill Murphy/Lifespan.

Brown President Christina H. Paxson joined leaders from Lifespan to share details on the new agreements in a Thursday, June 20, event at Hasbro Children’s Hospital.

Mukesh Jain, John Fernandez, Christina Paxson

Lifespan President and CEO John Fernandez, Brown President Christina H. Paxson and Brown Senior Vice President for Health Affairs Mukesh Jain shared details on the new agreements in a Thursday, June 20, event at Hasbro Children’s Hospital.

Physicians, providers and staff from Lifespan gathered above the event space in Hasbro Children’s Hospital as leaders from Brown and Lifespan announced a set of expanded affiliation agreements.

As part of the expanded affiliation agreements, Lifespan will change its name to Brown University Health later this year through a rebranding effort to be developed over the next several months.

Lifespan President and Chief Executive Officer John Fernandez removed a Lifespan podium sign to reveal the new visual identity for Brown University Health, which will be implemented over a rebrand in the months to come.

Paxson said the agreements advance Brown’s goals to ensure that medical students, residents and fellows are learning from outstanding clinicians with opportunities to train using the latest technology and techniques. Brown’s investments promise to accelerate improvements including the expansion of electronic health records, and the recruitment of talented academic and clinical leaders as care providers and department chairs for Brown’s Warren Alpert Medical School and its affiliated hospitals .

“Brown and Lifespan are taking important steps to strengthen our longstanding affiliation with the goal of improving the health of families in Rhode Island, both through medical advances in care and state-of-the-art medical training for the next generation of physicians,” Paxson said. “These agreements also strengthen the work we have been doing for several years to integrate research and break down barriers for physicians and scientists who translate discoveries in the lab into treatments benefitting patients.”

The agreements follow votes by the Lifespan Board of Directors and the Corporation of Brown University, each of which approved a non-binding term sheet directing their leadership teams to negotiate an extension and expansion of the affiliation agreements between the organizations. Lifespan and Brown have long-standing affiliations, which designate Rhode Island Hospital as the principal teaching hospital for Brown’s Warren Alpert Medical School, the only medical school in the state. The affiliation dates back to 1969, before a four-year medical program was established at the University.

Brown University Health

An expanded affiliation between Brown and Lifespan is designed to strengthen patient care, medical education and biomedical research in Rhode Island.

Investments in academic medicine

Fernandez said that in the face of a rapidly and ever-changing health care environment, the new agreements offer a timely and critical step to strengthen a Rhode Island-based health care delivery system and biomedical research structure. He asserted that the industry will likely confront significant headwinds for the foreseeable future, including inflation, labor shortages and low reimbursement rates. For Lifespan, lack of adequate funding over many years has hampered the ability to keep pace with necessary infrastructure investments, he said.

The agreements outline financial investments to address those challenges and establish deeper Brown-Lifespan collaborations in clinical care, medical education, population health, public health and biomedical research.

“It is critical that facilities, systems and technologies are not only modernized, but are cutting-edge in order to be able to compete with out-of-state companies, new entrants to the market and large national providers, particularly for-profit businesses,” Fernandez said. “Equally important is investing in workforce development to retain existing, first-rate clinicians and employees and to recruit future top talent. This enhanced relationship is one step in a broader effort to ensure that Rhode Island can continue to offer access to the highest quality medical treatments in a local setting while at the same time generating high paying job opportunities for years to come.”

The new agreements impact four broad areas:

(1) New Name : The health system will continue to use the name Lifespan in all of its business operations until its new name officially launches on a to-be-determined date, expected later this year, with the full rebrand taking several years to complete. The official rebranding of Lifespan to Brown University Health — to be referred to commonly as Brown Health — will help the health system recruit and retain physicians, grow research as a recognized academic medical center, and sustain a vibrant medical education program. This will reflect the ability to provide medical care of international caliber to Rhode Islanders, according to health system and University leaders.

“The new agreements move the relationship between Brown and Lifespan to a more contemporary model in line with other affiliation agreements we see across the country, where the academic-medical affiliation is reflected through a shared name between the hospital system and the academic institution,” Paxson said.

