158 Part 3: Vocabulary for Writing

4 Confusing pairs

Certain common words cause confusion because they have similar but distinct spellings and
meanings:
The drought affected the wheat harvest in Australia
An immediate effect of the price rise was a fall in demand
‘Affect’ and ‘effect’ are two different words. ‘Affect’ is a verb, while ‘effect’ is commonly used
as a noun.

䊏 Study the differences between other similar confusing pairs (most common use in
brackets).

accept (verb)/except (prep)

It is difficult to accept their findings
The report is finished except for the conclusion
compliment (noun/verb)/complement (verb)
Her colleagues complimented her on her presentation
His latest book complements his previous research on African politics
economic (adj)/economical (adj)
Inflation was one economic result of the war
Sharing a car to go to work was an economical move
its (pronoun)/it’s (pronoun + verb)
The car’s advanced design was its most distinct feature
It’s widely agreed that carbon emissions are rising
lose (verb)/loose (adj)
No general ever plans to lose a battle
He stressed the loose connection between religion and psychology
principal (adj/noun)/principle (noun)
Zurich is the principal city of Switzerland
All economists recognise the principle of supply and demand
rise (verb – past tense rose)/raise (verb – past tense raised)
The population of Sydney rose by 35 per cent in the century
The university raised its fees by 10 per cent last year
 3.1: Approaches to Vocabulary 159

site (noun)/sight (noun)

The site of the battle is now covered by an airport
His sight began to weaken when he was in his eighties
tend to (verb)/trend (noun)
Young children tend to enjoy making a noise
In many countries there is a trend towards smaller families

䊏 Choose the correct word in each sentence.

(a) The company was founded on the principals/principles of quality and value.
(b) Millions of people are attempting to lose/loose weight.
(c) Sunspots have been known to affect/effect radio communication.
(d) Professor Poledna received their compliments/complements politely.
(e) The ancient symbol depicted a snake eating it’s/its tail.
(f) Both social and economical/economic criteria need to be examined.
(g) It took many years for some of Einstein’s theories to be accepted/excepted.

5 Words and phrases from other languages

When reading academic texts, you may meet words and phrases from other languages, usually
Latin, German or French. They are generally used because there is no exact English equivalent,
and they are often printed in italics:
While the basic tripartite division of the theory into jus ad bellum, jus in bello and jus post-
bellum, and the criteria related to each . . .
(meaning: reasons for going to war, laws of warfare and rules for post-war)
You are not expected to use these phrases in your own writing, but it is useful to understand
them when you read. They can be found in a dictionary, but some of the more common are
listed below:
Latin
ad hoc unplanned
de facto as it really is
de jure according to law
inter alia among others
in vitro studies conducted on isolated organs (in Biology)
pro rata proportional
 UNIT

3.3
Academic
Vocabulary
Nouns and Adjectives

To read and write academic papers effectively, students need to be familiar with the
rather formal vocabulary widely used in this area. This unit focuses on nouns and
adjectives, while Unit 3.4 looks at verbs and adverbs.

1 Introduction

The quantity and complexity of vocabulary needed to read academic texts often concerns
international students. But it is worth remembering that much of that vocabulary is specific
to your subject area, for example in the sentence:
The effectiveness of this malaria vaccine has been a subject of controversy.
‘Malaria vaccine’ will be understood by medical students, while ‘effectiveness’ and ‘controversy’
are general academic vocabulary that all students need to understand. The focus of this course
is on the general vocabulary common to most disciplines.

2 Nouns

䊏 Study the following list of common nouns with examples of use. With a partner,
discuss the meaning of each noun.

accuracy Repeating the experiment will improve the accuracy of the

results.
166 Part 3: Vocabulary for Writing

analysis His analysis of the alloy showed a high percentage of copper.

approach Professor Han has brought a new approach to the study of
genetics.
assessment She failed the first module assessment but passed the final one.
assumption He made the assumption that all the students spoke French.
authority Dr James is our leading authority on maritime law.
category Her work established two categories of local governance.
claim Their claim that the island was first inhabited in 550 BCE is false.
controversy Climate change is an issue that has caused much controversy.
correlation They found a correlation between height and health.
deterrent The harsh climate of the desert acted as a deterrent to
exploration.
emphasis Their teacher put the emphasis on practical research.
evidence The X-ray provided evidence of his lung infection.
exception The Tesla is an exception to the idea of slow, small electric cars.
extract He read a short extract from his paper on Hegel to the class.
ideology Military power was at the heart of Roman ideology.
implication The implication of the report is that we need to do more
research.
innovation Steam power was a significant innovation in the eighteenth
century.
intuition Intuition has been described as ‘a gut feeling’.
motivation Money is often claimed to be the motivation for most workers.
perspective Sigmund Freud’s work opened a new perspective on human
behaviour.
phenomenon Earthquakes are an unusual phenomenon in Britain.
policy The university has a zero-tolerance policy on plagiarism.
preference Her preference was criminal law, but other fields were more
profitable.
process The drug trials involved a three-stage process that took two
years.
proposal The Professor’s proposal for more seminars was rejected.
provision The library has increased its provision of computer terminals by
100 per cent.
 3.3: Academic Vocabulary: Nouns and Adjectives 167

