LSBU Library: Resources Pages for the Academic Skills: Academic Vocabulary

Videos:

Watch a recording of our online How to Use Academic Vocabulary workshop

Playlist:

Click to view the videos, or click the icon in the upper right to select from the list of videos.

Presentation:

Download the How to Use Academic Vocabulary Workshop Presentation [PowerPoint file]

Or, see it here below...

Mini-Module:

See our Mini-Module on academic vocabulary

Activity:

Improve your feeling for the differences between formal academic vocabulary and normal spoken English with this interactive activity.

Match the informal words with their formal equivalents

Informal Words

get
stuff
a lot
big
deal with
look into
think about
show
good
bad
help
make sure
talk about
put together
find out

Formal Words

Download Files:

Read our Vocabulary HowTo Guide [PDF]: This has lots of useful information about Improving your Academic Vocabulary.
Three essential types of academic vocabulary [PDF]. Includes lists of words and how to use them.
Are you tired of writing "About" and "Regarding"? Here are some alternative phrases for "about" and "regarding" with examples of how to use them [PDF].
Vocabulary for Writing Essays [PDF]. A table of words to use and their functions from the University of Sydney.

Useful links to external sites:

Lextutor: To see how to use a word, enter it in their concordancer [Opens in new window]
University of Adelaide: For lots of ways to use reporting verbs [Opens in new window]
Synonyms finder: From Crosswordsolver.com [Opens in new window]

Useful link for hedging:

Manchester Academic Phrasebank: This is a great site with lots of examples you can adapt and use yourself [Opens in new window]

The Academic Word List:

The Academic Word List (AWL) is a list of the core vocabulary used for writing at university in the UK. [Opens in new window]

You can ask us a question about academic skills by logging an enquiry through MyAccount. [See the FAQ: How can I contact teams or send enquiries using MyAccount?] We will send you a written reply helping you with your query. Alternatively you can email us at S4L@lsbu.ac.uk