Most TOEFL vocabulary lists are sorted by topic (anthropology words, biology words, economics words). Topic lists are useful for the Reading section, where the topic of each passage determines which lexical pool you need. They are less useful for Writing and Speaking, where every response has to do the same eight things: take a position, analyse evidence, link cause to effect, describe change, name a concept, evaluate an idea, abstract from a specific to a general claim, and connect sentences smoothly.
The 40 words below are organised by those eight moves. They are the words a band 5 candidate uses without thinking about them. If you only have time to memorise one vocabulary list before your test date, make it this one. Each entry has a definition, the collocation pattern you should actually learn (the right-hand column of the entry, in blue), and a TOEFL-style example sentence in the green box that shows the word in its natural register.
1. Argument verbs
For taking, defending, and qualifying a position. Essential in the Academic Discussion Writing task and in the Take an Interview Speaking task.
2. Analysis verbs
For describing what a study, author, or piece of evidence is doing. Essential in Reading inference questions and in the Build a Sentence Writing task.
3. Cause and effect verbs
For linking what caused what. Essential when describing studies, historical events, and policy outcomes.
4. Change and quantity
For describing trends and magnitude in data-heavy passages. Frequent in the Read an Academic Passage task and in Listening lectures.
5. Structure nouns
For naming the conceptual scaffolding of an argument or theory. High-value in Academic Discussion responses where you need to gesture at a broader idea quickly.
6. Evaluation adjectives
For judging an argument, source, or piece of evidence. The Academic Discussion task in particular rewards precise evaluative language.
7. Abstraction nouns
For moving from a specific example to a general claim. Essential for the topic-sentence move in Academic Discussion responses.
8. Connective transitions
For making sentences feel like a connected argument rather than a list. Disproportionately important in the Speaking section, where these adverbs signal the listener that a contrast or consequence is coming.
How to actually use this list
Memorising 40 words takes about an hour. Using them well takes longer. The single most useful habit: pick five words a day from this list and write five sentences using each one in different collocations. By day eight you have produced 200 sentences using these 40 words, which is roughly the production volume you need before the words start showing up in your Writing and Speaking responses without conscious effort.
For Speaking specifically, read your sentences aloud rather than just silently. The Speaking section penalises hesitation around vocabulary, so the goal is to make these words feel automatic on the tongue, not just available in passive memory. The Take an Interview task gives you 44 seconds per response, so unhesitating retrieval of words like "conversely" and "consequently" is the difference between sounding fluent and sounding searched.
For Writing, focus the second pass of your study on the right-hand column of each entry. "A compelling argument" beats "a strong argument" on register. "Exacerbate inequality" beats "make inequality worse" on register. "Test a hypothesis" beats "check an idea" on register. The collocations are where the band-5 lexical-range descriptor lives.
For maximum retention, pair this list with the topic vocabulary on the TOEFL Vocabulary 2026 strategy guide: that gives you breadth across 12 academic topics; this gives you depth across the eight moves a TOEFL response actually has to make. The two lists together cover roughly 340 words, which is enough for a band 4.5 to 5.0 outcome.
FAQ
Why these 40 words specifically? ▾
They are organised by function rather than topic, which is more useful for Writing and Speaking than topic-based lists. The eight categories cover the moves a TOEFL response actually has to make: argue, analyse, link cause to effect, describe change, name a concept, evaluate, abstract, and connect. The same 40 words also recur across the 12 academic topic lists on TOEFLMock as cross-topic items.
Will I see exactly these 40 words on the TOEFL? ▾
You will see many of them, but not as a fixed set. ETS draws Reading and Listening vocabulary from a wider academic pool and varies passages across test sittings. The argument is that these 40 functional words are more useful than any topic-specific list because they appear in almost every Writing and Speaking response above band 4.0, and they recur in Reading passages across all 12 topics.
How should I study these 40 words? ▾
Use each word in a sentence of your own within 48 hours of first seeing it. Write five sentences using a word in different collocations and read them aloud. Then return to the same word on day 3, day 7, and day 21 to refresh recall. The collocations matter more than the headwords.
Are these 40 words enough for TOEFL Writing band 5? ▾
They are the floor. Band 5 Writing requires accurate use of about 30 to 50 mid-frequency academic words across a 200-word response. The 40 words here cover the functional moves a band 5 essay typically makes; the rest of your bank should come from the 12 topic vocabulary pages, picked based on the prompt you receive.
Related vocabulary resources
- Academic Word List (AWL) for TOEFL 2026 — all 570 Coxhead headwords across 10 sublists (new May 2026)
- TOEFL transition words and linking phrases — the 80 connectives that link the 40 functional words above (new May 2026)
- TOEFL idioms and phrasal verbs — for Listening band 4 to band 5 (new May 2026)
- TOEFL vocabulary PDF (printable) — 300-word study list including the 40 above (new May 2026)
- TOEFL Vocabulary 2026: 300 academic words across 12 topics
- TOEFL Complete the Words 2026: vocabulary drill guide
- 25 TOEFL discussion and argument verbs (with collocations)
- 16 free TOEFL Writing practice tests
How this list is sourced
The 40 words and the eight-category structure were selected by the TOEFLMock editorial team based on recurring patterns in band 4 and band 5 Writing and Speaking responses across our practice-test corpus. Collocations were verified against the British National Corpus and the Corpus of Contemporary American English. We do not crowdsource the list and do not aggregate user-submitted data. See our editorial standards for the full sourcing policy.