Level 5 — Advanced · Structural & Academic Reading
Lesson 45: Academic Collocations, Lexical Bundles & Formulaic Language
Why academic English keeps reusing the same fixed word groups — make a decision, be consistent with, on the basis of — and how recognising them as single chunks, not word-by-word puzzles, dramatically speeds up reading.
Learning Objectives
By the end of this lesson, you should be able to:
- Recognise common academic verb-noun collocations (make a decision, raise a concern, pose a risk) as single semantic chunks rather than decoding them word by word
- Read causal-family verbs precisely — contribute to, result in, result from, give rise to, bring about — distinguishing partial contribution from full causation
- Identify stance-carrying bundles (be consistent with, be attributed to, suggest vs. demonstrate) as signals of how confidently a claim is actually being made
- Recognise formulaic lexical bundles (on the basis of, with respect to, the extent to which) instantly, converting each to its plain-English equivalent without losing its exact logical function
- Build vocabulary by chunk rather than by isolated word, recording a verb's typical collocations rather than a single dictionary definition
Introduction
Lesson 44 gave you the architecture a paragraph builds from topic to conclusion. Today's lesson works at a smaller scale, but the payoff is just as large: instead of reading English one word at a time, you'll start recognizing the fixed word-groups — collocations — that academic English reuses constantly. A fluent reader doesn't decode conduct and then research separately; they recognize conduct research as a single unit of meaning. Building that recognition is what this lesson trains.
What Is a Collocation?
Words that habitually travel together
A collocation is a word combination that English speakers use naturally together, even when an equally logical-sounding alternative doesn't get used. We say make a decision, not do a decision; we say conduct research, not make research. A fluent reader processes conduct research as one semantic unit rather than two separately translated words — and that single habit is a major source of faster, easier reading. The same verb can mean something different depending on its noun partner: provide alone means little, but provide evidence, provide support, and provide an explanation each carry a distinct, learnable meaning.
Core Academic Verb + Noun Families
Four verbs, and the nouns they habitually pair with
Provide, Raise, Address, and Pose
Four verbs whose academic meaning depends entirely on their noun partner
Provide + evidence/information/support/an explanation/an example/a basis for/an opportunity: the findings provide evidence for the proposed explanation — read provide evidence for as one chunk. Raise + a question/a concern/an issue/doubts/the possibility: these findings raise questions about the reliability of the system — the findings are the cause of new questions arising. Address (not physical) + a problem/an issue/a concern/a question/a limitation means deal with or respond to. Pose + a risk/a challenge/a threat/a problem means create or present: poor data quality poses a significant risk to automated decision-making.
Play a Role, Have an Impact, Exert Influence
Three formal ways of saying 'affects'
Play a role in: technology plays a role in organizational change; training plays an important role in successful implementation. Have an impact on / have an effect on / have implications for: automation may have a significant impact on employment patterns. Exert influence on (most formal): organizational culture can exert a strong influence on employee behavior — plainly, culture strongly influences behavior.
"Account For" — Two Distinct Meanings
The same phrase, two unrelated jobs
Explain: the difference may be accounted for by differences in training = differences in training may explain the difference. Constitute/represent a proportion: transport costs account for 30% of total expenditure = transport costs make up 30%. Context alone decides which job account for is doing in any given sentence.
The Causal Verb Family
Five ways to say 'causes,' each with a different strength
Contribute to signals partial causation, never complete: training contributed to the improvement means training was one factor, not the whole story. Result in points cause-to-effect (X results in Y); result from reverses the arrow (Y results from X) — mixing these two up flips the causal direction entirely. Lead to works like result in: poor planning can lead to significant delays. Give rise to is a more formal synonym for create/cause: rapid technological change can give rise to new organizational challenges. Bring about is a formal causal verb often used for policy-driven change: the policy was introduced to bring about improvements in efficiency.
Undergo and Be Subject To
Two verbs describing something happening to a subject, not caused by it
Undergo + change/reform/transformation/evaluation/testing: the system underwent extensive testing before implementation — the system went through the testing process. Be subject to + change/ regulation/limitations/review: the results are subject to several limitations means limitations apply to the results — a very common, important hedge in academic writing.
