Academic Word List: Set 1

Level: C1. The Academic Word List (AWL) is a set of 570 word families that appear often in academic writing across all subjects but are not part of the most common everyday English. This page is Set 1: sublists 1 to 5 — the half of the list that occurs most frequently. Learn these before Set 2, because you will meet them in almost every essay, lecture and textbook.

By the end of this page you can…

…recognise and use the most frequent AWL words, read each one as a word family rather than a single form, and place it correctly in an academic sentence.

What the AWL is and how it is split

The AWL was compiled by Averil Coxhead at Victoria University of Wellington in 2000 from a large corpus of academic texts. It contains 570 word families arranged in 10 sublists, ordered by how often they appear: sublist 1 is the most frequent, sublist 10 the least. Nine sublists contain 60 families each; sublist 10 contains 30.

We split the list into two pages so each is a manageable study set. Set 1 (this page) is sublists 1 to 5 — the 300 most frequent families. Set 2 is sublists 6 to 10. The tables below group words by sublist, and each row shows the sublist number so you can see exactly where a word sits in the frequency order. We show a representative core of about a dozen headwords per sublist; the full list is on the Victoria University of Wellington site.

Sublist 1 — the most frequent academic words

Sublist	Word	Meaning	Example
1	analyse	to examine something in detail	We analyse the results in Section 4.
1	approach	a way of dealing with a task or problem	The study takes a comparative approach.
1	assess	to judge the quality or value of	We assess each method against the data.
1	concept	an abstract or general idea	The concept of fairness is central here.
1	context	the wider situation around something	Read the finding in its full context.
1	data	facts and figures collected for study	The data were gathered over two years.
1	establish	to set up firmly; to show to be true	The trial established a clear link.
1	factor	one thing that affects a result	Cost is the main factor in the delay.
1	indicate	to point to; to be a sign of	The figures indicate a rising trend.
1	method	a planned way of doing something	The method is set out below.
1	significant	large or important enough to matter	The difference was statistically significant.
1	source	where information comes from	Each claim is tied to a source.

Sublist 2

Sublist	Word	Meaning	Example
2	achieve	to reach a goal through effort	The programme achieved its main aim.
2	affect	to have an influence on something	Weather can affect the final yield.
2	aspect	one part or feature of something	We focus on the social aspect here.
2	conclude	to decide after reasoning; to end	We conclude that the policy works.
2	consequent	following as a result	The delay and its consequent costs rose.
2	distinct	clearly different or separate	The two groups are distinct in age.
2	element	a basic part of a whole	Trust is a key element of the model.
2	evaluate	to judge the value or quality of	We evaluate three possible models.
2	impact	a strong effect on something	The reform had a clear impact on fees.
2	maintain	to keep in the same state; to assert	The author maintains that the data are weak.
2	range	the limits between which things vary	Scores ranged from low to very high.
2	relevant	directly connected to the matter	Only relevant data are included.

Sublist 3

Sublist	Word	Meaning	Example
3	alternative	another choice or possibility	We consider an alternative explanation.
3	circumstance	a condition that affects a situation	The result holds under these circumstances.
3	contribute	to give a part toward a result	Several factors contribute to the problem.
3	demonstrate	to show clearly with evidence	The trial demonstrates a real benefit.
3	emphasis	special importance given to something	The report places emphasis on safety.
3	ensure	to make certain something happens	We ensure the sample is representative.
3	framework	a basic structure of ideas or rules	We use a simple theoretical framework.
3	illustrate	to make clear with an example	Figure 2 illustrates the pattern.
3	imply	to suggest without stating directly	This implies a deeper structural problem.
3	justify	to show something is reasonable	The cost is hard to justify on these figures.
3	outcome	a result or consequence	The main outcome was a fall in demand.
3	sufficient	enough for a purpose	The evidence is not sufficient to decide.

Sublist 4

Sublist	Word	Meaning	Example
4	access	the right or means to reach or use	Students have access to the archive.
4	adequate	enough; good enough	The funding was adequate but not generous.
4	apparent	clearly seen; seeming	The cause was not apparent at first.
4	contrast	a clear difference between things	In contrast, the control group improved.
4	emerge	to come out or become known	A clear pattern emerged from the data.
4	hypothesis	a proposed explanation to be tested	Our hypothesis was not supported.
4	implement	to put a plan into action	The council implemented the new rule.
4	integrate	to combine parts into a whole	We integrate both data sets in Section 5.
4	investigate	to examine carefully for facts	We investigate why the effect fades.
4	predict	to say what will happen in advance	The model predicts a slow decline.
4	resolve	to settle or find a solution	The study does not resolve the debate.
4	subsequent	coming after in time or order	Subsequent trials confirmed the result.