sequence Writing is a sequence of reading, note-taking, planning and

drafting.
strategy Swimming every day was part of his strategy for getting fit.
substitute To what extent can natural gas be a substitute for oil?
technique She developed a new technique for collecting the beetles.
validity Events confirmed the validity of his prediction.

䊏 Complete each sentence with a suitable noun.

(a) The excavation found no _______________ of human settlement before 1250 BCE.
(b) The tutor asked the class for their _______________ for next semester’s topics.
(c) Many great discoveries were based on _______________ rather than logic.
(d) Due to the rising birth rate _______________ was made for more school places.
(e) Few believed Galileo’s _______________ that the earth went round the sun.

3 Using nouns and adjectives

It is easy to confuse the noun and adjective form of words such as ‘possible’ and ‘possibility’.

䊏 Compare these sentences:

The efficiency of the machine depends on the precision of its construction.

Precise construction results in an efficient machine.
The first sentence uses the nouns ‘efficiency’ and ‘precision’. The second uses adjectives: ‘precise’
and ‘efficient’. Although the meaning is similar, the first sentence is more formal. Effective
academic writing requires accurate use of both nouns and adjectives.

䊏 Complete the gaps in the table below.

Noun Adjective Noun Adjective

approximation approximate particular
superiority reason
strategic synthetic
politics economics/economy*
industrial cultural
exterior average
168 Part 3: Vocabulary for Writing

Noun Adjective Noun Adjective

high reliable
heat strength
confident true
width probability
necessary long
danger relevance

* Compare the three nouns:

Economics is a demanding undergraduate degree course (academic subject)

The Greek economy is heavily in debt (national economy, countable)
Economy is needed to reduce the deficit (saving money, uncountable)

4 Practice A

䊏 Insert a suitable noun or adjective from the table in each sentence.

(a) The students were _______________ their project would be successful.

(b) One of Tokyo’s _______________ is its excellent transport system.
(c) There is a strong _______________ that fees will rise next year.
(d) The students complained that the lecture was not _______________ to their
course.
(e) The results are so surprising it will be _______________ to repeat the experiment.
(f) The _______________ household size in Turkey is 4.1.
(g) Regularly backing up computer files reduces the _______________ of losing vital
work.
(h) Revising for exams is a tedious _______________.
(i) These data appear to be _______________ and should not be trusted.
(j) The _______________ date of the founding of Rome is 750 BCE.
(k) The _______________ consequences of the war were inflation and
unemployment.
(l) They attempted to make a _______________ of all the different proposals.
 3.3: Academic Vocabulary: Nouns and Adjectives 169

5 Academic adjectives

The following adjectives are best understood and learnt as opposites:

absolute relative
abstract concrete
accurate inaccurate
ambiguous unambiguous
analytic synthetic
effective ineffective
exclusive inclusive
logical illogical
metaphorical literal
precise vague or approximate or rough
rational irrational
reliable unreliable
relevant irrelevant
specific non-specific
subjective objective
theoretical practical or empirical or pragmatic

Examples:
Inflation is an abstract concept.
The metaphorical use of the word ‘key’ is probably more common than its literal one.
The study of engineering is very relevant to architecture.
Her study of women in education was criticised for being too subjective.
In Europe, empirical research began in the sixteenth century.
170 Part 3: Vocabulary for Writing

6 Practice B

䊏 Complete each sentence with a suitable adjective from the list in (5) on p. 169.

(a) The teacher complained that the quotes were _______________ to the title.
(b) His _______________ approach led him to ignore some inconvenient facts.
(c) _______________ examples are needed to make the argument clear.
(d) It is sufficient to give _______________ figures for national populations.
(e) Poverty is usually regarded as a _______________ concept.
(f) They approached the task in a _______________ way by first analysing the title.
(g) The students preferred examining case studies to _______________ discussion.
(h) The results were _______________: the victims had definitely been poisoned.

7 Practice C

䊏 Underline the adjective in each sentence and write the related noun in brackets.

