Class 11–12 Academic Vocabulary: Think And Write Like A Scholar
You're about to enter the world of research papers, competitive exams, university lectures and scholarly writing, and its vocabulary is different: precise, layered, and often rooted in Latin and Greek. Words like epistemology, fallacy, paradigm and juxtapose aren't decoration; they are tools for thinking at a level school vocabulary can't reach. This course teaches those tools and trains you to use them like a scholar, not someone memorising synonyms.
Inquiry, Critique And Thinking About Thinking
Chapter 1
Chapter 1 · Start here
Inquiry, Critique And Thinking About Thinking
Words for questioning assumptions, proving claims, predicting from data, resolving conflicts, and checking your own thinking.
Sprint 1
Interrogate And Deconstruct
Question the assumptions behind a claim, and take apart how its meaning is built.
Sprint 2
Substantiate And Corroborate
Different ways to prove or support a claim, especially checking it against independent evidence.
Sprint 3
Extrapolate And Project
Extend a trend beyond the data, or estimate inside it: the words for each.
Sprint 4
Reconcile And Harmonise
Words for settling conflicts, lining up different views, and balancing competing demands.
Sprint 5
Reflect And Self-Regulate
Words for watching, judging and adjusting your own thinking and learning.
Sprint 6
Review: Inquiry, Critique And Thinking About Thinking
Put the inquiry, proof, prediction and reflection words together, and test yourself.
Rigour, Validity And Knowledge
Chapter 2
Chapter 2 · Start here
Rigour, Validity And Knowledge
Words for judging how strong, testable, important and clear evidence and arguments are.
Sprint 7
Robust And Rigorous
Words for how thorough, reliable and authoritative evidence and methods are.
Sprint 8
Empirical And Verifiable
Is a claim based on observation, and can it be tested or proved wrong?
Sprint 9
Salient And Pivotal
Different kinds of importance, from what stands out to what everything rests on.
Sprint 10
Qualitative And Quantitative
Qualitative versus quantitative data, and the different scales of measurement.
Sprint 11
Equivocal And Explicit
Words for how clear, hidden or ambiguous a meaning is.
Sprint 12
Review: Rigour, Validity And Knowledge
Put the evidence, testing, importance, data and clarity words together, and test yourself.
Causality, Complexity And Systems
Chapter 3
Chapter 3 · Start here
Causality, Complexity And Systems
Words for chains of cause and effect, spreading, triggers, balance, and how parts of a system depend on each other.
Sprint 13
Exacerbate And Mitigate
Words for making a problem worse or easing it.
Sprint 14
Proliferate And Permeate
Words for how ideas and changes spread, fast or slowly.
Sprint 15
Precipitate And Galvanise
Words for what sets action off: sudden triggers, slow build-up, and motivation.
Sprint 16
Equilibrium And Flux
Words for the state of a system, from perfect balance to disorder.
Sprint 17
Interdependent And Symbiotic
Words for how the parts of a system rely on, help or exploit each other.
Sprint 18
Review: Causality, Complexity And Systems
Put the cause, spread, trigger, balance and relationship words together, and test yourself.
Argumentation, Logic And Discourse
Chapter 4
Chapter 4 · Start here
Argumentation, Logic And Discourse
Words for logic, fallacies, strong and weak arguments, persuasion, and agreement and dissent.
Sprint 19
Deduction And Induction
Reasoning from the general to the particular, from the particular to the general, and to the best explanation.
Sprint 20
Fallacy And Flaw
Spot and name common flaws in reasoning.
Sprint 21
Cogent And Untenable
Judge how strong an argument is, from untenable to sound.
Sprint 22
Ethos, Pathos And Logos
Appeals to character, emotion and logic, and how public argument works.
Sprint 23
Dissent And Consensus
Words for agreement, disagreement and power in debate.
Sprint 24
Review: Argumentation, Logic And Discourse
Put the logic, fallacy, argument-strength and persuasion words together, and test yourself.
Research, Methodology And Data
Chapter 5
Chapter 5 · Start here
Research, Methodology And Data
Words for how research is designed, sampled, measured, analysed and checked by other scientists.
Sprint 25
Methodology And Paradigm
Different research designs, and the frameworks that shape how scientists ask questions.
Sprint 26
Sampling And Bias
How samples are chosen, and how bias and hidden factors can spoil a study.
Sprint 27
Significance And Deviation
Words for how data is spread out, skewed, and whether a result is significant.
Sprint 28
Aggregate And Normalise
Words for combining and adjusting data, and for growth that isn't a straight line.
Sprint 29
Peer Review And Replication
How scientists check each other's work: peer review, repeating studies, and combining results.
Sprint 30
Review: Research, Methodology And Data
Put the research, sampling, statistics and peer-review words together, and test yourself.
Interpretation, Subtext & The Human Condition
Chapter 6
Chapter 6 · Start here
Interpretation, Subtext & The Human Condition
Words for hidden meaning, turning points in stories, philosophical ideas, critical lenses and thinking biases.
Sprint 31
Subtext And Connotation
Literal meaning versus what lies underneath: subtext, connotation and allusion.
Sprint 32
Catharsis And Epiphany
Words for turning points and moments of realisation in literature.
Sprint 33
Existential And Absurdist
Major philosophical views, applied to characters and real situations.
Sprint 34
Post-colonial And Feminist
Reading texts and history through post-colonial and feminist lenses.
Sprint 35
Cognitive Bias And Framing
Common thinking biases, and how the way something is framed shapes what we see.
Sprint 36
Review: Interpretation, Subtext And The Human Condition
Put the literature, philosophy, critical theory and thinking-bias words together, and test yourself.
Scholarly Register And Academic Voice
Chapter 7
Chapter 7 · Start here
Scholarly Register And Academic Voice
The formal linking words, scholarly verbs, Latin terms and words about language that academic writing uses.
Sprint 37
Formal Connectors
Formal linking words from scholarly writing, legal documents and exam passages.
Sprint 38
Scholarly Verbs
Verbs scholars use to compare, explain, summarise and set limits.
Sprint 39
Claim-Making Verbs
Verbs for making a claim, from tentative to confident.
Sprint 40
Latin And Legal Terms
Latin terms you will meet in academic, legal and formal writing.
Sprint 41
Meta-language And Genre
Words for talking about language itself: naming, classifying, register and genre.
Sprint 42
Review: Scholarly Register And Academic Voice
Put the formal connectors, scholarly verbs, Latin terms and language words together, and test yourself.