ABI - Academic vocabulary for analysis
aiMOOCABI - Academic vocabulary for analysis
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Einleitung
ABI - Academic vocabulary for analysis builds an active vocabulary for summary, analysis, comparison, evaluation and argumentation. The focus is on collocations and word families, not isolated word lists. You learn to select precise phrases, connect claims with evidence and adapt your language to the operator.
Target group: Englisch als fortgeführte Fremdsprache in der Kursstufe Baden-Württemberg, gemeinsamer Lernweg für BF und LF. Orientierung: B2, in Teilen C1. English comes first; German help comes last.
Media entry: What makes vocabulary academic?
Watch actively: Write down three useful word combinations, not three isolated words. Then complete: Academic vocabulary helps me to ...
Dictionary habit: Context → word family → English-English dictionary → collocation/example → German help only if still needed.
I-can goals
- Academic vocabulary: I can learn and retrieve useful collocations instead of memorising isolated words.
- Summary: I can give a concise account of relevant main ideas without adding my own judgement.
- Text analysis: I can link an observation about language or form to evidence and an effect or function.
- Comparison: I can explain meaningful similarities and differences instead of listing two separate descriptions.
- Evaluation: I can make a well-founded judgement and support it with criteria, evidence and examples.
- Argumentation: I can develop a line of argument, address a counterargument and draw a justified conclusion.
Prior knowledge: 90-second activation
Without a dictionary, complete as many chunks as you can: provide ___ / draw ___ / convey ___ / reach ___ / address ___ / take ___ into account. Compare with a partner, then verify in a monolingual dictionary. Mark each phrase you can already use spontaneously with A for active; mark phrases you only understand with P for passive.
Abi context: Baden-Württemberg
Official check, stand 03.10.2026
This course is a skills course, not a substitute for the official documents for your examination year. For the currently published 2027 and 2028 LF written examinations, the writing part includes an aspect-focused summary and text-based analysis; the analysis links content to relevant language/form and evidence. The IQB operator core revised for English applies from the 2027 examination year. In the Baden-Württemberg curriculum, BF and LF differ in complexity, abstraction, breadth, depth and differentiation; the stated end level is B2, partly C1.
| Check | What it means for this MOOC |
|---|---|
| BF | Exemplaric material, manageable scope, visible language support, guided transfer; AFB I/II receive stronger emphasis than AFB III in the current BF course regulations. |
| LF | Broader and more complex material, deeper analysis, more independent links between sources and more sustained AFB II/III work. |
| From 2027 | Use the current IQB operator meanings. For example, analyze/examine requires detailed description/explanation with evidence and relevant aspects of language/form; assess/evaluate requires a well-founded evidence-based judgement. |
| Every cohort | Re-check the official documents for your own examination year before using exam-specific timings, formats or permitted aids. |
Official sources: Kultusministerium Baden-Württemberg: Abitur, Bildungsplan Englisch, IQB: Grundstock von Operatoren Englisch.
BF/LF learning route
| Area | BF route | LF extension |
|---|---|---|
| Input | One short text or visual at a time; key vocabulary preselected. | Link two or more materials; extend the vocabulary bank independently. |
| Analysis | One named aspect, evidence finder and sentence frame. | Integrate language, structure, communicative strategy and/or visual features where relevant. |
| Writing | Short guided paragraphs with a collocation bank and checklist. | Longer independent synthesis with selective, precise academic vocabulary. |
| Speaking | Structured turn-taking and visible prompts. | Extended reasoning, qualification, counterargument and spontaneous follow-up. |
| Feedback | Prioritise one or two error types per draft. | Track recurring patterns and revise for precision, cohesion and register. |
Core vocabulary: learn chunks, not lists
Summary: condense without judging
| Collocation / phrase | English use | Micro-example |
|---|---|---|
| summarize the main points | give a concise account of what matters for the task | The text summarizes the main reasons for the change. |
| outline the argument | present the central line briefly | The opening paragraph outlines the argument. |
| focus on the key issue | select task-relevant information | The summary focuses on the key issue of access. |
| highlight a central idea | make an important idea visible | The author highlights the need for flexibility. |
| leave out minor detail | omit information that is not relevant to the task | Leave out minor examples unless the task requires them. |
Summary check: main ideas + task focus + neutral reporting. Avoid analysis language such as creates a dramatic effect unless the task asks for analysis.