Brown and Lifespan are taking important steps to strengthen our longstanding affiliation with the goal of improving the health of families in Rhode Island, both through medical advances in care and state-of-the-art medical training for the next generation of physicians.

(2) New Financial Investments: Beginning July 1, 2024, Brown will make annual contributions of $15 million to $25 million — totaling $150 million over seven years — to support the mission of Lifespan. Following that period, Lifespan will invest $15 million annually for Brown’s medical school to support research and medical education, for the life of the agreement.

In addition, the Brown Investment Office will manage approximately $600 million to $800 million of Lifespan’s investment portfolio, creating the capacity for increased returns to support Lifespan’s mission. The portfolio will be phased in on a schedule expected to be about $200 million per year over four years.

“Lifespan and Brown have a vested interest in securing and furthering the academic mission of the state’s largest health care system, which is critically important to both organizations’ continued long-term success,” Fernandez said. “Solid financial footing is needed now to address facilities and other infrastructure needs across the Lifespan system, and our longer-term support will in turn help to further recruit and retain talented academic and clinical leaders as department chairs for the Warren Alpert Medical School."

Examples of mission-oriented Lifespan activities and strategic initiatives the funds will be used for include:

Recruiting physicians to improve access to care for more Rhode Islanders and to attract more patients to come to Rhode Island for care. Increasing out-of-state patient services revenue will help Lifespan offset local costs, while also increasing the number of well-paying health care jobs for Rhode Islanders.
Investing in state-of-the-art facilities for training world-class physicians and conducting innovative biomedical research in support of a revitalized, resilient and reliable health care system in Rhode Island.
Continued investment in programs that improve the health, welfare and economy of underserved communities locally. The Lifespan Community Health Institute offers hundreds of programs, events and community service activities serving tens of thousands of southern New Englanders annually. This investment will help Lifespan continue its work to eliminate health disparities and promote health equity through healthy behaviors, healthy relationships and healthy environments.
Expanding the reach of the Lifespan electronic health record (EPIC). This will allow patients, physicians and medical students to view records for primary care, hospital, specialty, laboratory and imaging services in one portal, enabling more coordinated care by providers, and enhancing the accessibility of health data approved for use in research to improve patient care.

“The investments from Brown are critical and will help Lifespan address its immediate challenges,” Fernandez said. “Lifespan will still need to continuously improve its operations while expanding and diversifying its revenue opportunities and work toward creating a more balanced reimbursement structure on par with those of neighboring states.”

This enhanced relationship with Brown is one part of the solution to ensure that our health system can continue to offer the people of Rhode Island the opportunity to access high-quality treatment close to home.

(3) Enhanced Academics and (4) Governance : The agreements establish that the Warren Alpert Medical School dean will serve as Lifespan’s chief academic officer. In addition, the president of Brown and the dean of its medical school will become ex officio members of Lifespan’s Board of Directors.

The agreements also formalize a series of terms around academic affiliations:

Rhode Island Hospital will continue to be formally designated as the principal teaching hospital of the Warren Alpert Medical School, recognizing the scope and critical mass of teaching and research activities centered exclusively at Rhode Island Hospital. The other Lifespan teaching hospitals (The Miriam Hospital and Bradley Hospital) will continue to be designated as major teaching affiliates. In addition, Newport Hospital will serve as a community affiliate.
The Warren Alpert Medical School will be the exclusive medical school affiliate of Lifespan, and Lifespan will continue to be the home of 11 of the medical school’s clinical departments. Family medicine, OBGYN and psychiatry academic and clinical chairs will continue to reside at Care New England’s Kent, Women & Infants and Butler hospitals. Brown will also maintain its strong academic affiliation agreements with Care New England, the Providence V.A. Health System, HopeHealth and Brown Physicians, Inc. for teaching, faculty development and research.
Lifespan will continue to be affiliated with other educational institutions (such as the University of Rhode Island, Rhode Island College and Community College of Rhode Island) for clinical education programs not currently offered at Brown.

