Resources | Roads to Academic Reading

'Roads to Academic Reading' - Resources section:

When you read an academic text, you are expected to do much more than simply understand the words of the text and summarize main ideas.

At college or university level, students are also expected to:

recognize the author's purpose and possible bias.
differentiate between facts and author's opinions.
challenge questionable assumptions and unsupported claims.
think about possible consequences of the author's claims.
integrate information across multiple sources.
identify rival hypotheses, possible contradictions and competing views.
evaluate evidence and draw their own conclusions instead of simply accepting what the author says.

These are just some of the basic components of critical reasoning, and doing all this isn't easy:If you don’t know the meaning of the words you read, it becomes almost impossible.

But understanding the words isn't enough - critically evaluating the information you read is a key digital competence - one of the four most important skills that all citizens - not just students - need to master in the twenty-first century. Together with critical reasoning, three more key skills include creative thinking, collaboration and communication. Because these four skills all start with the letter C, they are often called the '4Cs'.

Many of the vocabulary exercises on this site are designed to help you develop these 4Cs - you can do these exercises on your own, anytime, anywhere. (See table below).

Resource # 1:

Lists of exercises that focus on critical evaluation of information and academic literacy

High-frequency academic vocabulary	Exercise #	Exercise focus:
alternative	Exercise 4	Questions to evaluate alternative treatments.
analyze	Exercise 4	Questions to help you do a critical analysis of information.
assume	Exercise 4	Identifying hidden assumptions.
available	Exercise 4	How to evaluate available information.
chart	Exercise 5	Which chart is distorting information?
conclusion	Exercise 3	What are valid conclusions based on?
context	Exercise 5	How taking something out of context can distort meaning.
data	Exercise 3	Questions that help you to examine data.
distort	Exercise 5	What can cause distortion?
environment	Exercise 4	Can you read between the lines?
evaluation	Exercise 4	Questions to ask yourself when you evaluate research data.
evidence	Exercise 5	Same evidence, different conclusions.
exposure	Exercise 4	Exposing flaws or weak points in a writer's argument.
inferred	Exercise 4	Inferring meaning from context.
interpretation	Exercise 4	Same numbers, different interpretations.
logic	Exercise 4	Which questions can help you think logically?
period	Exercise 4	What's similar, what's different?
policy	Exercise 4	Which questions can help you check these statistics?

published	Exercise 5	Evaluating information published on the internet.
rational	Exercise 4	How our irrational assumptions can affect our emotions.
reliability	Exercise 3	How do I know if information on the internet is reliable?
resolution	Exercise 4	Reading between the lines – use your clues.
source	Exercise 4	Questions to help you evaluate information.
statistics	Exercise 4	Lies, big lies and statistics.

Exercises that focus on creative thinking

High-frequency academic vocabulary	Exercise #	Exercise focus:
create	Exercise 4	SCAMPER - strategy for creative thinking.
flexibility	Exercise 4	Keys to creative thinking.
foundation	Exercise 5	What are the foundations of creativity?
instance	Exercise 3	Relationship between creativity and knowledge.

Exercises that focus on academic literacy

High-frequency academic vocabulary	Exercise #	Exercise focus:
abstract	Exercise 3	What's in an abstract?
acknowledged	Exercise 3	What is an "acknowledgement page"?
ambiguous	Exercise 4	Why do writers sometimes write ambiguous sentences?
assumptions	Exercise 4	Assumptions - the building blocks of scientific theories.
coherence	Exercise 4	What makes presentations more coherent?
contrast	Exercise 4	Recognizing markers that signal contrast.
definite	Exercise 4	Markers that signal doubt or uncertainty.
definition	Exercise 4	Problems with defining a word - narrow and broad definitions.
deviation	Exercise 3	What can deviation tell us about test scores?
distribution	Exercise 3	What can we learn from a distribution?
empirical	Exercise 4	What is empirical evidence?
error	Exercise 3	What does a 'degree of error' mean?
framework	Exercise 5	Why is a theoretical framework important?
hypothesis	Exercise 3	Why is a hypothesis important?
indicate	Exercise 4	What are "hedges" in an academic text?
integration	Exercise 4	The purpose of a literature review.
interaction	Exercise 5	Correlation or cause and effect?
intervention	Exercise 5	What does 'intervention' mean in a research context?
manipulation	Exercise 4	What does 'manipulation' mean in a research context?
monitor	Exercise 6	How monitoring can improve your reading comprehension.
outcomes	Exercise 4	Why are outcomes difficult to measure?
overlap	Exercise 4	How Venn diagrams work.
parameters	Exercise 4	What are some parameters for scientific research?
quotation	Exercise 3	How to avoid plagiarism
random	Exercise 4	What are 'random' mean in a research context?
section	Exercise 4	What you are expected to write in your literature review.
strategies	Exercise 5	A learning strategy to help you remember information.
summary	Exercise 4	What are you expected to do when you write a summary?
theme	Exercise 4	Differences between a theme and a summary.
virtually	Exercise 3	Find the clues that tell you what the writer really thinks.

