A study reports: "The difference between the two groups was significant." What does "significant" mean here?

A lab report says: "The bacteria were grown on a medium of agar." What does "medium" mean here?

A language study notes: "In the verb 'record', the stress falls on the second syllable." What does "stress" mean here?

A physics report says: "The current in the wire rose steadily." What does "current" mean here?

A chemistry procedure says: "Pour the solution into a clean flask." What does "solution" mean here?

A science report says: "The control received no fertilizer." What does "control" mean here?

A lab notebook records: "The culture was checked after two days." What does "culture" mean here?

A chemistry procedure says: "Record the volume before heating." What does "volume" mean here?

A clinic report says: "The test result was positive." What does "positive" mean here?

A geology text says: "Deep in the crust the rock behaves in a plastic way." What does "plastic" mean here?

A geography report says: "The map shows the relief of the valley." What does "relief" mean here?

A health bulletin says: "The mosquito is the vector of the disease." What does "vector" mean here?

A biology paper says: "The worm cannot survive outside its host." What does "host" mean here?

A weather bulletin says: "A front will reach the province by evening." What does "front" mean here?

A chemistry text says: "Sodium and magnesium lie in the same period." What does "period" mean here?

A student paper is headed "Review of Related Literature". What does "literature" mean here?

A report says: "The sample was drawn from three schools." What does "sample" mean here?

A science article says: "The theory of plate tectonics explains earthquakes." What does "theory" mean here?

A teacher asks the class for a critical reading of an article. What does "critical" mean here?

An economics report says: "The firm invested in new capital." What does "capital" mean here?

An art teacher says: "Darken the value on the shaded side." What does "value" mean here?

A research paper opens with its abstract. What does "abstract" mean here?

A report says: "The trend appears in Figure 3." What does "figure" mean here?

A paper ends with a section headed "Limitations". What does that section hold?

A report finds that reading time and test scores rise together, but neither one causes the other. Which term names that relationship?

A researcher collects data with a printed questionnaire. Which term names that questionnaire precisely?

A test gives nearly the same scores each time the same class takes it. Which term names that quality?

Another team runs the same study again to check whether the results hold. Which term names what they did?

A lab report reads: "We added a lot of water to the beaker." Which phrase replaces the vague part precisely?

A lab report reads: "The temperature went up quickly." Which phrase replaces the vague part precisely?

A survey report reads: "Many students said they read at night." Which phrase replaces the vague part precisely?

A student writes: "The plants in the treated pots got bigger." Which version reports the result precisely?

A student must explain "photosynthesis" to readers outside science. Which explanation can those readers actually use?

An economics article must explain "inflation" to general readers. Which explanation can those readers actually use?

A science page must explain "erosion" to general readers. Which explanation can those readers actually use?

A poster must explain "biodiversity" to general readers. Which explanation can those readers actually use?

Which sentence carries a suitable research voice for a report?

A paper reads: "Longer sleep may improve focus in class." What is the word "may" doing?

A discipline-specific word can carry one meaning in everyday talk and a different meaning inside its field.

In a research paper, a writer may present another author's idea without naming where it came from.