Brown University Health realizes the full potential of the relationship between the Warren Alpert Medical School and the state's largest health system. This enhanced affiliation ensures that we are all focused on shared goals: providing the best care, providing cures, educating physicians who care today and who will provide care in the future.

Aligning strengths

Leaders from Lifespan and Brown said the agreements reflect a shared commitment to aligning the strengths of both organizations and bolstering connections across delivery of care, medical training and biomedical research.

“We are confident that this comprehensive, collaborative approach and mutual commitment to serving the needs of the people of Rhode Island will bring value to this community and help build a healthier, more vibrant state,” Fernandez said.

Lifespan and Brown are not merging, neither organization will purchase any part of the other, and they will remain separate and independent. For these reasons, the enhanced agreements did not require regulatory or legislative approval. Lifespan and Brown leaders noted they engaged the Rhode Island Department of Health and Office of the Attorney General, and said they appreciated the efforts of both agencies in conducting separate reviews. This included fruitful discussions with the Attorney General, who confirmed that no further regulatory review is required at this time.

“We are sustaining efforts to capitalize on each organization’s existing strengths, strategically build research capacity, coordinate effectively with other local institutions, and create new partnerships that benefit the people and economies of Rhode Island,” Paxson said.

Related news:

More than 1 in 10 patients at federally qualified health centers experience major social risk factors, ‘datathon’ convenes high schoolers, scientists, clinicians to solve health care challenges, medicare payment parity key to saving independent physicians, dr. ashish jha tells congress.

UM Social Anthropology Professor pens essay in photobook displaying Maltese lifestyle along the decades

In Publications
09:04, 24 Jun 2024

As news of an exhibition of black and white photographs by Patrick J. Fenech on documentary photography in a hyper-paced world is opening at MUŻA, Valletta is announced, visitors who also get access to the publication accompanying the presentation will be able to read an essay carefully penned by Prof. Mark Anthony Falzon , Social Anthropology Professor at UM.

The publication, called Caged Spaces − A Photographer’s Gaze of Malta at the Turn of the Millennium , includes a selection of photos that were chosen from an archive of mainly 35mm negatives – whose original intention was to capture the laid-back lifestyle of people in Malta and Gozo.

They were taken when the islands were just starting their journey as an independent republic, at the turn of the millennium. They span from the 1970s into the early 1990s.

Fenech digitised hundreds of celluloid negatives, and is exhibiting them until 14 July 2024.

The compelling essay penned by Prof. Falzon, talks about the redolent lifestyles of Maltese communities, steeped in simplicity and tranquillity, a far cry from today’s.

Copies of the book are available from Kite Group .

Read all about the first-ever Chemistry Professor at UM, in MUP's latest publication

PUBLICATIONS
09:22, 25 Jun 2024

New publication that promotes business ethics in the information age

12:36, 20 Jun 2024

UM visiting academic and RSO invited to speak at University of Glasgow

12:09, 20 Jun 2024
ARTS & CULTURE
CONFERENCES
EXHIBITIONS
RESEARCH & PROJECTS
SCHOLARSHIPS
TALKS & SEMINARS

Information about

L-Università ta' Malta (UM)
Academic entities

Information for

Prospective students
Current students
Campuses and maps
Courses at UM
Search for staff
Statutes, regulations and bye-laws

University of Malta Msida, MSD 2080 Malta

Phone: +356 2340 2340 UM website Contact details

Accessibility
Freedom of information

By continuing to browse the site you are agreeing to our use of cookies and similar tracking technologies described in our privacy policy .

Voice of the Discipline

News and publications.

Access AHA news and publications supporting the work of historians.

Stay up-to-date with the AHA

Many small yellow circles splashed across a blue and black background

June 25, 2024

AHA Members Co-author Article on SCOTUS and Gun Control

AHA members Holly Brewer (Univ. of Maryland) and Laura F. Edwards (Princeton Univ.) have co-authored an article for Washington Monthly…

Pens of various colors arranged in a partial circle. Kelly Sikkema/Unsplash.