Resource #2:

Links to 300 sets of flashcards and exercises for CEFR words that also appear on Coxhead's (2000) Academic Word List:

Sublist 1 Sublist 2 Sublist 3 Sublist 4 Sublist 5 Sublist 6 Sublist 7 Sublist 8 Sublist 9 Sublist 10

AWL Sublist 1	CEFR level
analysis	B2
approach	B1
area	A2
assessment	B2
assume	B2
authority	B2
available	A2
benefit	B1
concept	B2
consistent	C2
context	B2
create	B1
data	B2
definition	B2
derived	C1
distribution	C1
economy	B2
environment	B1
established	B2
estimate	B2
evidence	B2
factors	B2
financial	B1
formula	C1
function	B2
identified	B2
indicate	B2
individual	B1
interpretation	C2
involved	B1
issues	B1
major	B2
method	B1
occur	B2
period	B1
policy	B2
principle	C1
process	B2
required	B1
research	B1
response	B2
role	B1
section	B1
significant	B2
similar	B1
source	B2
structure	B2
theory	B2
variables	C1

AWL sublist 2	CEFR level
achieve	B1
acquire	B2
affect	B2
appropriate	B2
aspects	B2
assistance	B2
categories	B2
community	B2
complex	B2
conclusion	B1
conduct	B2
consequences	B2
construction	B2
cultural	B1
design	B1
distinction	B2
elements	B2
equation	C1
evaluation	C1
features	B2
focus	B2
impact	B2
investment	B2
maintenance	B2
obtained	B2
participation	Unlisted
perceived	C1
previous	B1
range	B1
relevant	B2
resources	B2
restricted	C1
strategies	B2
survey	B2
traditional	B1
transfer	B1

AWL Sublist 3	CEFR level
alternative	B2
circumstances	B2
compensation	Unlisted
components	C1
considerable	B2
constant	B2
constraints	C2
contribution	B2
core	C2
criteria	C1
deduce	C2
demonstrate	B2
document	A2
emphasis	B2
ensure	B2
excluded	C1
framework	C2
illustrated	B2
implies	C2
initial	B1
instance	B1
interaction	C1
justification	C2
layer	B2
location	B1
maximize	C2
minor	B2
outcomes	C1
partnership	B2
proportion	C1
published	B1
reaction	B2
reliability	C1
removed	B1
sequence	C1
shift	B2
specified	B2
sufficient	B2
task	B2
validity	C2

AWL Sublist 4	CEFR level
access	B1
adequate	B2
apparent	B2
approximate	B2
attitudes	B1
attributed	C2
communication	B1
concentration	B2
contrast	B2
cycle	B1
debate	B2
dimensions	B2
emerged	B2
error	B2
goals	A2
hypothesis	C2
implementation	C2
implications	C1
integration	C1
internal	B2
investigation	B2
mechanism	C1
obvious	B1
overall	B2
parallel	C2
parameters	Unlisted
phase	B2
predicted	B1
promote	B1
resolution	C2
series	B1
statistics	B2
stress	B1
subsequent	C1
summary	B2

AWL sublist 5	CEFR level
academic	B2
adjustment	B2
alter	B2
aware	B2
capacity	B2
challenge	B1
conflict	B2
decline	B2
enable	B2
equivalent	C1
expansion	B2
exposure	C1
external	B2
facilitate	C1
fundamental	C2
generated	B2
image	B2
logic	C1
marginal	C2
modified	C1
monitor	B2
network	B2
objective	B2
perspective	C1
precise	B2
ratio	C1
rejected	B2
stability	C1
substitution	C1
symbolic	C2
target	B2
transition	C2
trend	B1
version	B2

AWL sublist 6	CEFR level
abstract	B2
accurate	B1
acknowledged	C1
capable	B2
cited	Unlisted
cooperative	B2
discrimination	C1
display	B1
diversity	C1
enhanced	C1
exceed	C1
expert	B1
explicit	C2
flexibility	B2
ignored	B2
incentive	C2
inhibition	C2
initiatives	C1
motivation	B2
neutral	C1
preceding	C2
rational	C1
recovery	B2
revealed	B2
trace	B2
transformation	C1
transport	B1
underlying	C2
utilize	Unlisted

AWL sublist 7	CEFR level
adaptation	C1
advocate	C2
comprehensive	C1
comprise	C1
confirmed	B1
definite	B2
deny	B2
differentiation	Unlisted
eliminate	C1
empirical	C2
equipment	B1
extract	B2
foundation	C1
guarantee	B2
hierarchy	C2
identical	B2
inferred	C2
innovation	C1
intervention	C2
isolated	C1
media	B2
mode	C1
paradigm	C2
priority	B2
quotation	C2
release	B2
successive	C2
topic	B1
transmission	C2
unique	B2

AWL sublist 8	CEFR levels
accompanied	B1
accumulation	C2
ambiguous	C2
bias	C2
chart	B2
clarify	C1
complement	Unlisted
contemporary	B2
contradiction	C2
crucial	B2
deviation	Unlisted
fluctuations	Unlisted
guidelines	C1
highlighted	B2
implicit	C2
intensity	C2
manipulation	Unlisted
minimized	C1
offset	C2
random	C1
reinforced	C1
revision	B1
theme	B2
virtually	B2

AWL sublist 9	CEFR level
analogy	C2
anticipated	C1
coherence	C2
confined	C2
controversy	C1
diminished	C1
distorted	C1
incompatible	Unlisted
inherent	C2
insights	C1
mature	B2
mediation	Unlisted
mutual	C1
overlap	C2
refine	C2
supplementary	C2
temporary	B1
trigger	C1
vision	B2

AWL sublist 10	CEFR levels
convinced	B1
ongoing	C2
persistent	C2

Not all AWL words have exercises on this site. Words like 'commission' and 'legislation' that appear mostly in specific disciplines, do not have exercises yet.

For exercises on additional AWL words, see http://www.uefap.com/vocab/select/awl.htm