Score: 80

Clarity of
Integration of other Quality of linguistic Syllabus Specification organisation and In-text citation &
Aspect ➔
research analysis and reporting 15% expression bibliography
Grade Scale
20% 40% 15% 10%

Evidence of a very wide

Consistently excellent
range of relevant reading Detailed specification of
80%-100% Consistently accurate organisation, signposting,
which is integrated language features that
application of chosen linguistic and written expression
Outstanding critically and applied
model, with clear justifications
could be immediately
throughout contribute to
Distinction consistently to support the implemented in a language In-text referencing is fully
of analytical decisions academic style of a very
focused arguments in the learning syllabus consistent and accurate.
high standard
report Bibliography is appropriately set
Very clear organisation, out, containing all and only
All main arguments in the
Accurate application of chosen Specification of language signposting, and coherent quoted or cited texts
report are closely
70% -79% linguistic model, with clear features that could be written expression
supported by evidence of
Distinction justifications of some usefully implemented in a contribute to the overall
very wide-ranging and
analytical decisions language learning syllabus high standard of academic
relevant reading
style.
In-text referencing is almost
Mostly accurate application of Specification of some
Clear organisation, entirely consistent and accurate.
Most points made in the chosen linguistic model, but language features that
signposting, and coherent Bibliography is appropriately set
60-69% report supported by with some individual errors. could contribute to a
written expression out and contains the majority of
Merit evidence of an ample More discussion would help language learning syllabus,
produce a very good accurate references or contains
amount of reading reader understand some but details or omissions
academic style all references but a few have
analytical decisions entail more work needed
minor errors
In-text referencing is
Evidence of satisfactory Language analysis with chosen Language features are
occasionally inconsistent or
amount of reading around linguistic model contains more provided for a syllabus, but Generally clear
50-59% inaccurate. Bibliography omits a
the topic(s) but there accuracies than errors. unclear how these would organisation and coherent
Pass small number of quoted or cited
could be more relevant Discussion of analytical be used in language written expression
texts &/or in places is not
application at times decisions lacks detail learning
appropriately set out
Evidence of fairly limited
reading and only some Language analysis with chosen
In-text referencing requires
application; more linguistic model contains more Insufficient or unsuitable
40-49% Clarity and coherence lost attention. Bibliography is rather
consistent and relevant errors than accuracies. language features are
Refer at times haphazard both in layout and in
application of reading is Analytical decisions are not specified
number of cited texts included
needed to support discussed with any clarity
arguments
In-text referencing is not
Poor organisation and
consistent and has many
Evidence of little or no Language analysis shows Language features are not written expression, and
0-39 % inaccuracies. Bibliography is
reading and no or very misunderstanding of linguistic specified or are unusable limited coherence
Refer inappropriately set out and/or
limited application model &/or categories for teaching purposes produce inadequate
omits a large number of cited
academic style
texts
Feedback: This is a comprehensive, well-argued and well-researched application of corpus theory to a clearly defined set of students.
The word lists, and the collocations, in particular, provide a set of learning goals for this set of students. The discussion points out that
this will not be a straight-forward process, and so it is clear that some further thought will need to be put in to operationalise these
lists.
Points for development: it would be good to exemplify or further detail how these lists would be turned into lessons, materials or
pedagogic guides, to be used in conjunction with the word lists. Do not “bullet-point” the list of references.
Name:
ID:
Date:
Word count: 4,312
Title: Using corpus linguistics to improve Vietnamese students’ performance
on the IELTS Academic reading test

Assessment #2: Identify spoken or written text(s) exemplifying language learners' needs,
analyse relevant linguistic features of the text and show how those features could inform
teaching practice

MA TESOL - Analysing Language (77-705705-BF)

A. Target learning situation & Student profile
International English Language Testing System (IELTS) has been gaining popularity worldwide,
with more than 30 million tests having been taken since its introduction in 1989 and an average
of 60,000 people taking the test on a weekly basis according to https://www.ielts.org/, the official
website of the test. The IELTS certificate is now being widely recognized by more than 11,000
educational and professional organizations across the world, which makes the test even more
popular among individuals seeking opportunities to work or study in an environment where
English is the principal medium of communication.
In Vietnam, the IELTS certificate has transcended its original purpose as a passport to other
countries, having become an essential entry requirement for various educational and
professional opportunities, from obtaining admission to universities and applying for
scholarships to securing a well-paid job and getting promoted (Vu et al., 2016). The burgeoning
significance of the test has recently resulted in an ever-growing number of both university
students and working adults who wish to take the test for their own academic and professional
purposes.
Among the four components of the IELTS Academic test, even though Vietnamese test takers
scored the highest for the reading component, with an average of 6.3 compared with 6.2 for
listening and 5.7 for both writing and speaking, in 2019 based on statistics shown on
https://www.ielts.org/, reading arguably remains a challenging skill for most Vietnamese
learners. According to Nation (1990) and Day & Bamford (1998), one’s fluent L2 reading depends
largely on whether they have a large enough repertoire of vocabulary. This belief was echoed by
Hu & Nation (2000) who further argued that for reasonable comprehension of a text, learners
need to know at least 98% of the running words; that is, the density of the unknown words should
be one in fifty. From a pedagogical perspective, Burns (2003) claimed that one of the easiest ways
that teachers can assist their students in developing skilled reading is to expand their existing
range of vocabulary.
Over the past 5 years of teaching IELTS exam classes, I have witnessed a common problem among
Vietnamese learners, which is the fact that most of them tend to be excessively overwhelmed by
a colossal volume of vocabulary presented in the reading papers and that they do not know which
words they should focus on to obtain the score they want, especially when the test date is only
about a few weeks left.
Given the need for vocabulary learning in preparation for the IELTS Academic reading test, the
goal of this corpus-based project is twofold:
(1) It aims to generate a list of the most frequently occurring academic words in the IELTS
Academic Reading test, helping to familiarise prospective test takers with these lexical
items before they sit the actual test.
(2) Despite the fact that listings of vocabulary have been researched and generated for a long
time and have numerous benefits to offer to language learners, there has been a number
of studies (e.g. Nattinger & DeCarrico, 1992; Pawley & Syder, 1983) that criticise the use
of word lists since they do not take into account the multi-word collocational patterns
that account for a large proportion of the English language. A collocation is defined as a
group of two or more words that frequently occur together in predictable patterns in
speech and writing (Hoey, 1991) such as conduct an interview and make effort. As a
significant fraction of the English language is made up of collocations (Sinclair, 1991;
Stubbs, 2001; Biber et al., 2004), it is of crucial importance for English learners to acquire
them to enhance their English proficiency. Concerning L2 reading comprehension, in
particular, many researchers including Hsu (2010) and Kiaee et al. (2013) agree that the
direct instruction of collocations has a favorable impact on Taiwanese and Iranian
students’ reading performance respectively. Taking into consideration the criticism for
decontextualised word lists and the well-established benefit of collocation teaching on
reading fluency, in this study, I also compile collocates of words in the word list.
The findings of this study will be applied to teach a group of 12 Vietnamese students, aged 20-
24, who are preparing for the IELTS Academic test to be qualified for their university graduation
or for application to UK universities. All of them have studied general English for about 8-12 years
at school; that is, I assume they have mastered the first 2,000 most common words in the General
Service List compiled by West (1953). However, through learners’ need analysis, I was made
aware that they have no previous experience with Academic English as a whole and the IELTS test
in particular, thus their modest range of academic vocabulary. Before attending the IELTS
preparation course, they were also required to take a placement test, which indicated their
overall English proficiency being at Upper-Intermediate (B2) and their current IELTS Reading
score being around 5.5-6.0 (B2), and they are currently aiming for 6.5-7.0 (B2-C1) after a course
of 12 weeks.