June 24, 2024

Action Alert Opposing Ohio SB 83

June 21, 2024

AHA Signs On to CIE Letter Urging HEA-Title VI Funding for FY 2025

June 18, 2024

Welcome to the AHA’s New Website

The American Historical Review is the flagship journal of the AHA and the journal of record for the historical discipline in the United States, bringing together scholarship from every major field of historical study.

Perspectives on History is the newsmagazine of the AHA and is the principal source for news and information about the discipline of history. Since 1962, Perspectives has promoted our work by publishing articles and commentary on all aspects of the historical discipline.

History in Focus Podcast

Environmental Crisis and Recovery

Collaborative history + revisiting marion thompson wright, teaching historiography + chilling affects, aha booklets.

The AHA publishes booklets that address a diversity of topics to serve the needs of history students and historians in all professions. Our publications include career advice for history graduates, overviews and syntheses of current historical topics and fields, and guides to teaching and learning in history.

For the Press

The AHA is pleased to provide resources for journalists and press. If you are a member of the media and would like to submit a request for a referral or interview, please email [email protected] . Please provide any pertinent deadlines and we will do our best to accommodate your request. The AHA can find you a historian for any topic, and assists with dozens of inquiries each year.

The AHA encourages the reading of history with periodic reading challenges.

Permission to Use AHA Copyrighted Material

All material published by the American Historical Association in any medium is protected by copyright.

Join the AHA

The AHA brings together historians from all specializations and all work contexts, embracing the breadth and variety of activity in history today.

