Study Skills & Revision — B2 Essential Words

recall /rɪˈkɔːl/ verb B2 Education

Meaning: To remember something from the past and bring it back to mind; also for a company to ask for products to be returned because of a problem.

Example: I can't recall his name.

Another example: The car maker recalled 10,000 vehicles.

Collocations: recall that · recall an event · product recall (noun)

Synonyms: remember, recollect, retrieve

Antonyms: forget

Word family: recalls (v) · recall (n) · recalled (adj)

⚠ Common mistake: Memory's active verb — exams test it ('recall the formula'). Its noun doubles in car news ('a recall of 50,000 cars').

🗣 In spoken American English: Names at reunions are its toughest exam.

Register: Formal — study essential.

revise /rɪˈvaɪz/ verb B2 Education

Meaning: To study material again in preparation for an exam (British usage, common in study contexts); also to change something (a plan, a text) to improve or correct it.

Example: She revised all weekend for the biology exam.

Another example: The authors revised the book for the new edition.

Collocations: revise for the exam · revise the plan · revised edition

Synonyms: review (US exam sense), edit, update

Word family: revision (n) · revised (adj)

⚠ Common mistake: American students REVIEW for exams; British students REVISE — same desk, different flag. Writers worldwide revise drafts in the second sense.

🗣 In spoken American English: Its noun is the studying season's headline in the UK.

Register: Formal — study essential.

summarize /ˈsʌməraɪz/ verb B2 Education

Meaning: To give the main points of something in a short form, leaving out the details.

Example: Summarize the article in three sentences.

Another example: He summarized the meeting for absent staff.

Collocations: summarize the text · summarize in · summarize briefly

Synonyms: sum up, condense, outline

Antonyms: elaborate

Word family: summary (n) · summarizes (v) · summarized (adj)

⚠ Common mistake: American Z again (summarize). Meetings, books, and news all submit to it; 'in summary' is the closing bell of essays.

🗣 In spoken American English: Its skill is half of every job interview's hidden test ('So, tell me about this...').

Register: Formal — study essential.

outline /ˈaʊtlaɪn/ noun / verb B2 Education

Meaning: A general plan showing the main points but not the details, often as a list before writing; the main shape or edge of something; to describe the main points.

Example: Write an outline before the essay.

Another example: The outline of the coast is clear from the plane.

Collocations: an outline of · outline the plan · in outline

Synonyms: plan, sketch, summary

Word family: outlines (n pl) · outline (v) · outlined (adj)

⚠ Common mistake: Essays, mountains, and projects all have one — the shape before the filling. 'Broad outline' agreement is politics' favorite starting deal.

🗣 In spoken American English: Its first draft shame is zero — that is its whole purpose.

Register: Formal — study essential.

cram /kræm/ verb B2 Education

Meaning: To study intensively in a short time just before an exam; also to push things into a small space until it is very full.

Example: He crammed all night before the final.

Another example: She crammed the clothes into one bag.

Collocations: cram for the exam · cram all night · crammed into

Synonyms: swot (UK slang), stuff, pack

Word family: crams (v) · crammed (adj) · cramming (n)

⚠ Common mistake: All-nighters are its legend; spaced repetition is its scientific enemy (and it is winning, per research). Suitcases suffer its second sense weekly.

🗣 In spoken American English: Its schools in some countries ('cram schools') are an industry, not a habit.

Register: Informal — study staple.

flashcard /ˈflæʃkɑːrd/ noun B2 Education

Meaning: A card with a word, question, or picture on one side and the answer or meaning on the other, used for studying and memorizing.

Example: She made flashcards for the vocabulary test.

Another example: Review your flashcards every morning.

Collocations: flashcards for · make flashcards · flashcard app

Synonyms: study cards, note cards, quiz cards

Word family: flashcards (n pl)

⚠ Common mistake: Apps (Anki, Quizlet) digitized the shoebox classic — this very website's word cards are its descendants. Spaced repetition schedules them by forgetting curve.

🗣 In spoken American English: Its flipping rhythm is studying's metronome.

Register: Neutral — study essential.

glossary /ˈɡlɒsəri/ noun B2 Education

Meaning: An alphabetical list of the special words used in a book or subject, with their meanings explained, usually at the end of a book or lesson.

Example: Check the glossary for new words.

Another example: The story ends with a helpful glossary.

Collocations: the glossary · in the glossary · a glossary of terms

Synonyms: word list, vocabulary list, definitions

Word family: glossaries (n pl)

⚠ Common mistake: Every story on this site ends with one — this word names the helper you have been using all along. Textbooks hide theirs in the back like treasure.

🗣 In spoken American English: Its root means 'tongue/language' in Greek — words about words.

Register: Formal — study essential.

chapter /ˈtʃæptər/ noun B2 Education

Meaning: One of the main divisions of a book, marked by a number or a title; also a period in a person's life or in history, and a local branch of an organization.

Example: Chapter three explains the war.

Another example: She closed that chapter of her life.

Collocations: chapter three · a chapter of · the next chapter

Synonyms: section, part, episode (TV)

Word family: chapters (n pl)

⚠ Common mistake: Life borrows it for eras ('a new chapter' after moving or marrying). Students measure homework in its units; cliffhangers guard its ends.

🗣 In spoken American English: Its local-branch sense runs clubs and unions nationwide.

Register: Formal — study essential.

reference /ˈrefrəns/ noun B2 Education

Meaning: A book, website, or source that you look at for information and facts; also a letter or person that recommends someone for a job, and mentioning something in speech or writing.

Example: Use the atlas as a reference.

Another example: She gave her teacher as a reference.

Collocations: a reference book · reference for · with reference to

Synonyms: source, guide, recommendation

Word family: references (n pl) · refer (v) · reference (v)

⚠ Common mistake: Job applications demand its people form ('three references'); libraries keep its book form ('reference section' — the books that never leave).

🗣 In spoken American English: 'For future reference' files everything from receipts to warnings.

Register: Formal — study essential.

notes /nəʊts/ noun B2 Education

Meaning: Short written records of things you hear, read, or think, made to help you remember and study later; also the short messages and musical sounds with the same name.

Example: Take notes during the lecture.

Another example: She reviewed her notes before the exam.

Collocations: take notes · notes on · my notes

Synonyms: records, jottings, summaries

Word family: note (n singular) · note (v) · notebook (n)

⚠ Common mistake: 'Take notes' is the classroom command behind every notebook ever sold. Compare your notes with a friend is revision's cheapest trick — gaps show instantly.

🗣 In spoken American English: Its musical namesake makes the same word carry symphonies too.

Register: Neutral — study essential.