EAP VOCABULARY PRACTICE: Using Academic Words

English for Academic Purposes

Vocabulary Development Task:
Using the Academic Word List 4

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 EAP VOCABULARY PRACTICE: Using Academic Words

Section 1: Reading Comprehension

A. Read the following extract from an academic journal article

and insert the correct word in the appropriate gap:

despite (prep.) issue (n) underlying (adj.) Crucial (adj.)

Initiatives (n) role (n) contribute (v) focus (v)

capacity (n) range(n)

University–industry linkages in the UK: What

are the factors underlying the variety of
interactions with industry?
Introduction

Universities play a ( ) role in society as producers and transmitters of

knowledge. In recent years the discussion about whether universities can encompass a third
mission of economic development, in addition to research and teaching, has received
greater attention ([Mansfield, 1995], [Branscomb et al., 1999], [Etzkowitz and Leydesdorff,
2000] and [Leydesdorff and Meyer, 2003]). Many scholars have argued that within the remit
of the third mission university–industry research collaborations are extremely important
mechanisms for generating technological spillovers. Such collaborations ( )
positively to address innovation market failures and help realise the full social returns of R&D
investments ([Martin and Scott, 2000] and [Siegel and Zervos, 2002]). Moreover, there is a
burgeoning empirical literature showing an increasing level of academic commercial
activities, such as patenting and licensing, and generation of spin-out companies ([Shane,
2004], [Friedman and Silberman, 2003], [Thursby and Kemp, 2002] and [Zucker et al.,
1998]). This has been accompanied by an increase in research joint ventures (Hall et al.,
2001) and joint scientific publications (Calvert and Patel, 2003). At the same time many
governments have introduced an increasing ( ) of policies encouraging the
involvement of universities in technology transfer.

( ) this growing interest among academics and policy makers there are a
number of gaps in the understanding of university-industry linkages. This paper aims to
investigate two such gaps. The first is related to the variety of channels through which
knowledge transfer occurs. Much of the literature on university–industry technology transfer
has centred on the academic ( ) to generate and exploit intellectual property
rights (IPR) via patent ownership agreements, academic spin-offs and income streams from
licences and royalties ([Shane, 2004], [Friedman and Silberman, 2003]. In addition, many
policy ( ) are aimed at encouraging university researchers to engage in
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patenting, licensing and creating new companies. However, systematic analysis of other
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forms of knowledge transfer, such as joint research projects, consultancy and training, has

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 EAP VOCABULARY PRACTICE: Using Academic Words

been largely neglected. The purpose of this paper is to ( ) on this wider

variety of channels through which university researchers interact with industry.

The second neglected ( ) in the literature is related to the factors

( ) the interactions of academic researchers with industry. Existing research
shows that the distribution of science–technology interactions among academic researchers
is highly skewed, with a few researchers engaged in a large number of interactions ([Balconi
et al., 2004] and [Agrawal and Henderson, 2002]). However, we know little about the
distinctive ( ) of individual characteristics versus institutional characteristics
(i.e. the institutional affiliation of university researchers) in explaining such heterogeneity of
behaviour.

(D’est, P. & Patel, P. (2007) “University-Industry Linkages in the UK: What are the factors underlying the variety
of interactions with industry?” in Research Policy Vol. 36 No. 9 pp. 1295-1313)

B. Locate the following academic words within the article above and
match them with their corresponding dictionary definitions:

Generate (v) relating to education,

especially education in
colleges and
universities
Innovation (n) based on , concerned
with, or verifiable by
observation or
experience rather than
theory or pure logic
Empirical (adj.) produce or create
Publications (n) make full use of and
derive benefit from (a
resource)
Linkages (n) having official
permission to do it from
a government, business,
or other authority
Exploit (v) the invention or use of
new ideas, methods,
equipment
License (v) books or journals issued
for public sale
Academic (adj.) the action of linking or
the state of being linked

(www.macmillandictionary.com; www.oxforddioncationaries.com)
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 EAP VOCABULARY PRACTICE: Using Academic Words

Section 2: Using Synonyms

A. Some words can mean different things, depending on the

context. Using the context of the article above, select the most
appropriate definition for the following words (they are italicized
and in bold in the text) and delete as appropriate:

e.g. Green - the same colour as grass

- environmentally friendly and ecologically sustainable

- young and inexperienced

i. Policy (n) -a contract between an insurance company and a

person or organization.