B. Theoretical background
Even though corpus linguistics, the study of a collection of texts for a particular research purpose
(Cheng, 2011), is one of the most rapidly developing areas of applied linguistics, and corpus
analysis has been utilised to generate word lists for a long time, the application of corpus
linguistics to investigate vocabulary in the IELTS reading test is arguably not an area of research
interest (Mitchell, 2022). For this section, I will first examine the structure of the IELTS test,
focusing particularly on the Academic reading component. Second, I will elaborate on the
importance of vocabulary and word lists in English learning before eventually associating the use
of corpus analysis to lexical acquisition.

1. The IELTS test

The high-stake IELTS test offers two modules: Academic and General Training. The
Academic module is specifically designed for those who intend to attend higher education
in colleges/universities in an English-speaking country whilst the General Training stream
is used as a requirement for immigration purposes. Both modules are designed to test
learners’ ability to listen, read, write and speak in English. The listening and speaking tests
are the same for both streams while the reading and writing tests are different. Table 1
displays how the IELTS scores are compared with the Common European Framework of
Reference for Languages (CEFR) and various Cambridge English qualifications (retrieved
from https://www.cambridgeenglish.org/).
 Table 1: Comparing the CEFR, IELTS, and Cambridge English qualifications

Unlike Cambridge English exams, IELTS test takers will be awarded a band score from 1 to
9, with 1 being awarded to those who have no ability to use the language except for some
isolated utterances and 9 being awarded to exper users of English. Table 2 gives a detailed
description of how the IELTS bands are interpreted (retrieved from https://www.ielts.org/).
 Table 2: IELTS scores scale

The IELTS Academic reading test comprises three passages with 40 questions of various types
that are designed to test a range of reading subskills (e.g. reading for gist, reading for details,
reading for inference). Test takers are given 60 minutes to complete the test including time to
transfer the answers from the question booklet to an answer sheet. Compared with the General
Training reading test, the Academic one features more advanced vocabulary and a greater
complexity of styles; however, the test is constructed for non-specialist candidates, which means
test takers do not need to have specialised knowledge to achieve a good band score. The level of
difficulty increases towards the end of the test.
Table 3 below shows the number of correct answers required to obtain a particular band score
in the test (retrieved from https://www.ielts.org/). Scores are given in whole bands and half
bands.
 Table 3: How the IELTS reading scores are caculated
IELTS Reading band scores
Raw score out of 40 Band Score
15 5
23 6
30 7
35 8

2. Vocabulary & Word lists

The transition from high school to college/university could be daunting to second language
learners as during this transitional phase they may have to reconstruct their pre-conceived
understanding and notion of English learning. Yung & Fong (2009) highlighted the fact that first-
year undergraduate EFL/ESL students tend to find it challenging to understand academic lexis
pertaining to their subject owing to the shortage of content-specific lexical knowledge.
Fortunately, a great deal of effort has been made to produce word lists that help students acquire
sufficient academic lexis, making their educational experience at college/university less
intimidating (Durrant, 2016). A word list, as defined by Nation & Waring (1997), is a compilation
of high-frequency words in a text or a collection of texts belonging to a specific genre. It is
suggested the acquisition of these lexical items would improve students’ comprehension of texts.
In recent times, a considerable number of studies focusing on the use of word lists have been
conducted. For example, Gardner and Davies’s (2013) generated an Academic Vocabulary List
(AVL) with the Corpus of Contemporary American (COCA) (Davies, 2010) as the reference corpus.
The AVL is considered to be superior to its preceding equivalents since it is more representative
of all academic disciplines.
Mackey (1965), cited in Durrant (2016), argued that the lexicon in any language is so vast that it
is impossible for any student to acquire it thoroughly. Word lists come as a solution, as they are
generated with the aim of diluting the lexicon down to the frequently occurring items that
students are most likely to encounter when dealing with texts. Nation & Waring (1997) asserted
that 72% of a wide variety of English written texts are covered by the most frequent 1,000 words.
This further stresses the importance of word lists that guide language learners towards high-
frequency words rather than words that occur infrequently but account for a large proportion of
the English language. For a long time, learners of general English have been guided to focus on
learning the first 3,000 high-frequency words and then learn strategies to deal with unknown
ones such as guessing the meaning based on the context. In a similar vein, those studying English
for Specific purposes including EAP have been advised to focus their efforts on the first 2,000
words before moving on to subject-related word lists (Nation & Waring, 1997).
However, the use of word lists is associated with various drawbacks that have made both
researchers and teachers rethink their practices. First, it is practically impossible for language
learners to use words suggested in the word list productively as it is most of the time presented
in a decontextualised manner with no clues to the register and collocations (Durrant, 2014).
Second, the use of frequency-based word lists could cause students to overlook less frequent or
idiosyncratic lexical items. Students should be made aware that low-frequency words do not
equate to wrong words, that low-frequency words are often used by fluent speakers of English,
and that their frequency can change over time according to usage (Gabrielatos, 2005).

3. Using corpora for language teaching

Over the last 70 years, the chief application of corpus-based research has been vocabulary lists
and phraseology lists, specifically lists that include words or phrases present in a particular
domain (Miller & Biber, 2015). Collins COBUILD English Language Dictionary, the first corpus-
based dictionary for English learners, was published in 1987, officially bringing the application of
corpora into language classrooms (Johns, 1988). Before the introduction of advanced computer
technology, creating a word list was a time-consuming and labour-intensive job (Cheng, 2011).
Thorndike and Lorge (1944), cited in Miller and Biber (2015), managed to create a list of 30,000
words from a 4.5-million-word corpus, and West (1953) was able to produce the General Service
List.
Advances in computer software and corpus design in recent decades have resulted in the
development of numerous newer lists based on the two most popular corpora in the world which
are the British National Corpus (BNC) (Leech et al., 2001) and the Corpus of Contemporary
American English (COCA) (Davies & Gardner, 2010). Word lists for many academic disciplines
have also been generated due to students’ increasing demand. For example, Millar & Budgell
(2008) compiled a word list for the subject of public health, Wang et al. (2008) for medicine, Ward
(2009) for engineering, and Martínez et al. (2009) for agriculture.
Despite the roaring popularity of corpus linguistics applied for producing language learning
materials, such as dictionaries and grammar books, very few English language teachers are fully
aware of the nature of corpora, or how corpus analysis can enhance their instructional practice.