Sublist 5

Sublist	Word	Meaning	Example
5	adjust	to change slightly to fit a purpose	We adjust the figures for inflation.
5	aware	knowing or noticing something	Readers should be aware of this limit.
5	capacity	the amount something can hold or do	The system is at full capacity.
5	conflict	a serious disagreement or clash	The two findings are in conflict.
5	decline	to decrease; to refuse politely	Membership declined over the decade.
5	enable	to make something possible	The grant enabled a larger survey.
5	expand	to make or become larger	The study expands on earlier work.
5	external	on the outside; from outside	External factors shaped the outcome.
5	generate	to produce or create	The model generates testable claims.
5	modify	to change something partly	We modify the standard equation slightly.
5	perspective	a particular way of viewing things	The paper offers a fresh perspective.
5	sustain	to keep going over time; to support	The growth was hard to sustain.

Example sentences

Play each line, then say it aloud. These show Set 1 words in essay-style patterns.

We analyse the survey results in the next section.

analyse (sublist 1): examine in detail.
The study takes a comparative approach.

approach (sublist 1): a way of doing the work.
Each claim is tied to a reliable source.

source (sublist 1): where information comes from.
The difference was statistically significant.

significant (sublist 1): large enough to matter.
Cost is the main factor behind the delay.

factor (sublist 1): one thing that affects a result.
Weather can affect the final yield.

affect (sublist 2): to influence (verb).
We evaluate three possible models in turn.

evaluate (sublist 2): judge the value of.
Only relevant data are included in the table.

relevant (sublist 2): connected to the topic.
We conclude that the policy works.

conclude (sublist 2): decide after reasoning.
We use a simple theoretical framework.

framework (sublist 3): a structure of ideas.
Figure 2 illustrates the pattern clearly.

illustrate (sublist 3): make clear with an example.
This implies a deeper structural problem.

imply (sublist 3): suggest without stating.
The evidence is not sufficient to decide.

sufficient (sublist 3): enough for the purpose.
A clear pattern emerged from the data.

emerge (sublist 4): become known.
Our hypothesis was not supported by the trial.

hypothesis (sublist 4): a testable explanation.
The council implemented the new rule in May.

implement (sublist 4): put a plan into action.
Subsequent trials confirmed the result.

subsequent (sublist 4): coming after.
The grant enabled a far larger survey.

enable (sublist 5): make possible.
External factors shaped the outcome.

external (sublist 5): from outside.
The rapid growth was hard to sustain.

sustain (sublist 5): keep going over time.

Recap cheat-sheet

A few patterns to remember before the quiz.

Cheat sheet: Academic Word List Set 1, sublists 1 to 5 with example words

Quick recap before the quiz.

Point	Example
Set 1 = sublists	1 to 5 (most frequent)
learn the family	analyse, analysis, analytical
affect vs effect	affect = verb, effect = noun
irregular plural	hypothesis to hypotheses

Practice

AWL Set 1 practice

Try each one, then press Check. No sign-up, nothing is sent anywhere — it all runs in your browser.

1 Match each word with its meaning.

analyse Match for analyse
factor Match for factor
framework Match for framework
sustain Match for sustain

Show answer

analyse → examine in detail
factor → one thing that affects a result
framework → a structure of ideas
sustain → keep going over time

These headwords come from sublists 1, 1, 3 and 5.

2 Choose the verb: Bad weather can ____ the harvest.

Hint: to influence (verb)

Show answer

affect — Affect is the verb; effect is usually the noun.

3 The evidence is not ____ to settle the question.

Hint: enough for the purpose

Show answer

sufficient — Sufficient (sublist 3) means enough.

4 Which word means an explanation to be tested? outcome hypothesis context capacity

Show answer

hypothesis — A hypothesis is a proposed explanation to be tested.

5 Pick the correct plural of hypothesis. hypothesises hypothesis hypotheses hypothesees

Show answer

hypotheses — Hypothesis pluralises to hypotheses.

6 Put the words in order.

Show answer

a clear pattern emerged from the data — A clear pattern emerged from the data: emerge = become known.

Quiz

Continue with Academic Word List: Set 2 (sublists 6 to 10)
See these words in essay patterns: English Academic Vocabulary
Practice formal word partners: Common English Collocations
New here? Start with Start Learning English Here

Academic Word List: Set 1

By the end of this page you can…

What the AWL is and how it is split

Sublist 1 — the most frequent academic words

Sublist 2

Sublist 3

Sublist 4

Sublist 5

Example sentences

Recap cheat-sheet

Practice

AWL Set 1 practice

Quiz

AWL Set 1 quiz

Next

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Vocabulary