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Academic Word List Exercises

Learn 570 Essential Words for IELTS

These exercises on the academic word list are designed to improve your knowledge of vocabulary for the IELTS test. 

Start Learning the Words

The AWL consists of 570 word families, and these words are the most common words to be found in academic texts. 

This is why they are so useful to learn if you are studying for tests like IELTS where your level of vocabulary can affect your score.

Sublist 1 contains the most common words that are in the Academic Word List, sublist 2 contains the next most common, and so on.

The words shown on this page below are just the headwords. If you download the full academic word list, you can see that there are many variations of each word according to whether you are using it as a noun, verb, adjective etc.

There are a total of 60 word families in each sublist, apart from sublist 10 which has 30.

About the Academic Word List Exercises

In order to make your learning of the words structured, each academic word list has been divided into sets of 10 words. Each set of exercises then focuses on just those 10 words.

When you are confident you know them, you can move onto the next 10.

Before you start learning them it is important to understand that recognizing the words and actually using them are two very different skills, the first one being much easier than the second.

Lets look at an example using the first word on the academic word list, analyse:

Analyse

  • analysed
  • analyser
  • analysers
  • analyses
  • analysing
  • analysis
  • analyst
  • analysts
  • analytic
  • analytical
  • analytically
  • analyse
  • analysed
  • analyses
  • analysing

If you learn the word analyse and its meaning and are aware of the other word forms, then you may well understand the meaning of the word when you read it, whichever form it is in.

However, knowing which one to use when you are writing is a much more difficult skill and will take a lot more practice and time to master!

These academic word list exercises will help you to get to know the words, but you will need to work on your own as well. No website will be a substitute for actually practicing the words when you are writing and checking your usage.

And an important thing to do whenever you learn a new word from the academic word list or elsewhere is to learn which words it collocates with.

And the number one rule with vocabulary - only use words in the test that you are confident you know how to use!

Or you are at least confident you understand its meaning and where it can be used - a few errors in word form are ok in the test if you are not looking for a top score as you will be given some credit for using less common words.

However, you may find you actually lower your band score if you try to use lots of clever vocabulary but you are not using it properly or making lots of word form errors!

This will only confuse the examiner when they read your work. Try to keep improving your vocabulary, but when it comes to the test, stick with what you know and are confident with!

Sublist 1

Practice words 1-10 Practice words 11-20 Practice words 21-30 Practice words 31-40 Practice words 41-50 Practice words 51-60
analyse
approach
area
assess
assume
authority
available
benefit
concept
consist
constitutional
context
contract
create
data
definition
derived
distribution
economic
environment
established
estimate
evidence
export
factors
financial
formula
function
identified
income
indicate
individual
interpretation
involved
issues
labour
legal
legislation
major
method
occur
percent
period
policy
principle
procedure
process
required
research
response
role
section
sector
significant
similar
source
specific
structure
theory
variable

Sublist 2

Practice words 1-10 Practice words 11-20 Practice words 21-30 Practice words 31-40 Practice words 41-50 Practice words 51-60
achieve
acquisition
administration
affect
appropriate
aspects
assistance
categories
chapter
commission
community
complex
computer
conclusion
conduct
consequences
construction
consumer
credit
cultural
design
distinction
elements
equation
evaluation
features
final
focus
impact
injury
institute
invest
items
journal
maintain
normal
obtain
participate
perceive
positive
potential
previous
primary
purchase
range
region
regulations
relevant
resident
resource
restrict
secure
seekt
select
site
strategy
survey
text
tradition
transfer

Sublist 3

Practice words 1-10 Practice words 11-20 Practice words 21-30 Practice words 31-40 Practice words 41-50 Practice words 51-60
alternative
circumstance
comment
compensate
component
consent
considerable
constant
constrain
contribute

convene
coordinate
core
corporate
correspond
criteria
deduce
demonstrate
document
dominate

emphasis
ensure
exclude
framework
fund
illustrate
immigrate
imply
initial instance

interact
justify
layer
link
locate
maximise
minor
negate
outcome
partner

philosophy
physical
proportion
publish
react
register
rely
remove
scheme
sequence

sex
shift
specify
sufficient
task
technical
technique
technology
valid
volume

Sublist 4

Practice words 1-10 Practice words 11-20 Practice words 21-30 Practice words 31-40 Practice words 41-50 Practice words 51-60