Analysis: observation + evidence + function
| Collocation / phrase | English use | Micro-example |
|---|---|---|
| convey an attitude | communicate a stance indirectly or directly | The repeated modal verbs convey a cautious attitude. |
| emphasize a contrast | make a difference especially noticeable | The short final sentence emphasizes the contrast. |
| suggest that | offer a careful interpretation | The image suggests that the speaker feels isolated. |
| draw attention to | direct the reader or viewer to an element | The headline draws attention to the conflict. |
| reinforce an idea | strengthen an existing point | The repetition reinforces the central idea. |
| support an interpretation | connect a reading to textual evidence | The lexical field supports the interpretation of uncertainty. |
Analysis engine: The [feature] + verb of effect/function + [interpretation], as shown by [brief evidence]. Do not merely name a device. Explain what it does in this context.
Comparison: connect, do not split
| Purpose | Useful language |
|---|---|
| similarity | similarly, both sources emphasize, a shared feature is |
| difference | whereas, in contrast, unlike, differs in its use of |
| degree | to a greater extent, more strongly, less explicitly |
| synthesis | taken together, both materials point to, the contrast reveals |
Better comparison: Source A presents the change as gradual, whereas Source B frames it as immediate; this difference is reinforced by their contrasting time markers.
Evaluation: criteria before judgement
| Collocation | Function |
|---|---|
| assess the effectiveness | judge how well something achieves its purpose |
| evaluate the significance | judge importance in relation to the task |
| weigh the evidence | consider the strength and limits of evidence |
| consider the limitations | identify relevant constraints or weaknesses |
| reach a well-founded judgement | conclude on the basis of criteria and evidence |
Avoid empty evaluation such as This is good. Prefer: The strategy is effective in making the main contrast memorable, but its simplified categories limit the claim.
Argumentation: build a line of reasoning
| Move | Collocations |
|---|---|
| claim | make a claim, advance a position, argue that |
| evidence | provide evidence, cite an example, support a claim |
| reasoning | establish a link, explain why, draw an inference |
| counterargument | address a counterargument, acknowledge an objection |
| response | challenge an assumption, qualify a claim, rebut an objection |
| conclusion | draw a conclusion, reach a judgement |
Reasoning check: If your conclusion depends on only two options, ask whether a third possibility exists. Academic argumentation values justified distinctions, not artificial certainty.
Collocations: notice the company words keep
Do not record evidence alone. Record provide evidence / strong evidence / evidence suggests / evidence for a claim. Do not record conclusion alone. Record draw a conclusion / reach a conclusion / tentative conclusion.
Word formation: make one word do more work
| Verb | Noun | Adjective | Useful chunk |
|---|---|---|---|
| analyze | analysis | analytical | conduct an analysis |
| evaluate | evaluation | evaluative | make an evaluative judgement |
| compare | comparison | comparative | draw a comparison |
| argue | argument | argumentative | develop an argument |
| justify | justification | justified | provide justification |
| infer | inference | inferential | draw an inference |
Pronunciation and spelling matter: analysis / analyses and analyze/analyse are related but not interchangeable forms. Use one consistent spelling variety unless your course specifies otherwise.
Help ladder: English first
- Context clues: Re-read the sentence and identify the function of the unknown word.
- Word formation: Check root, prefix, suffix and part of speech.
- Monolingual dictionary: Read the English definition, pronunciation and example.
- Collocation: Check which verbs, nouns, adjectives or prepositions normally occur with the word.
- Bilingual dictionary: Use German help only if the English explanation is still not enough; return to an English example before using the word yourself.
Skills lab
Listening and viewing
First viewing: Identify three features of academic writing. Second viewing: capture four reusable collocations. After viewing: use two of them in new sentences about a topic from your English course. Do not copy a transcript.
