Academic Word List

The Academic Word List (AWL) is a list of 570 word families that frequently appear in academic texts across a wide range of subject areas. The words at the top of the list are the words that appear most often in academic texts.  These academic words are not specific to only one subject area. Sometimes the academic words we use appear in different forms (parts of speech) for example: analyze, analysis, analytical. These words are grouped together as 'word families'.


Academic words are often a challenge for EAL students to understand and to learn, however they must be addressed. ALL students need to learn these words in order to be successful in navigating academic texts at the advanced high school (and post-secondary) level.

Teachers of EAL students need to be aware of these words.
Please consult the list below if you are working with EAL students and take note if you use these words in your learning materials.

Strategy:  If you are using learning materials that use academic words, one way you can help an EAL student to understand and to learn the academic word is to offer a simpler translation in brackets after the academic word.

For example:
Define (explain the meaning of) the word 'tradition'.
Indicate (show) the number of  people participating in the experiment on the 'y' axis of your graph.
People are trying to find alternative (different) ways to power their cars.

The AWL is found below. Clicking on a word will take you to a simplified definition of the word from Wiktionary. The words are divided into sublists. They are listed in order of most-frequent to least frequent.

Academic Word List

Sublist 1

sector • available • financial • process • individual • specific • principle • estimate • variables • method • data • research • contract • environment • export • source • assessment • policy • identified • create • derived • factors • procedure • definition • assume • theory • benefit • evidence • established • authority • major • issues • labour • occur • economic • involved • percent • interpretation • consistent • income • structure • legal • concept • formula • section • required • constitutional • analysis • distribution • function • area • approach • role • legislation • indicate • response • period • context • significant • similar •

Sublist 2

community • resident • range • construction • strategies • elements • previous • conclusion • security • aspects • acquisition • features • text • commission • regulations • computer • items • consumer • achieve • final • positive • evaluation • assistance • normal • relevant • distinction • region • traditional • impact • consequences • chapter • equation • appropriate • resources • participation • survey • potential • cultural • transfer • select • credit • affect • categories • perceived • sought • focus • purchase • injury • site • journal • primary • complex • institute • investment • administration • maintenance • design • obtained • restricted • conduct •

Sublist 3

comments • convention • published • framework • implies • negative • dominant • illustrated • outcomes • constant • shift • deduction • ensure • specified • justification • funds • reliance • physical • partnership • location • link • coordination • alternative • initial • validity • task • techniques • excluded • consent • proportion • demonstrate • reaction • criteria • minorities • technology • philosophy • removed • sex • compensation • sequence • corresponding • maximum • circumstances • instance • considerable • sufficient • corporate • interaction • contribution • immigration • component • constraints • technical • emphasis • scheme • layer • volume • document • registered • core •

Sublist 4

overall • emerged • regime • implementation • project • hence • occupational • internal • goals • retained • sum • integration • mechanism • parallel • imposed • despite • job • parameters • approximate • label • concentration • principal • series • predicted • summary • attitudes • undertaken • cycle • communication • ethnic • hypothesis • professional • status • conference • attributed • annual • obvious • error • implications • apparent • commitment • subsequent • debate • dimensions • promote • statistics • option • domestic • output • access • code • investigation • phase • prior • granted • stress • civil • contrast • resolution • adequate •

Sublist 5

alter • stability • energy • aware • licence • enforcement • draft • styles • precise • medical • pursue • symbolic • marginal • capacity • generation • exposure • decline • academic • modified • external • psychology • fundamental • adjustment • ratio • whereas • enable • version • perspective • contact • network • facilitate • welfare • transition • amendment • logic • rejected • expansion • clause • prime • target • objective • sustainable • equivalent • liberal • notion • substitution • generated • trend • revenue • compounds • evolution • conflict • image • discretion • entities • orientation • consultation • mental • monitoring • challenge •

Sublist 6

intelligence • transformation • presumption • acknowledged • utility • furthermore • accurate • diversity • attached • recovery • assigned • tapes • motivation • bond • edition • nevertheless • transport • cited • fees • scope • enhanced • incorporated • instructions • subsidiary • input • abstract • ministry • capable • expert • preceding • display • incentive • inhibition • trace • ignored • incidence • estate • cooperative • revealed • index • lecture • discrimination • overseas • explicit • aggregate • gender • underlying • brief • domain • rational • minimum • interval • neutral • migration • flexibility • federal • author • initiatives • allocation • exceed •

Sublist 7

intervention • confirmed • definite • classical • chemical • voluntary • release • visible • finite • publication • channel • file • thesis • equipment • disposal • solely • deny • identical • submitted • grade • phenomenon • paradigm • ultimately • extract • survive • converted • transmission • global • inferred • guarantee • advocate • dynamic • simulation • topic • insert • reverse • decades • comprise • hierarchical • unique • comprehensive • couple • mode • differentiation • eliminate • priority • empirical • ideology • somewhat • aid • foundation • adults • adaptation • quotation • contrary • media • successive • innovation • prohibited • isolated •

Sublist 8

highlighted • eventually • inspection • termination • displacement • arbitrary • reinforced • denote • offset • exploitation • detected • abandon • random • revision • virtually • uniform • predominantly • thereby • implicit • tension • ambiguous • vehicle • clarity • conformity • contemporary • automatically • accumulation • appendix • widespread • infrastructure • deviation • fluctuations • restore • guidelines • commodity • minimises • practitioners • radical • plus • visual • chart • appreciation • prospect • dramatic • contradiction • currency • inevitably • complement • accompany • paragraph • induced • schedule • intensity • crucial • via • exhibit • bias • manipulation • theme • nuclear •

Sublist 9

bulk • behalf • unified • commenced • erosion • anticipated • minimal • ceases • vision • mutual • norms • intermediate • manual • supplementary • incompatible • concurrent • ethical • preliminary • integral • conversely • relaxed • confined • accommodation • temporary • distorted • passive • subordinate • analogous • military • scenario • revolution • diminished • coherence • suspended • mature • assurance • rigid • controversy • sphere • mediation • format • trigger • qualitative • portion • medium • coincide • violation • device • insights • refine • devoted • team • overlap • attained • restraints • inherent • route • protocol • founded • duration •

Sublist 10

whereby • inclination • encountered • convinced • assembly • albeit • enormous • reluctant • posed • persistent • undergo • notwithstanding • straightforward • panel • odd • intrinsic • compiled • adjacent • integrity • forthcoming • conceived • ongoing • so-called • likewise • nonetheless • levy • invoked • colleagues • depression • collapse •

By Averil Coxhead (2000)