Writing Application
Learn
Understanding academic vocabulary is only the first step. To truly master these words, you need to use them in your own writing. This lesson will teach you how to incorporate academic vocabulary naturally and effectively.
Why Use Academic Vocabulary in Writing?
- Precision: Academic words often express ideas more precisely than everyday words
- Credibility: Appropriate vocabulary shows your understanding of a subject
- Clarity: The right word can make complex ideas easier to understand
- College readiness: Academic writing expectations increase in high school and beyond
Guidelines for Using Academic Vocabulary
1. Use Words You Understand
Only use a word if you truly understand its meaning and usage. Misusing vocabulary is worse than using simpler words correctly.
2. Match the Word to the Context
Consider your audience and purpose. Academic vocabulary is appropriate for essays, reports, and formal discussions, but might seem out of place in casual writing.
3. Avoid Overuse
Do not fill every sentence with complex vocabulary. Use academic words when they add precision or clarity, not to impress readers.
4. Learn Collocations
Words often appear with specific partners. For example, we say "conduct research" not "do research" in academic writing. Learning these patterns makes your writing sound more natural.
Common Academic Word Patterns
| Word | Common Collocations | Example Sentence |
|---|---|---|
| significant | significant impact, significant difference, significant factor | The new policy had a significant impact on student attendance. |
| analyze | analyze data, analyze results, carefully analyze | Scientists must carefully analyze their data before drawing conclusions. |
| evidence | provide evidence, supporting evidence, evidence suggests | The evidence suggests that exercise improves concentration. |
| contribute | contribute to, make a contribution, contributing factor | Several factors contribute to the problem of pollution. |
Examples
Compare these sentence pairs. Notice how academic vocabulary improves precision and clarity.
Example 1: Adding Precision
Basic: The study showed that students who sleep more do better in school.
Academic: The study demonstrated a correlation between adequate sleep and improved academic performance.
Why it is better: "Demonstrated" is more precise than "showed." "Correlation" indicates a relationship without claiming causation. "Performance" is more specific than "doing better."
Example 2: Expressing Complex Ideas
Basic: The author thinks that we should protect the environment, but some people do not agree.
Academic: The author advocates for environmental conservation, though this perspective remains controversial.
Why it is better: Each word carries more meaning, allowing the writer to express the same idea more concisely and professionally.
Example 3: Avoiding Repetition
Basic: The experiment's results were important. These important findings helped scientists understand the disease.
Academic: The experiment yielded significant results. These crucial findings enhanced scientists' understanding of the disease.
Why it is better: Using synonyms (significant, crucial) avoids repetition while maintaining meaning.
Practice
Complete the following exercises to practice using academic vocabulary in your writing.
Practice 1: Word Choice
Replace the underlined word with a more academic alternative.
"The book talks about the causes of the American Revolution."
Choose: A) discusses B) says C) tells D) speaks
Practice 2: Word Choice
Replace the underlined word with a more academic alternative.
"The results show that the hypothesis was correct."
Choose: A) tell B) indicate C) say D) mean
Practice 3: Word Choice
Replace the underlined phrase with a more academic alternative.
"Scientists looked at the effects of climate change on polar bear populations."
Choose: A) saw B) examined C) watched D) checked out
Practice 4: Sentence Revision
Rewrite this sentence using more academic vocabulary:
"The new law made things better for workers."
Hint: Consider words like: legislation, improved, conditions, employees
Practice 5: Sentence Revision
Rewrite this sentence using more academic vocabulary:
"The two countries have different ideas about how to fix the problem."
Hint: Consider words like: nations, perspectives, address, issue
Practice 6: Collocation
Choose the word that best completes the academic phrase:
"The researcher will _______ an experiment to test the theory."
Choose: A) do B) make C) conduct D) create
Practice 7: Collocation
Choose the word that best completes the academic phrase:
"The data _______ that more research is needed."
Choose: A) tells B) says C) suggests D) speaks
Practice 8: Collocation
Choose the word that best completes the academic phrase:
"Several factors _______ to the success of the program."
Choose: A) helped B) contributed C) made D) did
Practice 9: Paragraph Writing
Write a 3-4 sentence paragraph about a topic you are studying in another class. Use at least three of the following academic vocabulary words:
- significant
- analyze
- evidence
- demonstrate
- factor
- impact
Practice 10: Error Correction
This sentence misuses an academic word. Identify the error and rewrite the sentence correctly:
"The teacher implied that all students must turn in their homework by Friday."
Hint: "Implied" means to suggest indirectly. What word means to state directly?
Practice 11: Context Matching
Which sentence uses "comprehensive" correctly?
A) The comprehensive student finished the test first.
B) The report provided a comprehensive analysis of the problem.
C) She comprehensive understood the lesson.
D) The comprehensive was very difficult to read.
Practice 12: Tone Adjustment
Rewrite this casual sentence for an academic essay:
"Lots of people think that social media is bad for kids, but I'm not so sure about that."
Hint: Consider words like: numerous, argue, adolescents, perspective, uncertain
Check Your Understanding
1. Why is it important to only use academic vocabulary words you truly understand?
2. What is a collocation? Give an example of an academic collocation.
3. What are three benefits of using academic vocabulary in your writing?
4. When might it be inappropriate to use academic vocabulary?
Next Steps
- Review your recent writing assignments and identify places where you could have used more precise vocabulary
- Create flashcards with academic words and their common collocations
- Practice using one new academic word in your writing each day
- Continue to the next lesson: Editing Workshop