COMMENTS

PDF The Oxford Phrasal Academic Lexicon™
guide to the most important words and phrases to know in the field of English for Academic Purposes (EAP). This list gives around 370 important phrases for academic writing, grouped into 15 functional areas. Written phrases 1. Specifying topics and relations between ideas in terms of in relation to in/within the context of with respect to with ...
17 academic words and phrases to use in your essay
4. Moreover; furthermore; in addition; what's more. These types of academic phrases are perfect for expanding or adding to a point you've already made without interrupting the flow altogether. "Moreover", "furthermore" and "in addition" are also great linking phrases to begin a new paragraph. Here are some examples:
40 Useful Words and Phrases for Top-Notch Essays
4. That is to say. Usage: "That is" and "that is to say" can be used to add further detail to your explanation, or to be more precise. Example: "Whales are mammals. That is to say, they must breathe air.". 5. To that end. Usage: Use "to that end" or "to this end" in a similar way to "in order to" or "so".
Academic Phrasebank
The Academic Phrasebank is a general resource for academic writers. It aims to provide you with examples of some of the phraseological 'nuts and bolts' of writing organised according to the main sections of a research paper or dissertation (see the top menu ). Other phrases are listed under the more general communicative functions of ...
PDF Vocabulary for essays
in a specific or general way. Attributing claims with more or less support or certainty. Words that link ideas, helping to create a 'flow' in the writing. Many conjunctions can be used at the start of a sentence and/or. to link two short sentences into one long one. See WriteSIte for examples, exceptions and exercises.
50 linking words to use in academic writing
Many students believe that academic writing is wordy and convoluted, and uses a lot of jargon. This leads many students to fall into a trap of imagining that the longer the word, the more impressive and intelligent their writing will seem. ... look no further than a Verbling tutor with experience in writing academic essays. H1. H2.
Words to Use in an Essay: 300 Essay Words
If you're struggling to choose the right words for your essay, don't worry—you've come to the right place! In this article, we've compiled a list of over 300 words and phrases to use in the introduction, body, and conclusion of your essay. Contents: Words to Use in the Essay Introduction. Words to Use in the Body of the Essay.
Academic Phrasebank
Defining terms. In academic work students are often expected to give definitions of key words and phrases in order to demonstrate to their tutors that they understand these terms clearly. More generally, however, academic writers define terms so that their readers understand exactly what is meant when certain key terms are used. When important ...
50 Useful Academic Words & Phrases for Research
Briefly, "academic" language includes terms, phrases, expressions, transitions, and sometimes symbols and abbreviations that help the pieces of an academic text fit together. When writing an academic text-whether it is a book report, annotated bibliography, research paper, research poster, lab report, research proposal, thesis, or ...
Glossary of Academic Words
Related readers: Academic Language, Cohesive Devices, Coherence and Cohesion. ... An extended academic essay of between 40,000 and 100,000 words, usually completed as the primary assessment of a doctorate degree (PhD). Related readers: Essay Writing, Theses. Thesis Restatement.
Key Terms in Academic Writing
Argue. Academic argument is constructed to make a point, not to "argue" heatedly (using emotion). The characteristics of academic argument include language that is. impersonal (no personal references) logical. evidence-based (examples) The purposes of academic argument are to. analyze an issue or a situation. make a case for your point of view.
Academic Collocation List
The Academic Collocation List (ACL) is a list containing 2,469 of the most frequent and useful collocations which occur in written academic English. It can be seen as a collocational companion to the Academic Word List (AWL), consisting of collocations (or word combinations) rather than single words. The ACL was developed by Kirsten Ackermann and Yu-Hua Chen using the Pearson International ...
Useful Academic Expressions & Phrases For Essay Writing
These useful academic expressions, words, vocabulary and phrases will help you to write a top-notch essay. Writing an essay can be a challenging task. However it becomes simpler if it is divided into manageable pieces. There are three main parts in an essay: an introduction, a body, and a conclusion. You can easily overcome your essay writing ...
How to Structure an Essay
1. What is an essay structure? An essay structure serves as a framework for presenting ideas coherently and logically. It comprises three crucial elements: an introduction that communicates the context, topic, and thesis statement; the body focusing on the main points and arguments supported with appropriate evidence followed by its analysis; and a conclusion that ties together the main points ...
Glossary of Essay Terms
Compare/Contrast. a discussion of significant similarities and/or differences of two or more items. Critique. your evaluation of a text, pointing out its goals, strengths, and weaknesses. Diagram. a picture, chart, or plan. Define. the exact meaning or precise description of a word or idea. Enumerate.
100+ Useful Words and Phrases to Write a Great Essay
Sharing is caring! How to Write a Great Essay in English! This lesson provides 100+ useful words, transition words and expressions used in writing an essay. Let's take a look! The secret to a successful essay doesn't just lie in the clever things you talk about and the way you structure your points.
PDF ACADEMIC WRITING
Academic writing is built upon three truths that aren't self-evident: - Writing is Thinking : While "writing" is traditionally understood as the expression of thought, we'll redefine "writing" as the thought
PDF Academic Language
Academic Language. Having the skill of using academic language in a piece of writing is necessary. It is a critical factor for academic and professional success, and if you don't know where to implement academic language, it can have a negative impact on your overall argument or message. Assess when academic language is most important by ...
Words and Phrases to Avoid in Academic Writing
Words and Phrases to Avoid in Academic Writing. Published on February 6, 2016 by Sarah Vinz.Revised on September 11, 2023. When you are writing a dissertation, thesis, or research paper, many words and phrases that are acceptable in conversations or informal writing are considered inappropriate in academic writing.. You should try to avoid expressions that are too informal, unsophisticated ...
What Is Academic Writing?
Academic writing is a formal style of writing used in universities and scholarly publications. You'll encounter it in journal articles and books on academic topics, and you'll be expected to write your essays, research papers, and dissertation in academic style. Academic writing follows the same writing process as other types of texts, but ...
Academic Writing
Academic Writing. These OWL resources will help you with the types of writing you may encounter while in college. The OWL resources range from rhetorical approaches for writing, to document organization, to sentence level work, such as clarity. For specific examples of writing assignments, please see our Common Writing Assignments area.
The Academic Word List
Browse Academic Word List from analytical to inconsistency in Oxford Learner's Dictionary of Academic English at OxfordLearnersDictionaries.com. The Academic Word List contains words learners of English will meet if they study at a university or college.
The One-Stop Shop for Academic Jargon Definitions
Postdoc. Service. ABD. There are so many terms that we use in academia that beginning grad students don't understand, and may be embarrassed to ask about. First generation college students in particular - I feel your pain! I am a first generation college student, and I had no idea what a lot of these terms meant when I went to graduate school.
Test Optional Admissions
Freshman applicants have the option to apply for admission with or without a test score for the following academic terms: spring 2025, summer 2025 and fall 2025. Applicants are not disadvantaged by applying without a test score. ... Be sure to complete the short admissions essay and tell us about your extracurricular activities.
Rethinking English essay scores: The argument for ...
To get high scores at essay writing tests, learners of English as a foreign language need to focus on good arguments more than on complex grammar. The finding challenges conventional approaches to ...
Opinion
Dr. Murthy is the surgeon general. One of the most important lessons I learned in medical school was that in an emergency, you don't have the luxury to wait for perfect information. You assess ...
With new investments and affiliation agreements, Lifespan to become
PROVIDENCE, R.I. [Lifespan and Brown University] — Amid ongoing headwinds facing the health care sector, Lifespan health system and Brown University have finalized terms on a set of expanded affiliation agreements to strengthen top-quality patient care, medical education and biomedical research in Rhode Island. As part of the agreements, Lifespan will change its name to Brown University ...
UM Social Anthropology Professor pens essay in photobook displaying
The compelling essay penned by Prof. Falzon, talks about the redolent lifestyles of Maltese communities, steeped in simplicity and tranquillity, a far cry from today's. ... 12:36, 20 Jun 2024 UM visiting academic and RSO invited to speak at University of Glasgow. PUBLICATIONS; 12:09, 20 Jun 2024 RIDT Newsletter - June 2024. PUBLICATIONS; 12 ...
News & Publications
Stay up-to-date with the AHA View All News The American Historical Review is the flagship journal of the AHA and the journal of record for the historical discipline in the United States, bringing together scholarship from every major field of historical study. Learn More Perspectives on History is the newsmagazine…

