100 Academic Words for IELTS Reading: Boost Your Comprehension

If you want to achieve Band 7–9 in IELTS Reading, one of the most effective strategies is mastering IELTS reading academic words.

IELTS reading passages are often adapted from academic sources, meaning they are rich in formal vocabulary. If you don’t recognize these words, even if your grammar is strong, you may struggle to understand the text and answer questions accurately.

As a global IELTS teacher, I’ve seen students go from Band 6 to 8+ simply by focusing on academic vocabulary. In this blog, I’ll guide you through:

• Why academic words are essential for IELTS Reading success

• A list of 100 academic words organized by theme

• Tips to learn and use these words effectively in real tests

• How to integrate them with IELTS Reading Vocabulary strategies for maximum results

Why Academic Words Matter in IELTS Reading

IELTS Reading passages (both Academic and many GT passages) often include formal, topic-specific vocabulary. These words appear frequently in:

• Scientific reports and research

• Academic articles and journals

• Historical or cultural essays

• Environmental and social studies texts

Here’s why these IELTS reading academic words are critical:

1. They Improve Comprehension
   Recognizing formal words like mitigate, accumulate, or allocate allows you to understand complex sentences without guessing.

2. They Speed Up Answering
   When you spot familiar words or their synonyms, you can quickly match questions to the passage instead of rereading multiple times.

3. They Help Avoid Traps
   Many tricky answers rely on paraphrasing. Knowing academic vocabulary prevents confusion when the question uses a synonym instead of the exact word in the passage.

100 Academic Words for IELTS Reading

I’ve organized these words into 10 themes, so you can study them in a structured way. Each theme reflects high-frequency topics in IELTS Reading.

1. Environment & Climate (10 words)

1. Sustainable

2. Emission

3. Degradation

4. Habitat

5. Biodiversity

6. Renewable

7. Conservation

8. Contamination

9. Erosion

10. Deforestation

IELTS Tip: These words often appear in cause-effect passages. Example: “Deforestation accelerates soil erosion.”

2. Science & Technology (10 words)

11. Innovation

12. Mechanism

13. Hypothesis

14. Variable

15. Data

16. Experiment

17. Analysis

18. Device

19. Observation

20. Evidence

IELTS Tip: These are common in research-based texts. Recognize them in Matching Headings and Completion questions.

3. Health & Medicine (10 words)

21. Diagnosis

22. Treatment

23. Therapy

24. Immunity

25. Infection

26. Nutrition

27. Deficiency

28. Prevention

29. Rehabilitation

30. Contagious

IELTS Tip: Be ready for synonyms like therapy → treatment or infection → disease.

4. Education & Learning (10 words)

31. Curriculum

32. Literacy

33. Assessment

34. Methodology

35. Lecture

36. Assignment

37. Discipline

38. Qualification

39. Research

40. Institution

IELTS Tip: Academic passages often describe research studies or teaching methods, so these words appear frequently in Matching Features or Summary Completion.

5. Society & Government (10 words)

41. Policy

42. Legislation

43. Authority

44. Regulation

45. Democracy

46. Citizenship

47. Migration

48. Infrastructure

49. Administration

50. Public service

IELTS Tip: In T/F/NG questions, watch for policy-related paraphrases: law → regulation → legislation.

6. Economy & Business (10 words)

51. Revenue

52. Investment

53. Inflation

54. Profit

55. Consumption

56. Trade

57. Market

58. Demand

59. Subsidy

60. Competition

IELTS Tip: These words often appear in passages about global economy or trade, and may be paraphrased in Matching Information questions.

7. History & Culture (10 words)

61. Artifact

62. Heritage

63. Civilization

64. Archaeology

65. Tradition

66. Chronicle

67. Era

68. Dynasty

69. Architecture

70. Legacy

IELTS Tip: These terms appear in descriptive or narrative passages about history or culture.

8. Transport & Infrastructure (10 words)

71. Commute

72. Network

73. Traffic congestion

74. Route

75. Intersection

76. Pedestrian

77. Infrastructure

78. Terminal

79. Vehicle

80. Freight

IELTS Tip: Look for location and movement descriptions in Diagram or Map Completion tasks.

9. Energy & Natural Resources (10 words)

81. Fossil fuels

82. Renewable energy

83. Extraction

84. Mining

85. Reservoir

86. Scarcity

87. Exploitation

88. Drilling

89. Hydroelectric

90. Solar

IELTS Tip: Completion tasks often require filling in energy-related terms with correct spelling.

10. Academic Processes & Research (10 words)

91. Allocate

92. Compile

93. Evaluate

94. Interpret

95. Formulate

96. Investigate

97. Publish

98. Refine

99. Submit

100. Conclude

IELTS Tip: These words appear in formal research or academic report passages, often linked to verbs in passive form.

How to Learn IELTS Reading Academic Words Effectively

Memorizing 100 words in isolation isn’t enough. Here’s how I teach my students to absorb and apply these words:

1. Learn in Context

   • Highlight the word in a passage and note its synonym or explanation.

   • Example: “The government allocated funds” → allocated = distributed.

2. Create Synonym Families

   • Connect academic words to 2–3 common synonyms.

   • Evaluate → assess → judge

3. Use Spaced Repetition

   • Review words every 2–3 days using flashcards or digital apps.

4. Practice with Real Passages

   • Use official IELTS resources or British Council to spot words in context.

5. Combine with Pillar Vocabulary Training

   • Visit my IELTS Reading Vocabulary for question-type strategies and synonym mastery.

Pro Tips for Exam Day

• Underline keywords in the question and predict academic synonyms in the passage.

• Don’t panic if you see unfamiliar words. Focus on context and surrounding words.

• Practice speed + comprehension: the more academic words you know, the less time you’ll spend re-reading.

Final Thoughts

Learning IELTS reading academic words is one of the fastest ways to boost comprehension and answer accuracy in the test.

• Study these 100 core words by theme.

• Practice them in real passages from Cambridge books.

• Combine with synonym recognition and question-type vocabulary strategies.

With consistent practice, you’ll not only understand formal texts better, but also spot answers faster, giving you a strong path to Band 7–9 success.

✅ Pro Tip: Learn 10 words per day, review them in context, and highlight their synonyms. Within 2–3 weeks, your reading speed and accuracy will improve dramatically.