Based On, Consistent With, Associated With, Attributed To
Four stance-bearing bundles, each with a distinct logical strength
Be based on + evidence/assumptions/historical data: states what a decision or claim rests on. Be consistent with + the evidence/ previous findings/the theory: the results are consistent with previous studies means the results are compatible with, not proof of — consistent with ≠ proves. Be associated with + higher costs/improved performance/increased risk: signals correlation, not causation, exactly as Lesson 32 established. Be attributed to + automation/improved training, often softened with partly: the improvement was partly attributed to better data management — the word partly limits causal certainty deliberately.
Relevant To and Dependent On
Two adjective + preposition bundles worth automatic recognition
Be relevant to + the question/the analysis/policy decisions: these findings are directly relevant to the debate about automation. Be dependent on + data quality/context/implementation: the effectiveness of the system is highly dependent on data quality — naming the specific condition the claim's truth rests on.
Likely, Unlikely, Expected, Intended, and Designed To
Five 'to' bundles that each carry a different kind of commitment
Be likely/unlikely to: probability, not certainty — poor-quality data are likely to reduce system reliability. Be expected to: a prediction, not a guarantee — demand is expected to increase over the next decade. Be intended to and be designed to both name purpose, not necessarily outcome: the policy was intended to reduce unnecessary costs; the system was designed to detect unusual patterns. An intended or designed result is not automatically an achieved one — this gap matters enormously when evaluating whether a policy actually worked.
Purpose Chunks: In Order To, With the Aim Of, For the Purpose Of
Three levels of formality, one underlying meaning: purpose
In order to (neutral): the company introduced automation in order to reduce processing time — equivalent to plain to reduce processing time. With the aim of + V-ing (formal): the policy was introduced with the aim of reducing costs. For the purpose of + V-ing (very formal): the data were collected for the purpose of evaluating the new system.
Scope Prepositional Chunks, Recapped From Lesson 41
Directly connected to the prepositional compression chunks in Lesson 41
With respect to and in terms of both restrict a claim to one named dimension — with respect to reliability, the new system performed better says nothing about cost, speed, or usability. In relation to: interpret while considering something else — the findings should be interpreted in relation to the study's limitations. On the basis of = based on: the decision was made on the basis of limited evidence. In light of = considering (a logical relationship, not a physical one): in light of the new evidence, the researchers revised their conclusion.
Formulaic Language and Lexical Bundles
Fixed multi-word sequences that recur constantly across academic English
A lexical bundle (or formulaic sequence) is a recurring word group — as a result of, on the basis of, in terms of, with respect to, the extent to which, it is important to note that, there is evidence that, a number of factors, in the context of. A beginner decodes it is important to note that the findings are based on a limited sample word by word; an advanced reader recognizes it is important to note that… as a single framing chunk and moves straight to the real proposition: the findings are based on a limited sample.
"There Is Evidence That" and Its Weaker Cousins
A hedged claim about evidence is not the same as a stated fact
There is evidence that X ≠ X is true — it means evidence exists supporting the possibility of X. There is little evidence that X means the supporting evidence is limited — not the same as X is false. There is no evidence that X means available evidence doesn't establish X — as Lesson 40 stressed, this is not the same claim as X definitely did not happen. All three bundles differ in strength, and none of them collapses into the others.
Quantity Bundles: A Number Of, A Range Of, A Significant Proportion Of
Formal alternatives to plain quantifiers, each still vague on the exact amount
A number of factors = several factors (not one exact number). A range of approaches/outcomes = a variety, a spread. A wide range of applications signals breadth explicitly. A significant proportion of employees supported the change is a formal alternative to many — but still gives no exact percentage. None of these bundles should be silently upgraded to most or all.
The Extent To Which, and Five Related Formal Frames
Six formal noun-phrase frames and their plain-English equivalents
The extent to which the policy is effective remains uncertain asks, plainly, how effective is the policy? — recognizing these six frames on sight converts a wall of formal noun phrases into a short, plain question underneath.
Using Bundles as Instant Reading Shortcuts
Substitute the plain form mentally, without slowing down to translate
On seeing on the basis of, mentally substitute based on. Seeing with respect to, substitute regarding. Seeing the extent to which, substitute how much/how far. Seeing in the absence of, substitute without. Seeing as a result of, substitute because of/caused by. The policy was introduced with the aim of reducing administrative costs becomes, mentally, the policy was introduced to reduce administrative costs — the same underlying claim, arrived at instantly rather than word by word.