B. Data collection
For this corpus-based project, I used two computer programs AntWordProfiler and AntConc. The
former program, which is embedded with the Academic Word List (570 words) developed by
Coxhead (2000), was used to produce a list of the most common academic words used in IELTS
Academic reading papers based on their frequency whilst the latter was employed to identify
collocates of words from the list.
177 academic reading passages were collected from a total of 59 reading tests derived from
books published by Cambridge University Press. These books include the Cambridge IELTS series
(5-15), The Official Cambridge Guide to IELTS, and IELTS Trainer Academic 2. These publications
purport to be the only authentic testing materials from Cambridge ESOL Examinations. The
selection of these up-to-date official test papers guarantees the credibility and reliability of the
research findings.
I managed to obtain a corpus of 158,092 tokens after removing all the instructions and questions
following each reading passage. That is, the corpus only contains words from the reading texts.
My rationale for the removal of instructions and questions primarily depends on my experience
with IELTS test papers – the vast majority of instructional words and words used in questions do
not belong to the academic category to ensure that test takers, no matter where they are on the
1-to-9 scale, can easily understand the instructions and questions.

C. Corpus analysis procedure & Results

Stage 1: Frequency-based word list generation
I first created a corpus of 177 reading texts and used AntWordProfiler to generate a list of
academic words. The ultimate goal of this study is to generate a list of approximately 200 words,
which is a reasonable volume of vocabulary for a taught course of 12 weeks; therefore, I need
more or less than 300 words from which the final 200 words will be chosen according to CEFR
levels (see Stage 2). My examination of the original academic word list revealed that the cut-off
point (frequency) being 11 resulted in a total of 318 words as shown in Table 4. As can be seen,
research is the most common word, which appears 280 times in 92 different texts, followed by
create and environment with 158 times in 67 texts and 147 times in 67 texts respectively.

Table 4: Example of the generated word list (See Appendix 1 for the full list)
No. Headword Frequency Range
1 research 280 92
2 create 158 67
3 environment 147 67
4 process 138 71
5 area 127 70
6 individual 111 58
7 transport 109 24
8 design 105 42
9 involve 102 65
10 evident 100 55
11 major 99 63
12 energy 98 36
13 technology 84 52
14 theory 84 36
15 approach 81 50
16 culture 81 35
17 respond 80 39
18 significant 79 57
19 economy 76 37
 20 evolve 73 30

Stage 2: Word list tagging with the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages
(CEFR)
Subsequently, I categorized those 318 words in the list according to the CEFR, which is an
international benchmark for describing language proficiency (Milton, 2013). According to the
Cambridge English Website (http://cambridgeenglish.org/), language ability is described in a
hierarchy from A1 for beginners up to C2 for those who have mastered a language, and this
division enables anyone involved in language teaching or testing including teachers, learners, and
administrators to have a common ground to benchmark language proficiency. The rationale for
using CEFR in vocabulary instruction is so teachers can ensure that they teach the right words to
their students.
As stated earlier, the target students in this study are currently at the level of B2, and they are
aiming for 6.5-7.0 in the reading test component. Therefore, words classified as B2 and C1 were
chosen for the final word list. That is, words at the levels of A1, A2, B1, C2, and off-list words (a
total of 117 words) were removed from the original list.
For this stage of the procedure, https://www.vocabkitchen.com/profile is used to categorize
words according to CEFR levels. Table 5 shows the word list after CEFR levels are tagged to each
item, and Table 6 illustrates a list of words at the levels of B2 (151 words) and C1 (50 words).
These 201 words total a coverage of 3.72% of the 177 passages.

Table 5: Example of the word list with tagged CEFR levels (See Appendix 1 for the full list)
No. Headword Frequency Range CEFR
1 research 280 92 B1
2 create 158 67 B1
3 environment 147 67 B1
4 process 138 71 B2
5 area 127 70 A2
6 individual 111 58 B1
 7 transport 109 24 B1
8 design 105 42 B1
9 involve 102 65 B1
10 evident 100 55 B2
11 major 99 63 B2
12 energy 98 36 B1
13 technology 84 52 B2
14 theory 84 36 B1
15 approach 81 50 B1
16 culture 81 35 B1
17 respond 80 39 B2
18 significant 79 57 B2
19 economy 76 37 B2
20 evolve 73 30 C1

Table 6: Example of the list of words at B2 and C1 levels (See Appendix 2 for the full list)
No. Headword Frequency Range CEFR
1 process 138 71 B2
2 evident 100 55 B2
3 major 99 63 B2
4 respond 80 39 B2
5 significant 79 57 B2
6 economy 76 37 B2
7 evolve 73 30 C1
8 factor 71 38 B2
9 impact 68 49 B2
10 psychology 66 25 B2
11 source 66 45 B2
 12 focus 65 46 B2
13 identify 65 45 B2
14 survive 64 43 B2
15 construct 60 38 B2
16 intelligence 57 17 B2
17 consume 56 26 B2
18 function 56 34 B2
19 affect 54 34 B2
20 participate 54 23 B2

Stage 3: Collocation list generation

At this stage of the analysis, AntConc was used to examine the common collocations of the 201
words in the list. Each word of the list was examined for its collocates using the functions of
Collocate and Concordance (also known as Key Word in Context). Table 7 shows the collocates of
the word significant, and Table 8 shows its concordances. However, the results produced from
the tool cannot be used for teaching immediately because of three following reasons:
(1) some co-occurrences happen by chance without any meaning (e.g. nature significant);
(2) some co-occurrences are combinations of a grammatical word and significant (e.g. most
significant) that the target students should already know;
(3) some co-occurrences are rare in English and therefore spending limited class time on
those collocations could be a waste of time (e.g. significant distortions).
Table 7: Examples of collocates of ‘significant’
Collocate Rank FreqLR FreqL FreqR Range Likelihood Effect
advances 1 2 0 2 2 22.078 9.259
methodological 2 1 0 1 1 13.659 10.844
humanitarian 2 1 0 1 1 13.659 10.844
distortions 2 1 0 1 1 13.659 10.844
statistically 2 1 1 0 1 13.659 10.844
downsides 2 1 0 1 1 13.659 10.844
 vitally 2 1 1 0 1 13.659 10.844
role 8 2 0 2 2 13.098 6.116
nature 9 2 2 0 2 12.539 5.913
most 10 3 3 0 3 12.256 4.290
hurdles 11 1 0 1 1 11.934 9.844
contributions 12 1 0 1 1 9.934 8.522
percentage 13 1 0 1 1 9.553 8.259
potentially 14 1 1 0 1 8.958 7.844
drop 14 1 0 1 1 8.958 7.844
killed 14 1 1 0 1 8.958 7.844

Table 8: Examples of concordances of ‘significant’