BF support: pause after each major section and use a prepared note grid: phrase – meaning – my example. LF extension: classify each phrase by function and judge where it would sound too general, too strong or appropriately cautious.
Reading: fictional practice text
Fictional material for language practice; the school, survey and figures below are invented.
At Northbridge Sixth Form, a student group proposed dividing the library into a silent area and a collaborative area. In a fictional survey of 160 students, 68% said that noise sometimes made concentration difficult, while 57% also wanted more space for group work. The proposal therefore recommends two clearly marked zones rather than a single rule for the whole room. Supporters argue that the plan could accommodate different learning habits. Critics, however, point out that the available space is limited and that signs alone may not change behaviour. The student group acknowledges this limitation and suggests a four-week trial. It claims that the trial would provide evidence before a permanent decision is made. The language of the proposal is deliberately cautious: it uses could, may and suggests rather than presenting the plan as certain to succeed.
Task: Write a two-sentence summary. Then analyze how cautious language shapes the proposal. BF: use suggests that / conveys / supports the idea that. LF: connect modality, argumentative structure and the function of the fictional survey data.
Context vocabulary: harvest from the text
Create a small Vocabulary map with no more than eight entries. Each entry must contain: phrase in context → English explanation → word family or pattern → your own sentence → source. Suggested candidates: divide into zones, make concentration difficult, accommodate different needs, point out a limitation, acknowledge a limitation, provide evidence, make a permanent decision, cautious language.
Analysis lab: from weak to precise
Weak: The author uses words to show the idea. Better: The repeated modal verbs could and may convey caution and reinforce the proposal's trial-based approach.
Now improve these three weak statements:
- Effect: There is a contrast.
- Evidence link: The survey is important.
- Function: The word could is used.
Use the pattern feature → evidence → effect/function → link to task.
Speaking: retrieve vocabulary under time pressure
Pair task: Should the fictional library test the two-zone plan? One person opens with a claim; the other asks for evidence, adds a limitation and responds with a counterargument. Switch roles.
Useful chunks: My main point is that... / The evidence suggests... / A relevant limitation is... / I take your point, but... / This would be more convincing if... / On balance...
Privacy: Speaking can remain entirely in the classroom. Recordings are optional and should stay private unless you have explicitly agreed to another use. Do not upload recordings or personal data without permission.
Writing: paragraph before essay
Build one paragraph with four moves: point → evidence → explanation → link/judgement. Choose only collocations you can explain and control.
BF frame: The proposal emphasizes ___. This is shown by ___. The phrase ___ suggests ___. Therefore, ___.
LF extension: Write without the frame. Integrate one qualification such as to some extent, appears to, tends to, arguably and one precise transition. Avoid filling every sentence with transition signals.
Mediation: meaning before wording
Fiktive Ausgangssituation: Eure Schule plant einen englischsprachigen Austausch über Lernräume. Eine deutsche Notiz sagt: Die Schülervertretung möchte zunächst vier Wochen lang zwei Lernzonen testen. Danach sollen Rückmeldungen ausgewertet werden. Es gibt noch keine Entscheidung über eine dauerhafte Regel.
Mediating task: In English, explain the relevant information to a partner school in 35–55 words. Do not translate sentence by sentence. Use an appropriate neutral register and one collocation from this course.
Feedback, error analysis and responsible tools
Feedback codes
| Code | Check | Repair question |
|---|---|---|
| COL | collocation | Do these words normally occur together? |
| WF | word family | Do I need a verb, noun, adjective or adverb here? |
| REG | register | Is this phrase precise and appropriate for analytical writing? |
| OP | operator | Am I actually doing what summarize/analyze/compare/evaluate asks? |
| EVI | evidence | Have I connected the claim to relevant material? |
| LOG | reasoning | Does the evidence really support the conclusion? |
Feedback routine: Mark the code, not the full correction. Try one self-repair. Then compare with a dictionary, course material or teacher feedback. Keep a personal list of your three recurring patterns.