Not every chunk has an exact one-word substitute
In terms of cost cannot be flattened to because of cost — in terms of names a dimension/aspect being discussed, while because of names a cause. The two serve entirely different logical functions. Recognizing a chunk is only step one; identifying exactly what job it's doing in the sentence is the step that actually matters.
Collocation Carries Stance, Not Just Meaning
The same topic, opposite authorial positions
Raise a concern and dismiss a concern both involve the word concern, but the author's position toward it is completely opposite — one treats it as worth taking seriously, the other treats it as unworthy of serious attention. A collocation is never purely descriptive; it very often signals where the author actually stands.
Reporting Verb Bundles: Suggest vs. Demonstrate
The reporting verb changes the strength of everything that follows it
Academic books lean on reporting bundles constantly: evidence suggests that…, findings indicate that…, researchers argue that…, studies demonstrate that…, authors claim that…, critics contend that…, analysis reveals that…. Evidence suggests that X = evidence points toward X, a moderate claim. Evidence demonstrates that X = much stronger support is being claimed. Reading only the proposition that X and ignoring the reporting verb that introduces it loses exactly the information that tells you how confident the claim actually is.
Academic Noun Bundles: Impact, Role, Influence, Relationship
A family of 'noun of X (on/in/between Y)' patterns, all reducible to plain verbs
The role of X in Y = how X contributes to Y: the role of technology in organizational change. The influence of X on Y = how X influences Y. The impact of X on Y = how X affects Y: the impact of automation on employment. The relationship between X and Y = how X and Y are related. The effectiveness of X = how well X works. The assessment/evaluation of X = evaluating X. Every one of these noun-heavy academic phrases reduces to a short, plain question once you recognize the pattern.
Verb, Adjective, and Noun + Preposition Families
Learn these as fixed units — the preposition is not interchangeable
The preposition is part of the meaning, not a free choice
Reason for the change and reason why the change occurred express a similar idea through different grammar, but approach to the problem cannot become approach for the problem — the preposition is fixed to its noun or adjective. Treat noun + preposition and adjective + preposition pairs as single units to memorize, not as a noun/adjective plus a freely chosen connector.
A Reading Strategy for Unfamiliar Words Inside a Collocation
Six questions for an unfamiliar word sitting inside a chunk
The findings raise serious questions about the reliability of the system lets you infer reliability even without knowing the word: the chunk raise questions about reliability signals that reliability is something whose dependability is in doubt. The policy poses a significant challenge to small organizations lets the chunk pose a challenge to tell you poses means creates/presents, without ever opening a dictionary.
Building a Chunk-Based Vocabulary Notebook
Record collocations, not isolated words
Instead of writing contribute = অবদান রাখা, record: contribute to improved performance; contribute to a reduction in costs; contribute to the development of…. Layer word families with their typical collocations: decide → make a decision; analyze → conduct an analysis; implement → implementation of a policy; evaluate → evaluate effectiveness / evaluation of effectiveness. This single habit change expands usable academic vocabulary far faster than memorizing isolated definitions.
Chunking Is the Foundation of Reading Fluency
The single habit that separates a slow reader from a fluent one
Read academic English chunk by chunk, not word by word — on the basis of, as a result of, and the extent to which are each one unit of meaning, not four or five separate words to decode and translate individually.
A Master Framework for Reading Any Collocation
From a bare word to its exact meaning in context
Vocabulary in Context
pose a riskphraseformal
to create or present a danger or difficulty (ঝুঁকি তৈরি করা)
Often with pose a serious risk, pose a threat, pose a challenge
“Unsecured containers pose a risk to workers in high winds.”
contribute tophrasal verbformal
to be one of several factors producing an outcome, without being the sole cause (অবদান রাখা)
Often with contribute to a decline, contribute significantly, contribute to the delay
“Understaffing contributed to the backlog, though a system fault was the main cause.”
be consistent withphraseformal
to be compatible with a finding or theory, without thereby proving it (সামঞ্জস্যপূর্ণ হওয়া)
Often with be broadly consistent with, entirely consistent with, consistent with the findings
“The pattern of damage is consistent with a low-speed impact, but it does not prove one.”
