C2 Vocabulary Extension
IB Academic Writing
Advanced Vocabulary & Phrases
Please use your intelligence and the context to propose meanings for the words in bold.
Perceptive - The response demonstrates a thorough and perceptive understanding of the literal meaning of the text, revealing insights about the author's agenda that go beyond surface-level observations and showing sensitivity to nuance.
Implications - When making reference to the text, students should explore the deeper implications of the writer's choices, considering what ideas the writer wants to express about the world and what readers should think and feel after engaging with the text.
Coherent - The presentation of ideas is adequately organized in a generally coherent manner, with each paragraph connecting logically to the next and all arguments supporting a unified thesis throughout the essay.
Substantiate - Strong essays substantiate their claims with at least three references to the text, ensuring that every topic sentence is supported by specific evidence rather than remaining at the level of unsupported assertion.
Insightful - The response demonstrates an appropriate and often insightful analysis of textual features, going beyond simple description to reveal how authorial choices create meaning and shape the reader's understanding.
Synthesize - Effective conclusions synthesize the deeper implications discussed throughout the essay, bringing together separate analytical points into a unified interpretation rather than simply repeating what has already been said.
Connotation - Students should apply the denotation plus connotation method to word choice, examining not just the literal dictionary meaning but also the emotional associations and cultural implications that specific words carry.
Evaluate - The criterion asks students to analyze and evaluate how textual features shape meaning, requiring them to make judgments about the effectiveness of techniques rather than merely identifying their presence.
Meanings
Perceptive - showing deep understanding and the ability to notice things that are not immediately obvious
Implications - the deeper meanings or consequences that can be inferred even when not explicitly stated
Coherent - logically organized and connected; forming a unified whole
Substantiate - support or prove with evidence; give solid backing to claims
Insightful - demonstrating intelligent understanding; revealing hidden connections or meanings
Synthesize - combine separate elements into a unified whole; integrate ideas together
Connotation - the suggested or associated meaning of a word beyond its literal definition
Evaluate - assess the quality, importance, or effectiveness of something; make critical judgments
Storage Test
First, take a 15-minute break, then look at the words below and ask yourself what you recall about their meaning.
Perceptive
Implications
Coherent
Substantiate
Insightful
Synthesize
Connotation
Evaluate
C2 Vocabulary Gap-Fill Exercise
Word Bank: • perceptive • implications • coherent • substantiate • insightful • synthesize • connotation • evaluate
Gap-Fill Sentences
The examiner praised the student's _____________ analysis, which revealed subtle connections between the text's structure and its thematic concerns that less careful readers might overlook.
The essay explored the broader _____________ of the author's use of religious imagery, considering how these choices reflected attitudes toward faith in Victorian society.
To achieve high marks, students must present a _____________ argument where each paragraph builds logically on the previous one and all points connect clearly to the thesis.
Writers should _____________ their interpretations with specific quotations and examples from the text rather than making general claims without textual support.
The conclusion demonstrated _____________ understanding by connecting the text's formal features to its historical context and showing how both dimensions work together to create meaning.
Strong analytical essays _____________ evidence from multiple parts of the text, bringing together different observations into a unified interpretation of the work's central message.
The word "regime" carries a negative _____________ that subtly influences readers to view the government as illegitimate, even before any explicit criticism is presented.
The rubric requires students to _____________ how effectively authorial choices shape meaning, not simply to identify techniques but to assess their impact.
Answer Key
perceptive
implications
coherent
substantiate
insightful
synthesize
connotation
evaluate