180 Part 3 Accuracy in writing

Adjective Noun Verb

achievable achievement achieve

acquired acquisition acquire
analytical analysis analyse
contributory contribution/ contributor contribute
creative creation create
definitive definition define
derived derivation derive
distributive distribution/ distributor distribute
emphatic emphasis emphasise
evaluative evaluation evaluate
hypothetical hypothesis hypothesise
indicative indication/ indicator indicate
interpretative interpretation interpret
invested investment invest
predictive prediction/ predictor predict
reliable reliability rely
responsive response respond
significant significance signify
synthetic synthesis synthesise
variable variation/ variable vary

(d) The first computer was creat________________ during the

second world war.
(e) Researchers frequently need to ask hypoth________________
questions.
(f) She invest________________ all her capital in the business.
(g) The company puts emph________________ on the
reliab________________ of its products.
(h) The essays were evaluat________________ in terms of content
and accuracy.
(i) Nylon was one of the first syn________________ fabrics in
common use.
(j) Gandhi made a significant cont________________ to Indian
history.
 181 3.2 Academic vocabulary

1EEE 3 Practice B
2
3 I Complete each sentence with a suitable word from the table on p. 180.
4
5 (a) The experiment’s results were confusing; each researcher
6 had her own ______________________________.
7 (b) The word ‘algebra’ is ______________________________ from
8 Arabic.
9
10 (c) They received the Nobel Prize for their
1 ______________________________ in developing a new vaccine.
2 (d) Dr Wagner published the ______________________________ work
EEE3 on South Asian snakes last year.
4
5 (e) Over 3,500 questionnaires were
62222 ______________________________ in terms of social class.
7 (f) Three ______________________________ need to be considered
82 when forecasting an economic upturn.
9
20
1 4 Academic adjectives
2
3 The following adjectives are best understood and learnt as opposites:
4
5EEE absolute relative
6 abstract concrete
7 logical illogical
8 metaphorical literal
9 precise vague or approximate or rough
30 rational irrational
1 relevant irrelevant
2 subjective objective
3 theoretical practical or empirical or pragmatic
4
5
6 Inflation is an abstract concept.
7
The metaphorical use of the word ‘key’ is probably more
8
common than its literal one.
9
40 The study of engineering is very relevant to architecture.
1
Her study of women in education was criticised for being too
2
subjective.
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In Europe, empirical research began in the sixteenth century.
182 Part 3 Accuracy in writing

5 Practice C
I Complete each sentence with a suitable adjective from the table in (4).

(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.

䉴 See Unit 3.6 Nouns and adjectives

6 Formality in verbs
Academic writing tends to use rather formal verbs to express the writer’s
meaning accurately:

In the last decade the pace of change accelerated.

Could Darwin have envisaged the controversy his work has
caused?

In spoken English we are more likely to use ‘speed up’ and ‘imagined’.

I Study the list below and find a synonym in each case.

(Some of these verbs e.g. ‘hold’ are used in academic writing with a special
meaning.)
 183 3.2 Academic vocabulary

1EEE Verb Example of use

2
3 to adapt the health system has been adapted from France
4 to arise a similar situation arises when we look at younger children
5 to conduct the largest study was conducted in Finland
6 to characterise developing countries are characterised by . . .
7 to clarify the project was designed to clarify these contradictions
8 to concentrate on that study concentrated on older children
9 to be concerned with the programme is concerned primarily with . . .
10 to demonstrate further research has demonstrated that few factors . . .
1 to determine the water content was experimentally determined
2 to discriminate a failure to discriminate between the two species
EEE3 to establish the northern boundary was established first
4 to exhibit half of the patients exhibited signs of improvement
5 to focus on her work focused on female managers
62222 to generate a question which has generated a range of responses
7 to hold Newton’s second Law, F=ma, holds everywhere
82 to identify three main areas have been identified
9 to imply his absence implies a lack of interest
20 to interact understand how the two systems interact
1 to interpret the result can be interpreted as a limited success
2 to manifest as manifested in anti-social behaviour
3 to overcome both difficulties were overcome in the first week
4 to propose they propose that social class is the main factor
5EEE to prove the use of solar power is proving successful
6 to recognise he is now recognised as a leading expert
7 to relate to the pattern was related to both social and physical factors
8 to supplement the diet was supplemented with calcium and iodine
9 to undergo the system underwent major changes in the 1980s
30 to yield both surveys yielded mixed results
1
2
3
4 Students wishing to develop their academic vocabulary should study the
5 Academic Word List (AWL). This is a list of 570 items commonly found
6 in academic texts across various disciplines, created by Averil Coxhead.
7
8 See Sandra Haywood’s website for information about the AWL, with
9 further practice exercises: http://nottingham.ac.uk/~alzsh3/acvocab/
40
1 @ Academic vocabulary>
2
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