-a set of plans or actions agreed on by a government,

political party, business, or other group

-a principle or set of ideas that you think is sensible or

wise

ii. Transfer (n) -the process of moving, or of moving someone, from

one job, department, or office to another in the same
organization

-a piece of paper with a design or picture that you print

on another surface using heat and pressure

-a person such as a football player who has been

moved from one team to another

iii. Channel (n) -a television station and the programmes that it

broadcasts

-a method used for communicating information or for

sending or receiving something

-a narrow passage made in the ground so that water

can go along it

iv. Income (n) - money that someone gets from working or from
investing money

- in the process of coming in

- having just been elected or appointed to succeed

another
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 EAP VOCABULARY PRACTICE: Using Academic Words

v. Analysis (n) -a process of examining something in detail in order to

find out what it contains

-the process of examining someone’s thoughts,

feelings, and behaviour as a way of understanding and
dealing with their emotional or mental problems

-a process of studying or examining something in detail

in order to understand it or explain it

vi. Interact (v) - when two things communicate with one another and
react to one another, often while performing an activity
together

- a short break in the middle of a play, film, concert etc

- communicate or be involved directly

vii. Distribution (n) - the process of giving something such as food, clothes,
or money to a group of people, especially so that each
person gets an equal share

- the way in which something is shared out among a

group or spread over an area

- the process of supplying goods from one central place

to shops

viii. distinctive (adj) - easy to recognize because of being different from

other people or things of the same type

-particular or specific

- characteristic of one person or thing , and so serving

to distinguish it from others

ix. institutional (adj) - from or within a large organization

- typical of or relating to an institution such as a

hospital, in which people live

- relating to the institutions on which society is based

(such as education, medicine, law etc.)
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 EAP VOCABULARY PRACTICE: Using Academic Words

B. Find the synonyms for the following words hidden (HORIZONTALLY

AND VERTICALLY) in the grid below:

L I T H S I F R S S C
K N I S D N C U R R H
G A A N P V E D V P A
R C W T H O R O U G H
E C T L T L A P S A I
A U U P L V E L I R N
T R E S S E N T I A L
L A L G E D R Y L N I
Y T R H A O I I E G N
I E E A R E N E S E G
G R O W I N G A I L Y
O E N T E K E R O E R
N T S O L L R T P T E

e.g. LARGELY (…has been largely neglected…)= GREATLY

I. CRUCIAL (…play a crucial role…) =

II. INCREASING (…an increasing level…) =

III. VARIETY (…the variety of channels…) =

IV. SYSTEMATIC (…systematic analysis of other forms…) =

V. SKEWED (…science-technology interactions […] are highly

skewed…) =

VI. ENGAGED (…few researchers engaged in…) =

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 EAP VOCABULARY PRACTICE: Using Academic Words

C. With the help of any resource of your choice, rewrite the following
sentences replacing the underlined words in bold with
synonyms (or phrase that means the same
thing). The sentence should still have the
same meaning. Remember to use the context of
the article! Use a thesaurus or dictionary to
check your answers.

i. “Universities play a crucial role in society as producers and

transmitters of knowledge.”

ii. “Such collaborations contribute positively to address innovation

market failures…”

iii. “Moreover, there is a burgeoning empirical literature showing an

increasing level of academic commercial activities, such as
patenting and licensing, and generation of spin-out companies.”

iv. “This has been accompanied by an increase in research joint

ventures and joint scientific publications.”

v. “In addition, many policy initiatives are aimed at encouraging

university researchers to engage in patenting, licensing and
creating new companies.”

vi. “The second neglected issue in the literature is related to the

factors underlying the interactions of academic researchers with
industry.”
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