be attributed tophraseformal
to be credited or assigned as at least part of the cause of an outcome (আরোপিত হওয়া)
Often with be largely attributed to, wrongly attributed to, attributed to human error
“The accident was attributed to human error, although the investigation is not finished.”
be subject tophraseformal
to be affected by, or bound by, a stated condition or limitation (সাপেক্ষ হওয়া)
Often with be subject to approval, be subject to change, be subject to inspection
“All hazardous cargo is subject to inspection before it enters the terminal.”
the extent to whichphraseformal
how much, or how far, something is true — leaving the actual degree an open question (কতটা পরিমাণে)
Often with assess the extent to which, the extent to which it applies, depend on the extent to which
“The review will assess the extent to which each terminal meets the new safety standard.”
on the basis ofphraseformal
using something as the foundation or reason for a decision or claim (ভিত্তিতে)
Often with on the basis of evidence, decide on the basis of, on the basis of this data
“On the basis of the trial results, the board approved a full rollout.”
a number ofphraseformal
several, an unspecified but more-than-a-few quantity (বেশ কয়েকটি)
Often with a number of factors, a number of reasons, a number of cases
“A number of factors contributed to the delay, including weather and staffing.”
lexical bundlenoun phrasetechnical
a fixed, recurring multi-word sequence that functions as a single unit of meaning (শব্দগুচ্ছ)
Often with common lexical bundle, academic lexical bundle, use lexical bundles
“'On the other hand' and 'as a result of' are lexical bundles that recur constantly in reports.”
Guided Reading Practice
Read this passage once for its overall meaning, then underline every collocation and lexical bundle before checking your reading against the notes that follow.
Several factors appear to contribute to the effectiveness of automated inventory systems. There is evidence that accurate sensor data plays a critical role in reducing stock discrepancies, although the extent to which this benefit depends on staff training remains unclear. On the basis of results from a small number of warehouses, the improvement cannot be attributed solely to the technology; rather, it appears to be associated with a combination of hardware quality and operational practices.
Contribute to signals partial causation. There is evidence that hedges the claim about sensor data. Plays a critical role in is a verb-noun collocation for strongly affects. The extent to which… remains unclear leaves the training question genuinely open. On the basis of introduces the evidence's foundation. Cannot be attributed solely to and associated with both deliberately avoid a single-cause claim — exactly the pattern this lesson trained you to spot instantly.
Golden Rule
Golden Rule
Read academic English chunk by chunk, not word by word — on the basis of, as a result of, and the extent to which are each one unit of meaning, not several separate words to translate.
Lesson Summary
This lesson moved vocabulary study from the single word to the chunk: verb-noun families like make a decision and raise a concern, the causal verb ladder from contribute to through bring about, stance- bearing bundles like be consistent with and be attributed to, and formal lexical bundles like on the basis of and the extent to which that recur constantly across serious academic English. You practised converting each bundle to its plain-English equivalent while watching for the cases — in terms of versus because of — where no exact substitute exists and the chunk's specific logical function has to be identified instead.
The progression this lesson is building toward
Word → Chunk → Meaning → Function → Argument. A beginner sees provide
- evidence. An advanced reader sees provide evidence. A more advanced reader sees provide evidence for X. A critical reader knows that provide evidence for X is not the same claim as prove X — all four layers working together at once.
Practice: Test What You've Learned
Work through every question yourself before checking anything.
Before you start
For each item, name the exact chunk first (not just the individual words), then explain its meaning — treating "raise" and "concern" as two separate words to translate is exactly the habit this lesson is meant to break.
Part A — Verb + Noun Collocations
- The committee reached a decision after considering the evidence. Identify the verb-noun collocation, and explain why "made a decision" would also be acceptable here while "did a decision" would not.
Show answer
The collocation is "reached a decision." "Made a decision" is also acceptable because "make" is one of the verbs that habitually pairs with "decision" in English, but "did a decision" is not, since "do" is simply not a collocational partner for that noun, even though it is logically no less sensible than "make." - The report raises serious concerns about data security. Explain what "raise" contributes to this sentence's meaning beyond its literal sense of lifting something.
Show answer
In the collocation "raise a concern," "raise" means to bring something into existence or attention, it signals that the report is the cause of new concerns arising, not that anything is being physically lifted. Reading "raise" as one unit with "concerns" is faster and more accurate than translating "raise" on its own.