No Left context Hit Right context
managing their finances. That
1 represents a significant drop in the number of
2 so, work continued to play a significant, if less central, role in
3 for many nations and, for a significant number of other countries, it
4 children were expected to spend a significant part of their day in
5 Granovetter’s research showed that a significant percentage of people get their
6 with significant travel demand. If a significant proportion of the population choose
7 are that they will play a significant role in the future A
analytical and numerical; intuition plays
8 a significant role. The alleged gap can
9 us today, two of the most significant aspects of most of these
Finkelman and Glass, 1970). Probably
10 the most significant finding from research on noise
11 of their inhabitants. The three most significant types of fragile environment in
contributions towards driver assistance
12 for more than 50 years, resulting in significant systems.
activities, particularly skiing, have
13 resulted in significant long-term changes to the
14 been of a physical scientific nature. Significant advances have been made in
15 been of a physical scientific nature. Significant advances have been made in
Given the above reasons that help to filter out meaningless collocations or those that should
not be taught, I had the following important collocations for the word significant: (See
Appendix 3 for the full list of collocations)
Table 8: colloctions of the word ‘significant’
Word Collocations
significant • significant (adjective) + noun: advances, downsides, role, contributions,
percentage, proportion, insights, barries, steps, differences, features,
aspects, evidence
• adverb + significant (adjective): vitally, statistically, potentially,
extremely, especially

D. Discussion
It is widely agreed that while a corpus analysis of texts enables materials writers to develop
learning materials with specific lexical knowledge for English for Academic Purposes (EAP)
courses, it informs teachers of what to teach to meet their students’ specific needs (Hyland &
Tse, 2007). In this case, my students’ needs are to achieve 6.5-7.0 in the IELTS Academic reading
test. The generated list of 201 most frequent words and their collocations in 177 IELTS Academic
reading passages are extremely helpful in equipping them with sufficient lexical knowledge to
obtain the score they want.
However, Hyland and Tse (2007) raised a concern over the creation of an academic word list,
suggesting that words in the list often exhibit “a considerable amount of semantic variation” (p.
245). That is, one individual word may behave differently in different contexts, so researchers or
teachers who produce the word list should inform their students of the importance of contextual
environments in which the words are positioned. For instance, the word intelligence has two
distinct meanings: (1) the ability to learn, understand and think quickly and logically and (2)
collected confidential information about a foreign country, especially one that is an enemy (as in
military intelligence and intelligence agent). Moreover, language learners ought to be made
aware of all the different derivations and inflections of a lexical item (Hoey, 2010). For example,
students need to be made aware that economy is a noun, economic is an adjective, economics is
a noun, economical is an adjective, economically is an adverb and economist is a noun. Given the
two mentioned aspects, it stands to argue that it is possible to generate a list of common
academic words by utilising a corpus analysis, but the word list should be used with careful
consideration as there is no context attached to the meanings of the words. This view is
supported by Coxhead & Nation (2001) who claimed that vocabulary is beyond single words
acting separately in a discourse and that vocabulary should not be taught or learnt out of context.
Nevertheless, this issue can be mitigated to a certain degree with the aid of the collocation list
following the decontextualised word list, which indicates parts of speech of each item and its
common collocates. Lewis (1997) stressed the significance of collocations by stating that “instead
of words, we consciously try to think of collocations, and to present these in expressions. Rather
than trying to break things into ever smaller pieces, there is a conscious effort to see things in
larger, more holistic, ways” (p. 204)

E. Conclusion
For many students, the IELTS Academic reading component is a significant challenge due to its
high density of academic lexis. From a pedagogical perspective, this aspect of the IELTS test is
also challenging for teachers who are assigned to teach the exam classes because many teachers,
especially novice ones or those new to the concept of teaching to the test, tend to struggle to
identify which lexical items they should focus on while teaching their students. Failing to find out
those words, the teachers are less likely to help their students succeed in their IELTS test
attempts. However, the introduction of corpus linguistics and advances in computer technology
have enabled materials developers and teachers alike to produce word lists dedicated to the
IELTS test in general and the Academic reading component in particular.
Although the findings of this corpus-based project are fruitful in a sense that a list of 201
academic words at B2 and C1 levels and a table of collocations could inform teachers of what
words they should teach and provide students with a repertoire of vocabulary to draw on, it is
important for teachers to make their students aware of the fact that mastery of the word list and
the collocation table generated from this study will not guarantee them a 6.5-7.0 score as fluent
reading does not depend solely on lexical range, and that such factors as grammatical fluency,
reading speed and reading skills have a crucial role to play (Khalifa & Weir, 2009). Moreover, it is
vital for teachers to avoid the pitfall of teaching vocabulary out of context; otherwise, prospective
IELTS test takers may find the test preparation even more arduous.

Software
• Anthony, L. (2022). AntWordProfiler (Version 2.0.0) [MacOS 10/11]. Tokyo, Japan:
Waseda University. Available from https://www.laurenceanthony.net/software
• Anthony, L. (2022). AntConc (Version 4.0.10) [MacOS 10/11]. Tokyo, Japan: Waseda
University. Available from https://www.laurenceanthony.net/software

Books published by Cambridge University Press used in this study

• University of Cambridge ESOL Examinations. (2020). Cambridge IELTS Tests 15.
Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press.
• University of Cambridge ESOL Examinations. (2019). Cambridge IELTS Tests 14.
Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press.
• University of Cambridge ESOL Examinations. (2018). Cambridge IELTS Tests 13.
Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press.
• University of Cambridge ESOL Examinations. (2017). Cambridge IELTS Tests 12.
Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press.
• University of Cambridge ESOL Examinations. (2016). Cambridge IELTS Tests 11.
Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press.
• University of Cambridge ESOL Examinations. (2015). Cambridge IELTS Tests 10.
Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press.
• University of Cambridge ESOL Examinations. (2013). Cambridge IELTS Tests 9.
Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press.
• University of Cambridge ESOL Examinations. (2011). Cambridge IELTS Tests 8.
Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press.
• University of Cambridge ESOL Examinations. (2009). Cambridge IELTS Tests 7.
Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press.
 • University of Cambridge ESOL Examinations. (2007). Cambridge IELTS Tests 6.
Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press.
• University of Cambridge ESOL Examinations. (2006). Cambridge IELTS Tests 5.
Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press.
• University of Cambridge ESOL Examinations. (2019). IELTS Trainer Academic 2.
Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press.
• University of Cambridge ESOL Examinations. (2014). The Official Cambridge Guide to
IELTS. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press.

