Y09W44VC Theme Words — Inequality & class

A special right, advantage or immunity available to a particular person or group because of their social position.

Word family: privileged (adj.), privilege (v.)

Example: The concept of white privilege refers to the unearned advantages that accrue to people of white ancestry in racially structured societies.

Synonyms: advantage, entitlement, benefit

Collocations: social privilege, white privilege, acknowledge privilege

Relating to the underlying organisation or framework of a system; affecting the fundamental design rather than surface features.

Word family: structure (n.), structurally (adv.)

Example: Poverty is not simply a personal failure; it is a structural problem produced by systems that consistently advantage some groups over others.

Synonyms: systemic, foundational, deep-rooted

Collocations: structural inequality, structural change, structural barrier

The ability to move freely between different levels, positions or places; in social contexts, the ability to change one's class position.

Word family: mobile (adj.), mobilise (v.)

Example: Research consistently shows that social mobility — the ability to improve one's class position — has declined in many Western countries.

Synonyms: movement, flexibility, social movement

Collocations: social mobility, economic mobility, limited mobility

To bring together different elements into a single, stronger whole; to strengthen something by unifying its parts.

Word family: consolidation (n.)

Example: The essay's conclusion should consolidate the argument's main threads, demonstrating how each piece of evidence connects to the central thesis.

Synonyms: strengthen, unify, bring together

Collocations: consolidate the argument, consolidate power, consolidate understanding

To think carefully about something; or to be a sign or result of something.

Word family: reflection (n.), reflective (adj.)

Example: The persistent gap in educational outcomes between income groups reflects deep structural inequalities in Australian society.

Synonyms: show, indicate, think carefully about

Collocations: reflect on, reflect the reality, critically reflect

To combine different pieces of information, ideas or evidence into a coherent and integrated whole.

Word family: synthesis (n.)

Example: The most sophisticated analytical essays synthesise evidence across multiple disciplines rather than relying on a single source.

Synonyms: combine, integrate, draw together

Collocations: synthesise the evidence, synthesise ideas, effectively synthesise

To combine different elements into a unified whole; to include something as part of a larger structure.

Word family: integration (n.), integral (adj.)

Example: A well-constructed argument integrates primary and secondary sources so that they work together to support each claim.

Synonyms: combine, incorporate, weave together

Collocations: integrate evidence, integrate perspectives, fully integrate

To put something into use or action; to use a principle, idea or method in a specific context.

Word family: application (n.), applicable (adj.)

Example: To apply a Marxist lens to the text is to read it as an exploration of the economic conditions that shape and constrain individual lives.

Synonyms: use, implement, put into practice

Collocations: apply a framework, apply the theory, apply this to

Used in academic writing to signal that the following section or passage draws together and strengthens what has come before.

Example: To consolidate the argument: structural inequality is not accidental but is produced and maintained by deliberate policy decisions that privilege some at the expense of others.

Synonyms: to draw together, to bring together, to summarise

Collocations: to consolidate the argument, to consolidate understanding, to consolidate this point