Academic and Domain Vocabulary for College
Aligned to L.11-12.6 — Common Core State Standards for English Language Arts.
What this lesson teaches
College and career readiness means owning the general academic words that cross subjects — 'synthesize,' 'implicit,' 'constitute' — and the domain-specific terms of a field, and using them accurately, not decoratively. Command shows in precision, not in reaching for the longest word.
Worked example
A student writes 'the data corroborate the hypothesis' rather than 'the data go with the idea'; 'corroborate' is not fancier for its own sake — it names the exact relationship of independent support, which the plainer phrase leaves vague.
Practice questions
- Choose a general academic verb and use it in a sentence where a plainer word would lose precision.
- Identify a domain-specific term from a field you are studying and define it in your own words.
- Revise a sentence to replace an imprecise word with an academic term that names the idea exactly, and explain the gain.
Watch the lesson
Every lesson comes with a video taught in English and Spanish — the same video the QR code in the printed workbook opens.
▶ Watch this lessonEn español
Vocabulario Académico y Especializado para la Universidad
La preparación para la universidad y la carrera implica dominar las palabras académicas generales que cruzan materias — 'sintetizar', 'implícito', 'constituir' — y los términos propios de un campo, y usarlos con exactitud, no como adorno. El dominio se ve en la precisión, no en buscar la palabra más larga.
Ejemplo: Un estudiante escribe 'los datos corroboran la hipótesis' en vez de 'los datos van con la idea'; 'corroborar' no es más elegante por sí mismo — nombra la relación exacta de apoyo independiente, que la frase más simple deja vaga.
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