access
adequate
annual
apparent
approximate
attitude
attribute
civil
code
commit

communicate
concentrate
confer
contrast
cycle
debate
despite
dimension
domestic
emerge

error
ethnic
goal
grant
hence
hypothesis
implement
implicate
impose
integrate

internal
investigate
job
label
mechanism
obvious
occupy
option
output
overall

parallel
parameter
phase
predict
principal
prior
professional
project
promote
regime

resolve
retain
series
statistic
status
stress
subsequent
sum
summary
undertake

Sublist 5

Practice words 1-10 Practice words 11-20 Practice words 21-30 Practice words 31-40 Practice words 41-50 Practice words 51-60

academy
adjust
alter
amend
aware
capacity
challenge
clause
compound
conflict

consult
contact
decline
discrete
draft
enable
energy
enforce
entity
equivalent

evolve
expand
expose
external
facilitate
fundamental
generate
generation
image
liberal

license
logic
margin
medical
mental
modify
monitor
network
notion
objective

orient
perspective
precise
prime
psychology
pursue
ratio
reject
revenue
stable

style
substitute
sustain
symbol
target
transit
trend
version
welfare
whereas

Sublist 6

Practice words 1-10 Practice words 11-20 Practice words 21-30 Practice words 31-40 Practice words 41-50 Practice words 51-60

abstract
accurate
acknowledge
aggregate
allocate
assign
attach
author
bond
brief

capable
cite
cooperate
discriminate
display
diverse
domain
edit
enhance
estate

exceed
expert
explicit
federal
fee
flexible
furthermore
gender
ignorant
incentive

incidence
incorporate
index
inhibit
initiate
input
instruct
intelligence
interval
lecture

migrate
minimum
ministry
motive
neutral
nevertheless
overseas
precede
presume
rational

recover
reveal
scope
subsidy
tape
trace
transform
transport
underlie
utilize

Sublist 7

Practice words 1-10 Practice words 11-20 Practice words 21-30 Practice words 31-40 Practice words 41-50 Practice words 51-60

adapt
adult
advocate
aid
channel
chemical
classic
comprehensive
comprise
confirm

contrary
convert
couple
decade
definite
deny
differentiate
dispose
dynamic
eliminate

empirical
equip
extract
file
finite
foundation
globe
grade
guarantee
hierarchy

identical
ideology
infer
innovate
insert
intervene
isolate
media
mode
paradigm

phenomenon
priority
prohibit
publish
quote
release
reverse
simulate
sole
somewhat

submit
successor
survive
thesis
topic
transmit
ultimate
unique
visible
voluntary

Sublist 8

Practice words 1-10 Practice words 11-20 Practice words 21-30 Practice words 31-40 Practice words 41-50 Practice words 51-60

abandon
accompany
accumulate
ambiguous
append
appreciate
arbitrary
automate
bias
chart

clarify
commodity
complement
conform
contemporary
contradict
crucial
currency
denote
detect

deviate
displace
drama
eventual
exhibit
exploit
fluctuate
guideline
highlight
implicit

induce
inevitable
infrastructure
inspect
intense
manipulate
minimize
nuclear
offset
paragraph

plus
practitioner
predominant
prospect
radical
random
reinforce
restore
revise
schedule

tense
terminate
theme
thereby
uniform
vehicle
via
virtual
visual
widespread

Sublist 9

Practice words 1-10 Practice words 11-20 Practice words 21-30 Practice words 31-40 Practice words 41-50 Practice words 51-60

accommodate
analogy
anticipate
assure
attain
behalf
bulk
cease
coherent
coincide

commence
compatible
concurrent
confine
controversy
converse
device
devote
diminish
distort

duration
erode
ethic
format
found
inherent
insight
integral
intermediate
manual

mature
mediate
medium
military
minimal
mutual
norm
overlap
passive
portion

preliminary
protocol
qualitative
refine
relax
restrain
revolution
rigid
route
scenario

sphere
subordinate
supplement
suspend
team
temporary
trigger
unify
violate
vision

Sublist 10

Practice words 1-10 Practice words 11-20 Practice words 21-30

adjacent
albeit
assemble
collapse
colleague
compile
conceive
convince
depress
encounter

enormous
forthcoming
incline
integrity
intrinsic
invoke
levy
likewise
nonetheless
notwithstanding

odd
ongoing
panel
persist
pose
reluctance
so-called
straightforward
undergo
whereby

 


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