Science & Research
Science & Research — 20 high-frequency words, with pronunciation, collocations, tricky words and four interactive exercises.
📌 Lesson contents
🎯 Lesson goal
Read a paper and describe an experiment 🔬. Twenty terms from the scientific method, plus the grammar that goes with them: the impersonal passive (the samples were analysed) and hedging verbs (suggest, indicate) that set a scientist apart from a popular writer. 🚀
🗂️ Word Bank
Tap 🔊 to hear the British pronunciation. The IPA transcription is under each word.
📖 Words in context
How to read a study · tap a highlighted word to hear it.
A study appears in the press with a dramatic headline. Before believing it, a scientist asks four questions.
First, the sample: how many participants, and were they representative? A trial with sixty students cannot support a claim about a population. Second, the design: was there a control group, and was every relevant variable measured? Third, the statistics: is the effect statistically significant, or merely a correlation that someone has quietly described as a cause?
Fourth, and most importantly, has the paper survived peer review, and can independent teams replicate the findings? Early results are often inconclusive; a single breakthrough rarely survives close scrutiny. Good researchers state their assumption openly, admit what they cannot rule out, and describe the evidence as suggestive rather than final. The moment a press release removes that caution, the science has already been distorted.
🔗 Collocations & chunks
Words are learnt in pairs, not alone: memorise the whole chunk.
| Chunk / collocation | Meaning | Example |
|---|---|---|
| conduct research | do a study | The team conducted research over five years. |
| carry out an experiment | do a scientific test | They carried out the experiment twice. |
| draw a conclusion | decide what the results mean | It's too early to draw conclusions. |
| provide evidence for | give facts that support | The data provide evidence for the theory. |
| cast doubt on | make people less sure about | The result casts doubt on earlier work. |
| in the light of these findings | because of these results | In the light of these findings, the policy was revised. |
⚠️ Tricky words
| English word | Real meaning ✅ | Watch out ❌ |
|---|---|---|
| evidence | facts that show something is true (never plural) | Uncountable: say “the evidence is…”, never “evidences”. |
| argument | a reasoned case for a point of view | Not the same as topic or subject. |
| eventual | happening at the end, finally | Not the same as possible. |
| preservative | conservante |
🎚️ Register: when to use them
| Expression | Register | When to use it |
|---|---|---|
| It basically proves it. | informal / imprecise | conversation, never in a paper |
| The results show that… | neutral | acceptable in popular science writing |
| The data suggest that… | academic | the right style: careful and checkable |
| These findings would appear to indicate… | very cautious | when the evidence is weak or partial |
🚫 Common mistakes to avoid
| Mistake ❌ | Correct ✅ |
|---|---|
| The evidences are clear. | The evidence is clear. |
| This research demonstrate that… | This research demonstrates that… |
| We have individuated three factors. | We identified three factors. |
| In this paper I will explain my thesis about… | This paper examines… |
🎮 Vocabulary gym
Four ways to train the same 20 words. Your progress is saved on this device.
Tap the card to flip it.
Tap an English word, then its meaning. Eight pairs per round.
Complete the ten sentences with the right word. The 💡 hint helps you.
- The was rejected at the second stage.💡 an idea to be tested
- There is compelling for this.💡 facts that show something is true
- The were published in Nature.💡 what a study discovers
- The included 1,200 participants.💡 a small group chosen for testing
- The clinical lasted three years.💡 a test of a new treatment
- The received a placebo.💡 the people who get no treatment
- One was left unmeasured.💡 a factor that can change
- A is not a cause.💡 a link between two things
- Selection weakened the study.💡 an unfair tendency
- The paper is still under .💡 experts check it before publication