Error clinic
Repair these sentences and explain the error:
- Collocation: The text makes evidence for the claim.
- Word formation: The author analysis the contrast.
- Register: The result is super big and really good.
- Operator: The summary shows that the metaphor is effective.
- Reasoning: Most students in the fictional survey prefer quiet, so every student needs silence.
Possible repair directions: provides evidence / analyzes / significant or substantial / keep summary neutral / avoid overgeneralisation.
AI, sources and academic integrity
Use digital or AI-supported tools only when your school, teacher and task allow them. Your analysis and writing remain your own work. Do not use AI to generate a replacement essay. Do not upload exam material, copyrighted full texts, private recordings or personal data to external services without explicit permission.
If a tool suggests vocabulary, verify the meaning, collocation, register and source. If it produces a factual claim or quotation, check the original source. If you cannot verify it, do not present it as fact. No external AI access is required for any task in this MOOC.
Transfer and Abi-Check
Transfer: make vocabulary portable
Choose one current text from your English course that you are legally allowed to use. Harvest six collocations and sort them by function: summary, analysis, comparison, evaluation or argumentation. Then use four of them in a new paragraph about a different text. This tests transfer: you should reuse the language pattern, not copy content.
Abi-Check: 7 questions before you submit
- Operator: Did I follow the exact task verb and task focus?
- Summary: Did I select main ideas and avoid analysis or personal judgement where these are not required?
- Text analysis: Did I connect relevant features to evidence and explain their function?
- Comparison: Did I connect the materials directly instead of writing two separate mini-essays?
- Evaluation: Did I use explicit or implicit criteria and a well-founded judgement?
- Argumentation: Did I support my claim, consider relevant counterarguments and avoid overgeneralisation?
- Academic English: Are my collocations natural, my word forms correct and my register precise rather than artificially difficult?
Follow-up course
Continue with ABI - Writing analytical paragraphs and transfer this vocabulary into complete analytical paragraphs, source integration and timed writing. Keep the same principle: precision before complexity.
Interaktive Aufgaben
Quiz: Teste Dein Wissen
Which collocation is standard for supporting a claim? (provide evidence) (!make evidence) (!do evidence) (!build evidence)
What does suggests that usually do in an analysis? (It introduces a cautious interpretation) (!It guarantees a fact is true) (!It replaces textual evidence) (!It turns a summary into a quotation)
What is the main aim of a task using summarize? (To give a concise account of relevant main ideas) (!To judge the author's success) (!To list every detail from the text) (!To analyse every stylistic device)
Which connector most directly marks a contrast between two points? (whereas) (!therefore) (!for example) (!because)
What does assess or evaluate require? (A well-founded judgement supported by evidence or examples) (!A neutral list of facts only) (!A line-by-line translation) (!A collection of quotations without explanation)
What is a counterargument? (A reason or claim that challenges a position) (!A synonym copied from a dictionary) (!A sentence that repeats the thesis) (!A detail omitted from a summary)
Which noun belongs to the word family of analyze? (analysis) (!analytical) (!analyzed) (!analyzing)
In the help ladder, what should come before bilingual German help? (A monolingual English dictionary and context check) (!An automatic full translation) (!A replacement essay) (!Guessing without context)
Which phrase has the more academic and precise register? (a significant increase) (!a super big increase) (!a really huge thing) (!a totally massive change)
Which sentence best links evidence to analytical function? (The repetition reinforces the central contrast) (!There is repetition in the text) (!The repetition is on line five) (!I like the repetition very much)
Memory
| summarize | give a concise account of main ideas |
| convey | communicate an attitude or impression |
| whereas | mark a direct contrast |
| assess | make a well-founded judgement |
| counterargument | opposing reason or claim |
| collocation | words that commonly occur together |
| qualify | make a claim more limited or precise |
| evidence | material used to support a claim |
Drag and Drop
| Ordne die richtigen Begriffe zu. | Academic collocation |
|---|---|
| provide | evidence |
| draw | a conclusion |
| reach | a judgement |
| address | a counterargument |
| convey | an attitude |
| consider | the limitations |
Kreuzworträtsel
| evidence | What supports a claim with material from a text or source? |
| contrast | What is the term for a meaningful difference between two things? |
| analysis | What noun names the process of examining how content, language or form works? |
| collocation | What do we call words that commonly occur together? |
| evaluate | Which verb means to make a well-founded judgement about value or effectiveness? |
| rebuttal | What one-word term names a response that challenges an objection? |
LearningApps
Lückentext
Offene Aufgaben
Leicht
- Collocation collector: Find eight useful chunks in teacher-provided or openly accessible material. Record each with an English explanation and your own example.
