TRI DUC ENGLISH ✦ ACADEMIC EDGE UNIT 8 EDITION Words with Several Meanings Academic meanings for familiar words · Discipline-specific terms — Expanding your academic lexicon 📚 A. Focus on the word "Set" Many words in English have more than one meaning. The word set , for example, is one word with a particularly large number of distinctly different meanings. As our focus is academic English, some key uses of set are illustrated by these examples. a) Set the instruments to zero. [get something ready so it can be operated] b) I would like to set some ground rules for the course. [establish] c) The decision set a number of changes in motion. [caused to be in a stated condition] d) We must set a time for our next meeting. [arrange] e) Concrete sets as it cools. [becomes solid] f) The students entered the room and immediately set to work. [started work] g) The condition is associated with a particular set of symptoms. [group] h) We have a number of set books to study in our literature class. [that must be studied] 🎓 B. More academic meanings for familiar words Here are some more words which in an academic context may have a different meaning from those you are familiar with from your knowledge of general English. Word Academic Meaning(s) Example accommodate (verb) change to allow something to fit in He had to adapt his theory to accommodate new information. contract (verb) shorten, become smaller As the metal cools it contracts . occur (verb) exist Some valuable minerals occur naturally in these rocks. reference (noun) author or book mentioned in a piece of writing to show where information was found You must provide a list of references at the end of your assignment. revolution (noun) complete turn (e.g. of a wheel) Time is measured by the revolution of the earth around the sun. structure (noun) way in which parts of a system or object are organised or arranged The structure of this element is particularly complex. 🔬 C. Words with several different academic meanings Many academic words have specific meanings according to their discipline. Channel , for example, has specific meanings in electronics, linguistics, biology, physics and geography. So you will, of course, need a specialist dictionary for your own subject. Other words, e.g. issue and point have several generally important academic meanings. • The writer takes issue with Kwame's interpretation. [raises arguments against] • In your essay you should address a number of key issues . [topics] ...