Academic Vocabulary
📋 What it is
Academic words (analyse, evaluate, summarise) appear across every school subject.
🗣️ Coach says
Some words show up in EVERY subject's questions — "analyse", "evaluate", "compare", "summarise". Knowing exactly what these command words ask you to DO is a secret weapon for tests and essays in any class.
🧠 Memory hook
Command words (analyse, evaluate, compare) tell you what to DO. Know them for every subject.
😂 Giggle
Why did the thesaurus never repeat itself?
Because it always had another way to say it!
😲 Whoa!
Just a few hundred academic "power words" appear in textbooks across every subject from science to history.
✅ Quick check: If a question says "compare", what are you being asked to do?
Say your answer out loud first — then reveal.
Show how two things are alike (and often different).
The academic command word "compare" asks for similarities (and differences).
🧪 Try it! (2 minutes)
Explain the difference between "describe" and "explain" as test instructions.