Part B — The Causal Verb Family
- Better training contributed to the improvement in accuracy. Explain why this sentence does not claim that training was the only cause.
Show answer
"Contribute to" signals partial causation, never complete causation, so the sentence only claims that training was one factor among possibly several. It leaves open that other factors, such as better equipment or process changes, may also have played a part in the improvement. - The reduction in costs resulted from process improvements. Identify which noun phrase is the cause and which is the effect, and explain how the sentence would change meaning if "resulted in" were used instead.
Show answer
The cause is the process improvements; the effect is the reduction in costs, since "resulted from" names the effect first and the cause second. Swapping in "resulted in" would reverse the causal arrow entirely, making "the reduction in costs resulted in process improvements" claim that lower costs caused the process changes, the opposite relationship.
Part C — Stance-Bearing Bundles
- The results are consistent with the researchers' original hypothesis. Explain why this is a weaker claim than "the results prove the hypothesis."
Show answer
"Be consistent with" means the results are compatible with the hypothesis, not that they establish it as true; other explanations could still be equally compatible with the same results. "Prove" claims definitive confirmation, a much stronger and more exposed assertion than mere compatibility. - Evidence suggests that the policy may reduce costs. vs. Evidence demonstrates that the policy reduces costs. Explain the difference in strength between these two sentences.
Show answer
"Suggests" plus "may" makes a moderate, doubly hedged claim, evidence points toward a possibility, not a certainty. "Demonstrates" claims much stronger support, and dropping "may" states the cost reduction as an established fact rather than a possible one, making the second sentence a considerably stronger claim than the evidence in the first would justify.
Part D — Formal Lexical Bundles
- There is little evidence that the new system improves reliability. Explain why this is not equivalent to "the new system does not improve reliability."
Show answer
"There is little evidence that X" means the supporting evidence for X is limited, not that X has been shown to be false. "The new system does not improve reliability" makes a positive claim of no effect, which is a stronger and different assertion than simply noting that proof is currently scarce. - With respect to cost, the new supplier was preferable. Identify the scope of this claim, and explain what it does not tell you about the supplier.
Show answer
The scope is limited to cost alone. It tells you nothing about the supplier's reliability, delivery speed, quality, or any other dimension, and it should never be read as a claim that the new supplier was preferable overall.
Part E — Full Passage Analysis
Return to this lesson's guided reading passage about automated inventory systems.
- Identify every causal-family verb or bundle in the passage, and explain what each one does or does not claim about causation.
Show answer
"Contribute to" (factors contribute to effectiveness) claims only partial causation, one factor among others. "Plays a critical role in" claims a strong influence without naming it the sole cause. "Cannot be attributed solely to" explicitly denies single-cause credit. "Associated with" signals correlation, a combination occurring together, without asserting that combination caused the improvement. - Explain what "the extent to which this benefit depends on staff training remains unclear" tells the reader, and what it deliberately leaves unanswered.
Show answer
It tells the reader that staff training is a plausible factor in the benefit, worth taking seriously, but it deliberately leaves unanswered exactly how much of the benefit depends on training versus the sensor technology itself. The phrase "the extent to which" is doing the work of admitting the question is open rather than committing to a specific proportion. - Rewrite the passage's final sentence in plain English, preserving both "cannot be attributed solely to" and "associated with" accurately.
Show answer
Based on results from a small number of warehouses, the technology alone cannot be given full credit for the improvement; instead, the improvement seems to occur together with a combination of better hardware and better operational practices. - Using this lesson's six-question strategy, explain how a reader could infer the approximate meaning of "discrepancies" from its surrounding collocation, even without knowing the word beforehand.
Show answer
The word sits inside "reducing stock discrepancies," a verb-plus-noun chunk following a sentence about accurate sensor data cutting down on inventory problems. Since "reducing" pairs naturally with a problem being lessened, and the topic is inventory accuracy, a reader can infer "discrepancies" means mismatches or inconsistencies in stock records, without ever opening a dictionary.
Next: Lesson 46 — Reading Speed, Automaticity & Multi-Layer Processing: how to stop reading English word by word and start processing it in chunks, layers, and levels — fast enough, and deeply enough, to read a real book.