References

• Biber, D., Conrad S., & Cortes, V. (2004). If you look at...: Lexical Bundles in University
Teaching and Textbooks. Applied Linguistics, 25(3), 371-405.
• Cheng, W. (2011). Exploring Corpus Linguistics. New York, NY: Routledge.
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Appendices
Appendix 1: Full list of 318 most frequent academic words in the IELTS Academic reading
papers with CEFR levels
No. Headword Frequency Range CEFR
1 research 280 92 B1
2 create 158 67 B1
3 environment 147 67 B1
4 process 138 71 B2
5 area 127 70 A2
6 individual 111 58 B1
7 transport 109 24 B1
8 design 105 42 B1
9 involve 102 65 B1
10 evident 100 55 B2
11 major 99 63 B2
12 energy 98 36 B1
13 technology 84 52 B1
14 theory 84 36 B1
15 approach 81 50 B1
16 culture 81 35 B1
17 respond 80 39 B2
18 significant 79 57 B2
19 economy 76 37 B2
20 evolve 73 30 C1
21 require 73 53 B1
22 achieve 71 45 B1
23 factor 71 38 B2
24 project 71 38 A2
25 region 71 41 B1
26 similar 70 53 B1
27 benefit 69 39 B1
28 impact 68 49 B2
29 psychology 66 25 B2
30 range 66 54 B1
31 source 66 45 B2
32 focus 65 46 B2
33 identify 65 45 B2
34 role 65 48 B1
35 survive 64 43 B2
36 structure 62 31 B1
37 construct 60 38 B2
38 globe 59 36 Off list
39 predict 59 35 B1
40 site 59 27 A1
41 intelligence 57 17 B2
42 consume 56 26 B2
43 function 56 34 B2
44 affect 54 34 B2
45 participate 54 23 B2
46 task 54 29 B2
47 tradition 54 34 B2
48 analyse 53 28 B2
49 expert 53 33 B1
50 period 52 36 B1
51 vary 52 37 B2
52 decade 51 41 B2
53 institute 51 38 B2
54 potential 51 35 B2
55 team 51 35 A2
56 final 50 39 A2
57 adapt 49 32 B2
58 method 49 32 B1
59 perceive 49 25 C1
60 resource 49 37 B2
61 occur 48 32 B2
62 establish 47 33 B2
63 facilitate 47 18 C1
64 image 47 25 B2
65 innovate 47 14 Off list
66 physical 47 31 B2
67 adult 46 21 A1
68 policy 46 27 B2
69 challenge 45 35 B1
70 community 45 29 B2
71 chemical 44 21 B2
72 contribute 44 35 B2
73 investigate 44 34 B2
74 maintain 44 38 B2
75 dominate 43 20 B2
76 motive 42 20 B2
77 strategy 42 26 B2
78 available 41 29 A2
79 compute 41 15 Off list
80 feature 41 27 B2
81 goal 41 23 A2
82 network 41 20 B2
83 data 40 22 B2
84 job 40 23 A1
85 estimate 39 26 B2
86 intense 39 27 C1
87 invest 39 24 B2
88 locate 39 31 B2
89 principle 39 25 C1
90 revolution 39 19 B2
91 vehicle 39 10 B1
92 aspect 38 29 B2
93 communicate 38 20 B1
94 define 38 23 B2
95 specific 38 29 B2
96 trend 38 16 B1
97 interact 37 27 B2
98 reveal 37 29 B2
99 mental 36 17 B2
100 publish 36 21 B1
101 restrict 36 19 C1
102 aware 35 25 B2
103 eventual 35 29 C2
104 instance 35 28 B1
105 select 35 17 B1
106 emerge 34 27 B2
107 rely 34 26 B2
108 complex 33 25 B2
109 obvious 33 21 B1
110 author 32 18 B1
111 diverse 32 26 B2
112 issue 32 22 B1
113 link 32 24 B1
114 migrate 32 10 Off list
115 consist 31 27 B1
116 demonstrate 31 24 B2
117 detect 31 14 C1
118 previous 31 26 B1
119 sustain 31 18 C2
120 access 30 24 B1
121 decline 30 19 B2
122 distinct 30 21 C1
123 expand 30 24 B2
124 phenomenon 30 19 C1
125 status 30 11 C1
126 survey 30 16 B2
127 accurate 29 21 B1
128 colleague 29 25 A2
129 finance 29 19 B2
130 indicate 29 25 B2
131 positive 29 17 B1
132 apparent 28 24 B2
133 assist 28 18 B2
134 automate 28 9 Off list
135 compound 28 8 Off list
136 concept 28 24 B2
137 shift 28 18 B2
138 technique 28 24 B1
139 unique 28 24 B2
140 ensure 27 25 B2
141 scheme 27 11 B2
142 abandon 27 14 B2
143 abstract 26 7 B2
144 academy 26 17 Off list
145 accompany 26 12 B1
146 acquire 25 10 B2
147 adequate 25 15 B2
148 adjust 25 10 B2
149 aid 25 13 C1
150 alter 25 16 B2
151 alternative 25 19 B2
152 annual 24 13 B1
153 appreciate 24 11 B2
154 appropriate 24 18 B2
155 approximate 24 13 B2
156 assess 24 15 B2
157 assign 24 7 C1
158 assume 24 20 B2
159 attach 24 12 B1
160 attain 24 5 C1
161 attitude 23 18 B1
162 attribute 23 9 C2
163 authority 23 9 B2
164 capable 23 11 B2
165 capacity 23 10 B2
166 category 23 6 B2
167 channel 23 7 A2
168 circumstance 22 9 B2
169 cite 22 9 Off list
170 classic 22 18 B2
171 code 22 8 B2
172 comment 22 10 B1
173 component 22 12 C1
174 concentrate 22 18 B1
175 conclude 22 22 C1
176 conduct 22 21 B2
177 confer 21 9 Off list
178 conflict 21 11 B2
179 consequent 21 21 Off list
180 considerable 21 13 B1
181 constant 21 15 B2
182 consult 21 10 C1
183 contact 21 10 A2
184 context 21 16 B2
185 contrast 20 13 B2
186 convene 20 12 Off list
187 convince 20 18 B1
188 core 20 10 C2
189 corporate 20 7 C1
190 correspond 20 9 B2
191 couple 20 10 B1
192 crucial 20 17 B2
193 cycle 19 11 B1
194 debate 19 18 B2
195 derive 19 8 C1
196 despite 19 20 B1
197 device 19 11 B2
198 devote 19 8 B2
199 display 19 17 B1
200 distribute 19 13 B2
201 drama 19 26 B1
202 duration 19 8 C1
203 dynamic 19 7 B2
204 element 19 20 B2
205 eliminate 18 9 C1
206 emphasis 18 13 B2
207 enable 18 22 B2
208 encounter 18 10 B2
209 enormous 18 12 B1
210 equip 18 17 B2
211 equivalent 18 6 C1
212 erode 18 9 C2
213 error 18 9 B2
214 ethic 18 8 Off list
215 evaluate 18 13 C1
216 exclude 18 10 C1
217 exhibit 17 12 C1
218 explicit 17 6 C2
219 exploit 17 12 B2
220 export 17 10 B2
221 expose 17 15 B2
222 flexible 17 7 B2
223 foundation 17 8 C1
224 founded 17 17 B2
225 fund 17 15 C1
226 fundamental 17 21 C2
227 furthermore 16 12 B2
228 generate 16 17 B2
229 generation 16 18 B1
230 hence 16 9 C1
231 hypothesis 16 15 C2
232 identical 16 5 B2
233 ignorant 16 18 C2
234 illustrate 16 9 B2
235 implement 16 9 B2
236 implicate 16 10 Off list
237 implicit 16 2 C2
238 income 16 12 B2
239 inevitable 16 12 B2
240 initial 15 17 B1
241 initiate 15 12 C2
242 input 15 8 B2
243 insight 15 15 C1
244 instruct 15 11 C1
245 integrate 15 8 C1
246 internal 15 11 B2
247 interpret 15 17 B2
248 intervene 15 8 C2
249 isolate 15 12 Off list
250 labour 15 13 C1
251 layer 15 11 B2
252 logic 15 9 C1
253 manipulate 14 10 Off list
254 maximise 14 9 Off list
255 mechanism 14 11 C1
256 media 14 7 B2
257 medical 14 14 B2
258 medium 14 10 B1
259 minor 14 9 B2
260 mode 14 2 C1
261 monitor 14 12 B2
262 negate 14 14 Off list
263 nevertheless 13 16 B2
264 normal 13 16 A2
265 notion 13 12 C1
266 objective 13 17 B2
267 obtain 13 15 B2
268 occupy 13 12 B2
269 option 13 13 B1
270 outcome 13 12 C1
271 output 13 9 C2
272 overall 13 11 B2
273 partner 13 12 A2
274 percent 13 13 B1