Example:
likelihood )
Several steel producers are likely to shut down next year. ( ______________

(a) The HR team have just completed a strategic review of pay. ( ______________ )
(b) Dr Lee adopted an analytical approach to the inquiry. ( ______________ )
(c) Nylon was one of the earliest synthetic fibres. ( ______________ )
(d) Her major contribution to the research was her study of ante-natal care.
( ______________ )
(e) All advertising must respect cultural differences. ( ______________ )
(f) Some progress was made in the theoretical area. ( ______________ )
(g) A frequent complaint is that too much reading is expected. ( ______________ )
(h) We took a more critical approach to marketing theory. ( ______________ )
(i) The Department of Social Policy is offering three courses this year.
( ______________ )
(j) Finally, the practical implications of my findings will be examined.
( ______________ )
 3.4: Academic Vocabulary: Verbs and Adverbs 175

3 Practice A

䊏 Write a sentence referring to what the following writers said (more than one verb
may be suitable). Use the past tense.

Example:
Z: ‘My research shows that biofuels are environmentally neutral.’
Z claimed/argued that biofuels were environmentally neutral.

(a) A: ‘I may have made a mistake in my calculations on energy loss.’

(b) B: ‘I did not say that women make better doctors than men.’
(c) C: ‘Small firms are more dynamic than large ones.’
(d) D: ‘I support C’s views on small firms.’
(e) E: ‘I’m not sure, but most people probably work to earn money.’
(f) F: ‘After much research, I’ve found that allergies are becoming more
common.’
(g) G: ‘I think it unlikely that electric cars will replace conventional ones.’
(h) H: ‘There may be a link between crime and sunspot activity.’

4 Further referring verbs

A small group of verbs is followed by the pattern (somebody/thing + for + noun/gerund):

blame censure commend condemn criticise
Lee (1998) blamed the media for creating uncertainty.
NB: All except ‘commend’ have a negative meaning.

Another group is followed by (somebody/thing + as + noun/gerund):

assess characterise classify define describe evaluate identify
interpret portray present
Terry interprets rising oil prices as a result of the Asian recovery.
176 Part 3: Vocabulary for Writing

5 Practice B

䊏 Rewrite the following statements using verbs from the lists in (4) on p. 175.

Example:
K: ‘Guttman’s work is responsible for many of the current social problems’.
K blamed Guttman’s work for many of the current social problems.

(a) L: ‘She was very careless about her research methods.’

(b) M: ‘There are four main types of children in care.’
(c) N: ‘That company has an excellent record for workplace safety.’
(d) O: ‘The noises whales make must be expressions of happiness.’
(e) P: ‘Wind power and biomass will be the leading green energy sources.’
(f) Q: ‘Darwin was the most influential naturalist of the nineteenth century.’

6 Using adverbs

In the sentence given here, adverbs are used to give information about time (currently) and
degree (completely):
The author concludes that no reasonable alternative is currently available to replace
constitutional democracy, even though he does not completely reject the possibility of creating
a better political system in the future.

(1) Adverbs are used in academic writing in a variety of ways. Among the most important
are:
(a) to provide more detail, with verbs and adjectives:
Reasonably good data are available for only . . .
. . . decomposition eventually ceases in modern landfills . . .
(b) individually, often at the beginning of sentences, to introduce new points or link
sentences together:
Currently, the Earth’s atmosphere appears to be warming up.
Alternatively, the use of non-conventional renewable energies . . .
NB: Adverbs used individually need to be employed with care. It is dangerous to
overuse them, since they are often like the author’s ‘voice’, commenting on the topic.
As the academic writer aims to be objective, adverbs such as ‘fortunately’ or
‘remarkably’ may be unsuitable.
 3.4: Academic Vocabulary: Verbs and Adverbs 177

(2) Adverbs linked to verbs and adjectives usually fall into three groups:
(a) time (when?)
previously published
retrospectively examined
(b) degree (how much?)
declined considerably
contribute substantially
(c) manner (in what way?)
medically complicated
remotely located
Further common examples include:
Time Degree Manner
recently clearly (un)surprisingly
increasingly particularly factually
originally broadly politically
presently highly locally
currently wholly alternatively
traditionally crucially similarly
continuously emphatically psychologically

7 Practice C

䊏 Insert a suitable adverb from the lists above into the gaps in the sentences.

(a) Most houses do not have electricity. _______________, then, there is little chance
of improving living standards.
(b) _______________, the Internet was mainly used for academic purposes.
(c) Some courses are assessed purely by exams. _______________, coursework may
be employed.
(d) _______________, there has been growing concern about financing the health
service.
(e) Many birds use bright colours to attract a mate. _______________, flowers
advertise their position to fertilising insects.
(f) _______________, the development should be acceptable environmentally.