Student

Learningentre PREPOSITIONS IN
C ACADEMIC WRITING
A preposition is a noun and can be defined as “any member of a class of words found in many languages that are used
before nouns, pronouns, or other substantives to form phrases functioning as modifiers of verbs, nouns, or adjectives,
and that typically express a spatial, temporal, or other relationship, as in, on, by, to, since.” www.dictionary.com, viewed
4 July 2013

The following prepositions are the ones most commonly used in academic writing. You may like to add to the list as you
come across more prepositions in your own reading.
ABOUT/CONCERNING FOR • in . . . font
• in . . . format
• comments about • adequate for • an improvement in
• a conference about • to apply for something • inherent in
• data about • appropriate for
• a debate about • interested in
• available for • involved in
• issues about
• a lecture about • a capacity for someone • to have instruction in
• legislation about • a challenge for someone • intrinsic in
• a policy about • compensation for • to invest in
• research about • a contract for • current issues in
• statistics about • criteria for • to be involved in
• a theory about • difficult for someone to do • in a . . . manner
• a thesis about something • to occur in
• to w orry about • imperative for someone to do • participation in
something • persistent in -ing
AGAINST • to have implications for • proficiency in something
• an incentive for -ing • in . . . region
• discriminated against
• a justification for • to conduct research in
• a mechanism for -ing • resident in
AS • a need for • a revolution in
• to conceive of something as • an option of someone • to have a role in doing something
• to emerge as • to prepare someone for • . . . in scope
• to identify someone/something as - • a problem for someone • in the first semester
ing • problematic for someone • a shift in
• to perceive something as • responsible for • significant in
• its status as • scope for • in a topic
• strategies for • to have training in something
AT • to be suitable for
• a tendency for someone to do
• at the end of the semester something
INTO
• to estimate something at • for a year (e.g. statistics for 2004) • to conduct research into
• at fault • integration into
• at a university FROM • an investigation into
• at a/the x level
• derived from
• a deviation from
OF
BETWEEN
• to discourage someone from doing • accused of
• a comparison betw een something • an analysis of something
• a connection betw een • excluded from • to analyse something
• a contrast betw een • protected from • ashamed of
• a differentiation betw een • removed from • an aw areness of
• a distinction betw een • on behalf of
• an interaction betw een IN • capable of -ing
• a partnership betw een • composed of something
• in the area of • to conceive of something (as)
BY • in conformity w ith • constraints of
• in a university department • critical of
• allocation by • to engage in • a definition of something
• follow ed by • an error in
• offset by • to have experience in
• preceded by • in . . . field/sphere
• to fill in
Prepositions 11/2012 © SLC 1 of 2
• to define something • a questionnaire on • proportionate to
• evidence of • a reliance on • a reaction to
• an extract of • to rely on • related to
• a fear of something • to do research on • relevant to
• a guarantee of • to put/lay stress on someone/to stress • reluctant to
• an implication of something • resistant to
• the importance of • a thesis on • restricted to
• an incidence of • significant to
• an indication of TO • similar to
• indicative of something / to indicate • specific to
something • to have access to • subordinate to
• of interest to • accustomed to • subsequent to
• an instance of • adjacent to • supplementary to
• issues of • an adjustment to something • to transfer to
• a limitation of • to adjust something
• to make use of • allocate something to WITH
• an objective of • an amendment to something
• on the part of • to amend something • to agree w ith
• proud of • analogous to • to argue w ith something about
• of relevance to • to be apparent to something something
• the scope of • to apply to something • associated w ith
• a source of • an approach to • to coincide w ith
• the status of • appropriate to (do) something • compared w ith
• a survey of • an alternative to • (in)compatible w ith
• a theory of • an attitude to/tow ards • concurrent w ith
• to be unaw are of • a challenge to something • in conformity w ith
• (in) violation of • to challenge something • to be consistent w ith
• a vision of • a commitment to • to deal w ith
• committed to • familiar w ith
ON • confined to • to identify w ith someone/something
• to consent to • interaction w ith
• on average • a contribution to • partnership w ith
• on a . . . basis • corresponding to • to provide someone w ith something
• (to) comment on • devoted to • satisfied w ith
• a concentration on • due to
• to have an effect on something • equivalent to
• to affect something • exposure to
• an emphasis on something • external to something
• to emphasise something • fundamental to
• (to) focus on • grateful to
• (to) impact on • important to something
• imposed on
• identical to
• information on
• inherent to
• a lecture on
• intrinsic to
• a levy on
• know n/unknow n to
• to major on
• to object to
• a perspective on
• obvious to
• to prevail on something to do
• prior to
something
• to answ er questions on

These w ords are mostly taken from Cox head, A, The academic word list, v iew ed 21 June 2005, <http://massey .ac.nz/staff/aw l/sublists.shtml>.
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Prepositions 11/2012 © SLC 2 of 2