The Academic Word List (AWL) is a list of 570 word families developed in 2000 that are frequently used across academic disciplines. Researchers analyzed over 3.5 million words from academic texts to identify words crucial for college success that were not subject specific terms. The words are divided into frequency sublists, with the most common words in sublist 1. To learn AWL words, students should learn definitions, see words used in different contexts, learn related words in the same family, and recycle words over time in real examples rather than just memorizing definitions.