Vocabulary: Academic Word List and Collocations Flashcards

The new legislation was designed to ______ corruption in public procurement, but critics argue it lacks enforcement mechanisms.

Answer: combat

'Combat corruption' is the established academic and policy collocation; 'fight' is less formal; 'battle' and 'defeat' are more informal or military in register.

In academic writing, which word is the most appropriate synonym for 'use' in the sentence: 'Researchers ______ a range of qualitative methods'?

Answer: employ

'Employ' is the highest-register AWL synonym for 'use' when describing research methodology; 'apply' is also academic but less idiomatic with 'methods'; 'utilise' is considered inflated by many style guides.

The data ______ that urban areas with higher green-space coverage report lower levels of stress-related illness.

Answer: suggests

'Suggests' is preferred over 'shows' when the evidence is inferential rather than conclusive; 'tells' and 'says' are informal and not used with 'data' as subject.

The ______ of the study was to examine the long-term economic consequences of early childhood education investment.

Answer: aim

'Aim of the study' is the most standard academic phrasing for introducing research purpose in IELTS and academic writing contexts.

The author makes a ______ distinction between correlation and causation, which is central to the validity of the argument.

Answer: crucial

'Crucial distinction' is the most common academic collocation; 'vital distinction' is less frequent; 'important' and 'necessary' are less idiomatic here.

Despite extensive research, the ______ causes of Alzheimer's disease remain poorly understood.

Answer: underlying

'Underlying causes' is a fixed academic collocation meaning the fundamental or root causes; the other options are less precise or less academic in register.

The government has allocated ______ resources to the national infrastructure programme over the next decade.

Answer: substantial

'Substantial resources' is the standard academic collocation; 'large' is possible but less formal; 'big' and 'vast' are informal or hyperbolic.