275 perspective 13 10 C1
276 phase 13 9 B2
277 philosophy 13 12 B2
278 precede 13 10 C2
279 precise 13 19 B2
280 primary 13 17 B2
281 priority 12 9 B2
282 proceed 12 15 C1
283 professional 12 8 B1
284 promote 12 17 B1
285 proportion 12 16 C1
286 prospect 12 12 B2
287 pursue 12 9 C1
288 radical 12 12 C1
289 random 12 11 C1
290 react 12 21 B2
291 recover 12 8 B1
292 regulate 12 12 C1
293 reject 12 12 B2
294 relax 12 8 B1
295 release 12 17 B2
296 relevant 12 14 B2
297 remove 12 14 B1
298 reside 12 5 Off list
299 resolve 11 10 C1
300 retain 11 9 C2
301 revenue 11 3 C1
302 reverse 11 10 B2
303 route 11 14 B1
304 section 11 10 B1
305 sector 11 15 C1
306 secure 11 17 B2
307 seek 11 19 B2
308 series 11 19 B1
309 sole 11 10 C1
310 stable 11 13 C1
311 statistic 11 7 C1
312 stress 11 21 B1
313 style 11 15 B1
314 subsequent 11 10 C1
315 sufficient 11 18 B2
316 symbol 11 10 B2
317 target 11 15 B2
318 technical 11 18 B2
Appendix 2: Full list of 201 most frequent academic words in the IELTS Academic reading
papers at B2 and C1 levels
No. Headword Frequency Range CEFR
1 process 138 71 B2
2 evident 100 55 B2
3 major 99 63 B2
4 respond 80 39 B2
5 significant 79 57 B2
6 economy 76 37 B2
7 evolve 73 30 C1
8 factor 71 38 B2
9 impact 68 49 B2
10 psychology 66 25 B2
11 source 66 45 B2
12 focus 65 46 B2
13 identify 65 45 B2
14 survive 64 43 B2
15 construct 60 38 B2
16 intelligence 57 17 B2
17 consume 56 26 B2
18 function 56 34 B2
19 affect 54 34 B2
20 participate 54 23 B2
21 task 54 29 B2
22 tradition 54 34 B2
23 analyse 53 28 B2
24 vary 52 37 B2
25 decade 51 41 B2
26 institute 51 38 B2
27 potential 51 35 B2
28 adapt 49 32 B2
29 perceive 49 25 C1
30 resource 49 37 B2
31 occur 48 32 B2
32 establish 47 33 B2
33 facilitate 47 18 C1
34 image 47 25 B2
35 physical 47 31 B2
36 policy 46 27 B2
37 community 45 29 B2
38 chemical 44 21 B2
39 contribute 44 35 B2
40 investigate 44 34 B2
41 maintain 44 38 B2
42 dominate 43 20 B2
43 motive 42 20 B2
44 strategy 42 26 B2
45 feature 41 27 B2
46 network 41 20 B2
47 data 40 22 B2
48 estimate 39 26 B2
49 intense 39 27 C1
50 invest 39 24 B2
51 locate 39 31 B2
52 principle 39 25 C1
53 revolution 39 19 B2
54 aspect 38 29 B2
55 define 38 23 B2
56 specific 38 29 B2
57 interact 37 27 B2
58 reveal 37 29 B2
59 mental 36 17 B2
60 restrict 36 19 C1
61 aware 35 25 B2
62 emerge 34 27 B2
63 rely 34 26 B2
64 complex 33 25 B2
65 diverse 32 26 B2
66 demonstrate 31 24 B2
67 detect 31 14 C1
68 decline 30 19 B2
69 distinct 30 21 C1
70 expand 30 24 B2
71 phenomenon 30 19 C1
72 status 30 11 C1
73 survey 30 16 B2
74 finance 29 19 B2
75 indicate 29 25 B2
76 apparent 28 24 B2
77 assist 28 18 B2
78 concept 28 24 B2
79 shift 28 18 B2
80 unique 28 24 B2
81 ensure 27 25 B2
82 scheme 27 11 B2
83 abandon 27 14 B2
84 abstract 26 7 B2
85 acquire 25 10 B2
86 adequate 25 15 B2
87 adjust 25 10 B2
88 aid 25 13 C1
89 alter 25 16 B2
90 alternative 25 19 B2
91 appreciate 24 11 B2
92 appropriate 24 18 B2
93 approximate 24 13 B2
94 assess 24 15 B2
95 assign 24 7 C1
96 assume 24 20 B2
97 attain 24 5 C1
98 authority 23 9 B2
99 capable 23 11 B2
100 capacity 23 10 B2
101 category 23 6 B2
102 circumstance 22 9 B2
103 classic 22 18 B2
104 code 22 8 B2
105 component 22 12 C1
106 conclude 22 22 C1
107 conduct 22 21 B2
108 conflict 21 11 B2
109 constant 21 15 B2
110 consult 21 10 C1
111 context 21 16 B2
112 contrast 20 13 B2
113 corporate 20 7 C1
114 correspond 20 9 B2
115 crucial 20 17 B2
116 debate 19 18 B2
117 derive 19 8 C1
118 device 19 11 B2
119 devote 19 8 B2
120 distribute 19 13 B2
121 duration 19 8 C1
122 dynamic 19 7 B2
123 element 19 20 B2
124 eliminate 18 9 C1
125 emphasis 18 13 B2
126 enable 18 22 B2
127 encounter 18 10 B2
128 equip 18 17 B2
129 equivalent 18 6 C1
130 error 18 9 B2
131 evaluate 18 13 C1
132 exclude 18 10 C1
133 exhibit 17 12 C1
134 exploit 17 12 B2
135 export 17 10 B2
136 expose 17 15 B2
137 flexible 17 7 B2
138 foundation 17 8 C1
139 founded 17 17 B2
140 fund 17 15 C1
141 furthermore 16 12 B2
142 generate 16 17 B2
143 hence 16 9 C1
144 identical 16 5 B2
145 illustrate 16 9 B2
146 implement 16 9 B2
147 income 16 12 B2
148 inevitable 16 12 B2
149 input 15 8 B2
150 insight 15 15 C1
151 instruct 15 11 C1
152 integrate 15 8 C1
153 internal 15 11 B2
154 interpret 15 17 B2
155 labour 15 13 C1
156 layer 15 11 B2
157 logic 15 9 C1
158 mechanism 14 11 C1
159 media 14 7 B2
160 medical 14 14 B2
161 minor 14 9 B2
162 mode 14 2 C1
163 monitor 14 12 B2
164 nevertheless 13 16 B2
165 notion 13 12 C1
166 objective 13 17 B2
167 obtain 13 15 B2
168 occupy 13 12 B2
169 outcome 13 12 C1
170 overall 13 11 B2
171 perspective 13 10 C1
172 phase 13 9 B2
173 philosophy 13 12 B2
174 precise 13 19 B2
175 primary 13 17 B2
176 priority 12 9 B2
177 proceed 12 15 C1
178 proportion 12 16 C1
179 prospect 12 12 B2
180 pursue 12 9 C1
181 radical 12 12 C1
182 random 12 11 C1
183 react 12 21 B2
184 regulate 12 12 C1
185 reject 12 12 B2
186 release 12 17 B2
187 relevant 12 14 B2
188 resolve 11 10 C1
189 revenue 11 3 C1
190 reverse 11 10 B2
191 sector 11 15 C1
192 secure 11 17 B2
193 seek 11 19 B2
194 sole 11 10 C1
195 stable 11 13 C1
196 statistic 11 7 C1
197 subsequent 11 10 C1
198 sufficient 11 18 B2
199 symbol 11 10 B2
200 target 11 15 B2
201 technical 11 18 B2
Appendix 3: Full list of collocations in the IELTS Academic reading papers
Word Collocations
• adjective + process (noun): automatic, experimental, complicated,
alternative
• noun + process (noun): participation, evaluation, ageing,
process manufacturing, thinking
• adverb + evident (adjective): particularly, clealry
evident • verb + evident (adjective): become
• major (adjective) + noun: impact, challenge, contributors, impediment,
milestones, asset, strides, drawbacks, breakthroughs, distraction,
worry, outcomes, criticism, argument, components, distinctions,
contributions, difficulties, consequences, risks, threats, policies,
major developments, collection, trend, worry
• respond (verb) + preposition: to
respond • respond (verb) + adverb: appropriately
• significant (adjective) + noun: advances, downsides, role,
contributions, percentage, proportion, insights, barries, steps,
differences, features, aspects, evidence
• adverb + significant (adjective): vitally, statistically, potentially,
significant extremely, sspecially