Recent Posts

17 academic words and phrases to use in your essay

Since 2006, Oxbridge Essays has been the UK’s leading paid essay-writing and dissertation service

Words to use in your introduction

1. Firstly, secondly, thirdly

2. In view of; in light of; considering

3. According to X; X stated that; referring to the views of X

Adding information and flow

4. Moreover; furthermore; in addition; what’s more

5. In order to; to that end; to this end

6. In other words; to put it another way; that is; to put it more simply

7. Similarly; likewise; another key fact to remember; as well as; an equally significant aspect of

Comparing and contrasting information

8. Conversely; however; alternatively; on the contrary; on the other hand; whereas

9. By contrast; in comparison; then again; that said; yet

10. Despite this; provided that; nonetheless

11. Importantly; significantly; notably; another key point

Giving examples

12. For instance; to give an illustration of; to exemplify; to demonstrate; as evidence; to elucidate

Concluding your essay

13. In conclusion; to conclude; to summarise; in sum; in the final analysis; on close analysis

14. Persuasive; compelling

15. Therefore; this suggests that; it can be seen that; the consequence is

16. Above all; chiefly; especially; most significantly; it should be noted

17. All things considered

Essay exams: how to answer ‘To what extent…’

How to write a master’s essay

Writing Services

Editing Services

Additional Services

Our Company

Terms & Policies

Payment Methods

General explaining

1. In order to

2. In other words

3. To put it another way

4. That is to say

5. To that end

Adding additional information to support a point

6. Moreover

7. Furthermore

8. What’s more

9. Likewise

10. Similarly

11. Another key thing to remember

12. As well as

13. Not only… but also

14. Coupled with

15. Firstly, secondly, thirdly…

16. Not to mention/to say nothing of

Words and phrases for demonstrating contrast

17. However

18. On the other hand

19. Having said that

20. By contrast/in comparison

21. Then again

22. That said

Adding a proviso or acknowledging reservations

24. Despite this

25. With this in mind

26. Provided that

27. In view of/in light of

28. Nonetheless

29. Nevertheless

30. Notwithstanding

Giving examples

31. For instance

32. To give an illustration

Signifying importance

33. Significantly

34. Notably

35. Importantly

Summarising

36. In conclusion

37. Above all

38. Persuasive

39. Compelling

40. All things considered

Fiona Oates