- Word family wheel: Build a visual for four families such as analyze, evaluate, compare and justify; add one collocation for each form you can actually use.
- Dictionary detective: Compare two possible phrases in a monolingual dictionary and explain which one fits analytical writing better.
- One-minute summary: Read a short course text and give a private one-minute spoken summary using three target collocations; recording is optional.
Standard
- Analysis upgrade: Take three basic sentences from your own work and revise each with feature, evidence and function.
- Visual comparison: Compare two openly licensed images or charts using at least four comparison chunks and one qualification.
- Mini discussion: In pairs, argue about a fictional school scenario, address one counterargument and finish with a well-founded conclusion.
- Feedback loop: Exchange one paragraph, use the codes COL, WF, REG, OP, EVI and LOG, and revise only the two highest-priority issues.
Schwer
- Material synthesis: Link one short text and one visual supplied by your teacher; explain where they reinforce or complicate each other.
- Evaluation challenge: Define two criteria before evaluating a fictional proposal, then test whether your judgement changes when a limitation is added.
- Argument map: Create a claim-evidence-reasoning-counterargument map and turn it into a concise paragraph without copying the diagram's wording.
- Transfer portfolio: Collect ten collocations across three different course topics and annotate when each phrase is useful, too strong, too vague or inappropriate.
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Lernkontrolle
- Operator transfer: You receive one unseen short text and the operator analyze. Plan three analytical moves and justify why each move answers the operator rather than merely describing content.
- Revision: Rewrite a weak paragraph with at least four problems involving collocation, word family, register, evidence and logic; annotate each change briefly.
- Cross-material comparison: Compare a short text and a visual, selecting only two meaningful criteria. Explain why your chosen criteria are more useful than surface similarities.
- Evaluation with limits: Evaluate a fictional proposal using two criteria, one piece of evidence, one limitation and a justified final judgement.
- Speaking transfer: Respond to an unfamiliar course-related prompt for two minutes, then identify which collocations you retrieved automatically and which remained passive.
- BF/LF choice: BF learners may use a visible collocation bank and one guiding question; LF learners work with reduced scaffolding and add a second source or perspective. In both routes, explain how the language supports the reasoning.
Lernnachweis
For a learning record, show that you can use academic vocabulary actively and appropriately rather than reproduce a memorised list.
- Vocabulary portfolio: a compact bank of at least 25 verified collocations across summary, analysis, comparison, evaluation and argumentation.
- Word families: at least five families with correct parts of speech and an original example.
- Summary: one concise, task-focused summary of a new short text.
- Analysis paragraph: one paragraph linking feature, evidence and function.
- Comparison or evaluation: one paragraph with a clear criterion and justified connection between ideas.
- Speaking reflection: evidence of spontaneous use may be teacher observation, peer feedback or a private self-check; no public recording is required.
- Error log: three recurring language/reasoning issues and one successful repair strategy for each.
- Source check: dictionary, course and factual sources are identifiable; AI-generated claims, if permitted at all, are independently verified and never replace your own work.
OERs zum Thema
The English Wikipedia article on the Academic Word List offers background on a well-known academic vocabulary list. Use it as orientation, not as a list to memorise without context.
Open media used in this MOOC: Wikimedia Commons files are embedded through their file pages, where author and licence information can be checked. The vocabulary videos are embedded from their educational YouTube sources; no transcripts or copyrighted compulsory texts are reproduced.
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