economy • adjective + economy (noun): national, rural, political, global, advanced

evolve No proper collocations found in the corpus

• adjective + factor (noun): critical, crucial, cultural, economic,

factor environmental, key, main, major, political, relevant, significant

• adjective + impact (noun): direct, emotional, enormous,

environmental, major, positive, negative, profound, significant,
impact detrimental
 verb + impact (noun): make, downplay, exert
impact (noun) + preposition: on, of

psychology No proper collocations found in the corpus

• adjective + source (noun): alternative, common, external, key, main,

source major, original, potential, primary, principal, secondary
• adjective + focus (noun): central, clear, main, major, particular,
primary, specific
focus focus (verb) + proposition: on, of

identify • identify (verb) + noun: factors, features, (a) problem, (an) issue, (a) way
survive No proper collocations found in the corpus
construct No proper collocations found in the corpus
intelligence • adjective + intelligence: artificial, emotional
consume No proper collocations found in the corpus
• adjective + function (noun): basic, essential, main, primary, social,
specific
function verb + function (noun): perform, serve

• affect (verb) + noun: (the) development, (the outcome)

affect adverb + affect (verb): significantly, adversely, directly, severely
participate • participate (verb) + preposition: in
• adjective + task (noun): main, primary
task verb + task (noun): perform, carry out, complete
tradition • adjective + tradition (noun): cultural, western
analyse No proper collocations found in the corpus

