If most of your English instruction and practice so far have focused on English for conversational situations (such as traveling, shopping, giving and asking for directions, narrating daily activities, and sharing explanations or personal stories), you might feel overwhelmed by the terms you find in your academic reading and in class discussions. You might feel that your own English vocabulary needs to grow before you can fully express your academic knowledge in writing.

Although it is possible—and often preferable—to learn academic vocabulary in the context of your readings and class discussions, you can get a head start by becoming familiar with the words in the Academic Word List. The Academic Word List, compiled by a linguist, contains almost six hundred of the most frequently used academic English words. (The chart below presents the sixty most commonly used words; you can find the complete list online at the URL in the chart.)

Because you will encounter these words regularly in textbooks and in class, it’s a good idea to familiarize yourself with them early in your college experience.