The Academic Word List (AWL) is a list of words which appear with high frequency in English-language academic texts. The list contains 570 word families and is divided into 10 sublists. To find these words, an analysis was done of academic journals, textbooks, course workbooks, lab manuals, and course notes.
The AWL is useful to all second and foreign language learners who wish to study in an English-speaking institution no matter what their field of study. The AWL does not, however, include technical words which are specific to a given field. Nor does it contain words which are of general use and very high frequency. The following are some questions based on the AWL.
contract / legal / period / available/ similar / analysis / indicates / research / factor / economy
1. He did an _______________ of the way children learn language for his Master's thesis.
2. He was arrested for drunk driving because he had drunk more than the _______________ limit of alcohol.
3. The culture of the United States is quite _______________ to that of Canada.
4. The Canadian _______________ is largely based on natural resources.
5. Environmental pollution seems to be an important _______________ in the increase in cancers all over the world.
6.The apartment will be _______________ on June first.
7. The young popstar became famous while still in high school after winning a _______________ with a major record label.
8. Your continued lateness for class _______________ to me that you are not really a very serious student.
9. Living in Berlin during the _______________ when the Berlin Wall was torn down was an unforgettable experience.
10. Some _______________ into second language learning suggests that oral fluency may increase with moderate amounts of alcohol.
1-b
available / analyze /factor / contract / indication / period /legal /economic / research /similar
1. There are wind-surfers and kayaks _______________ for rent at the lake.
2. The planet Mars has a surface which is somewhat _______________ to that of our moon.
3. It could take weeks to _______________ all the data, but when we do, the results will be very helpful to our project.
4. Spencer's father is doing _______________ into the melting of the polar ice cap in the Arctic.
5. The boss was really excited when he heard we had won the _______________.
6. Here in British Columbia, it is not _______________ to sell cigarettes to people under the age of sixteen.
7. The low number of people attending the lecture is a clear _______________ of lack of interest in the topic.
8. Alcohol was a major _______________ in a car accident which claimed three lives over the weekend.
9. Canada's _______________ growth has been quite consistent for the last few years.
10. Canada went through a _______________ of economic prosperity in the 1950s.
1-c
periodically / indications / analyzed / availability /economical / research /contractually / illegality / factor / similarity
1. _______________ of water is vital to all plant and animal life.
2. We need to find a more _______________ way to manufacture our products because our profit margin is too low.
3. Warmer than average weather was the deciding _______________ in our decision to postpone our ski trip.
4. Interest in the planet Mars has greatly increased since _______________ of water raised the possibility that life in some form may have evolved there.
5. Music downloaders are questioning the _______________ of file sharing, claiming the law is unclear on the matter.
6. Meetings will be held _______________ for the members of the project to discuss their progress.
7. Jane Goodall's _______________ into chimpanzees has greatly increased our knowledge of these animals.
8. We are _______________ obliged to deal with this firm.
9. The DNA of chimpanzees shows a remarkable _______________ to that of humans.
10. At the end of a research project, the researcher is normally faced with lots of observations which need to be _______________.
KEYS to 570 academic word list (1.a-c)
1-a
1. analysis | 2. legal | 3. similar | 4. economy | 5. factor |
6. available | 7. contract | 8. indicates | 9. period | 10. research |
1-b
1. available | 2. similar | 3. analyze | 4. research | 5. contract |
6. legal | 7. indication | 8. factor | 9. economic | 10. period |
1-c
1. availability | 2. economical | 3. factor | 4. indications | 5. illegality |
6. periodically | 7. research | 8. contractually | 9. similarity | 10. analyzed |