vary • vary (verb) + adverb: greatly, significantly, considerably, widely

decade • adjective + decade: next, previous, following
 institute No proper collocations found in the corpus
• adjective + potential (noun): great, full
potential (adjective) + noun: benefits, customer, conflict, harm, impact,
potential problem, value
adapt • adapt (verb) + proposition: to
perceive No proper collocations found in the corpus
• verb + resource (noun): provide, allocate
adjective + resource (noun): available, economic, financial, learning,
resource limited, natural
occur No proper collocations found in the corpus
establish • establish (verb) + noun: (a) relationship, a (network)
facilitate • facilitate (verb) + noun: (the) development
image • adjective + image: public, visual, positive, dynamic, vivid
• physical (adjective) + noun: activity, contact, development,
physical environment, healthy, needs, world, properties, appearance
• adjective + policy (noun): public, educational, effective, environmental,
key, national, social, economic, current, foreign
noun + policy (noun): government, security
policy verb + policy (noun): make
• adjective + community (noun): scientific, local, rural, virtual, academic,
community ethnic, international
• chemical (adjective) + noun: reactions, compounds, fertiliser, sprays,
chemical use
• contribute (verb) + adverb: significantly
contribute contrbute (verb) + noun: (to the ) development
investigate No proper collocations found in the corpus
maintain • maintain (verb) + noun: contact, reputation, balance
dominate No proper collocations found in the corpus
 motive • motive (noun) + noun: force
• adjective + strategy (noun): alternative, coping
strategy • verb + strategy (noun): have, develop, use
• adjective + feature (noun): characteristic, common, defining,
distinctive, distinguishing, essential, general, key, main, particular,
feature prominent, salient, significant, striking
• adjective + network (noun): global, professional
network • verb + network (noun): develop, establish
• adjective + data (noun): historical, empirical, experimental, missing,
numerical, original, preliminary, primary, qualitative, quantitative, raw,
reliable, relevant, secondary, statistical
data • verb + data (noun): store, record, transmit, use, collect, extract, gather
estimate No proper collocations found in the corpus
intense No proper collocations found in the corpus
invest No proper collocations found in the corpus
locate No proper collocations found in the corpus
• adjective + principle (noun): basic, established, fundamental, general,
principle key, main, moral, underlying
revolution No proper collocations found in the corpus
• adjective + aspect (noun): certain, cultural, fundamental, general, key,
aspect negative, particular, positive, social, technical, specific
define No proper collocations found in the corpus
specific • adverb + specific (adjective): culturally, historically
interact No proper collocations found in the corpus
reveal No proper collocations found in the corpus
mental • mental (adjective) + noun: health, illness, state
restrict No proper collocations found in the corpus
aware • adverb + aware (adjective): fully, increasingly, keenly, well
 emerge No proper collocations found in the corpus
rely • rely (verb) + adverb: heavily (on)
• complex(adjective) + noun: interaction, issue, pattern,s problem,
complex relationship, process, question, situation, system, structure
diverse • adverb + complex (adjective): extremely, highly, increasingly
demonstrate No proper collocations found in the corpus
detect No proper collocations found in the corpus
decline No proper collocations found in the corpus
distinct • distinct (adjective) + noun: group, difference, type
expand • expand (verb) + adverb: rapidly,
phenomenon • adjective + phenomenon (noun): social
• adjective + status (noun): socioeconomic, equal, high, legal, political,
status professional, low, social
• adjective + survey (noun): national, recent
survey • verb + survey (noun): conduct
finance No proper collocations found in the corpus
indicate No proper collocations found in the corpus
• adverb + apparent (adjective): particularly, immediately, readily
apparent • verb + apparent (adjective): become
assist No proper collocations found in the corpus
concept • adjective + concept (noun): key, theoretical, abstract, basic, central
shift • adjective + shift (noun): major, global, significant,
• unique (adjective) + noun: position, opprtunity
unique unique (adjective) + preposition: to
ensure No proper collocations found in the corpus
scheme No proper collocations found in the corpus
abandon No proper collocations found in the corpus
abstract • abstract (adjective) + noun: concept
 acquire • acquire (verb) + noun: knowledge
adequate No proper collocations found in the corpus
adjust No proper collocations found in the corpus
aid No proper collocations found in the corpus
alter No proper collocations found in the corpus
• alternative (adjective) + noun: way, source, view, strategy, approach,
alternative form, explanation, method, solution, model
appreciate No proper collocations found in the corpus
• appropriate (adjective) + noun: behavior, conditions, language,
appropriate response, skills, treatment, settings
approximate No proper collocations found in the corpus
assess • assess (verb) + noun: (the) impact
assign No proper collocations found in the corpus
assume • assume (verb) + noun: (the role), responsibility
attain No proper collocations found in the corpus
• adjective + authority (noun): central, local, public , political
authority • verb + authority (noun): exercise
capable No proper collocations found in the corpus
capacity • adjective + capacity (noun): limited
category • adjective + category (noun): main, general, broad
• adjective + circumstance (noun): historical, exceptional, changing, local,
circumstance personal, social, special
classic • classic (adjective) + noun: example, study, work
code No proper collocations found in the corpus
• adjective + component (noun): basic, essential, fundamental,
component individual, key
conclude No proper collocations found in the corpus
conduct • conduct (verb) + noun: survey, study, analysis, interview, research
 conflict • adjective + conflict (n): internal, political, social
• adverb + constant (adjective): relatively
constant • verb + constant (adjective): remain
consult No proper collocations found in the corpus
• adjective + context (n): broader, cultural, economic, global, historial,
context international orginal, wider, specific, present
contrast • adjective + contrast (n): marked, sharp, stark, striking
corporate No proper collocations found in the corpus
correspond No proper collocations found in the corpus
• crucial (adjective) + noun: factor, importance, part, point, question,
crucial role
• adjective + debate (n): academic, considerable, contemporary, heated,
debate political, public, ongoing, academic
derive No proper collocations found in the corpus
device No proper collocations found in the corpus
devote No proper collocations found in the corpus
distribute No proper collocations found in the corpus
duration • adjective + duration (noun): long, short, maximum
dynamic • dynamic (adjective) + noun: nature, equilibrium, process, system
• adjective + element (noun): constituent, essential, core, individual, key,
element basic, main, structural
eliminate No proper collocations found in the corpus
• verb + emphasis (noun): give, shift
• adjective + emphasis (noun): greater, increasig, particular, special,
emphasis strong
enable No proper collocations found in the corpus
encounter • encounter (verb) + noun: difficulties, problems
equip No proper collocations found in the corpus
 • adjective + equivalent (adjective): roughly
equivalent • equivalent (adjective) + preposition: to, of
error • adjective + error (noun): random, standard, common
evaluate • adverb + evaluate (verb): critically
exclude No proper collocations found in the corpus
exhibit No proper collocations found in the corpus
exploit No proper collocations found in the corpus
export No proper collocations found in the corpus
expose No proper collocations found in the corpus
flexible • flexible (adjective) + noun: approach
foundation • verb + foundation (noun): provide
founded No proper collocations found in the corpus
fund • adjective + fund (noun): public
furthermore No proper collocations found in the corpus
generate No proper collocations found in the corpus
hence No proper collocations found in the corpus
identical • adverb + identical (adjective): almost
illustrate No proper collocations found in the corpus
implement No proper collocations found in the corpus
income • adjective + incom e(noun): low, national, total, disposable, middle, high
inevitable No proper collocations found in the corpus
input No proper collocations found in the corpus
• verb + insight (noun): gain, give, offer, provide
insight • adjective + insoght (noun): new, profound
instruct No proper collocations found in the corpus
integrate No proper collocations found in the corpus
internal • internal (adjective) + noun: conflict, control, market, structure
interpret No proper collocations found in the corpus
 • adjective + labour (noun: cheap, intellectual, insufficient
labour • noun + labour (noun): wage, child
layer No proper collocations found in the corpus
logic No proper collocations found in the corpus
• adjective + mechanism (noun): complex,
mechanism • noun + mechanism (noun): survival, management
• adjective + media (noun): digital, eletronic, global, national visual,
media popular
medical • medical (adjective) + noun: treatment, assistance
minor • minor (adjective) + noun: role, change
mode No proper collocations found in the corpus
monitor No proper collocations found in the corpus
nevertheless No proper collocations found in the corpus
notion No proper collocations found in the corpus
• adjective + objective (noun): key, primary, strategic
objective • verb + objective (noun): achieve, meet, set
obtain • obtain (verb) + noun: information, result
occupy No proper collocations found in the corpus
• adjective + outcome (noun): desired, final, likely, postive, negative,
possible
• noun + outcome (noun): learning
outcome • verb + outcome (n): achieve, affect
• overall (adjective) + noun: aim, effect, level, performance, structure,
overall picture
• adjective + perspective (noun): historical, new, cultural, theoretical,
perspective critical, global
phase • adjective + phase (noun): first, initial, next, final
philosophy No proper collocations found in the corpus
 precise • precise (adjective) + noun: amount, analysis, measurements, targets
• primary (adjective) + noun: aim, concern, reason, cause, factor, source,
primary focus, purpose
priority No proper collocations found in the corpus
proceed No proper collocations found in the corpus
proportion • adjective + proportion (noun): small, high, increasing, large, significant
prospect • adjective + prospect (noun): future
pursue No proper collocations found in the corpus
radical • radical (adjective) + noun: change, transformation
random No proper collocations found in the corpus
react No proper collocations found in the corpus
regulate No proper collocations found in the corpus
reject No proper collocations found in the corpus
release No proper collocations found in the corpus
• adverb + relevnt (adjective): highly, particularly
relevant • relevant (adjective) + noun: data, information, factors,
resolve • resolve (verb) + noun: dispute, conflict
revenue No proper collocations found in the corpus
reverse No proper collocations found in the corpus
• adjective + sector (noun): economic, manufacturing, private, public,
sector state
secure No proper collocations found in the corpus
seek • seek (verb) + noun: information, help
sole No proper collocations found in the corpus
stable • verb + stable (adjective): remain
statistic • verb + statistic (noun): use
subsequent • subsequent + noun: generations, development
sufficient • sufficient (adjective) + noun: detail, evidence, information, resources
symbol No proper collocations found in the corpus
target • verb + taget (noun): meet, set
technical • technical (adjective)+ noun: assistance, expertise, support, knowledge