1. precursor (S)"My interest in geography was the precursor to my studies in cartography.

" (W)"Thus, this example makes it clear that a university education acts as a prec ursor to career growth." 2. catalyze (S)"The people I meet at business networking evenings in my city often catalyze professional opportunities." (W) "Firstly, uniforms act as a catalyst for better classroom behaviour among st udents." 3. linear (S) "My plans for the future are fairly linear. I'm completing my undergraduate degree now and intend to follow this with a master's. Education is, therefore, i n my foreseeable future." (W T1) "The trend depicted between the months of February and June shows linear growth from 20 XYZ to 75 XYZ." (W T2) "Thus, the progression from an educated background to a high level of bus iness success is often linear." 4. correlate (S)"Actually, the career progression of my sister positively correlates with min e. After she left our hometown, she also experienced a significant growth in emp loyment opportunities." (W T1) "The rise in automobile prices in 2008 is negatively correlated with auto mobile sales for the same year." 5. avenue (S) "My father encouraged me to study languages, and this has opened up certain avenues for friendship I would not have otherwise had. For example, I have sever al close Japanese-speaking friends." (W) "Firstly, studying a foreign language opens avenues for employment. For inst ance, ..." 6. afford (S) "My university grades afforded me the opportunity to study abroad." (W) "For example, the Chinese economic system has afforded the PRC unprecedented financial growth over the past three decades." 7. actionable (S) "My university professor gave me several actionable pieces of advice. But mo st noteworthy was his suggestion that I focus my studies on North African histor y, as I was both interested in it and am of Tunisian ancestry." (W) "Firstly, the actionable nature of the skills learned at university is clear . For instance, humanities programs like philosophy, English literature and hist ory push students to exhibit logical progression in their thinking and writing. As these organized thought patterns are often the basis of success in business, it is clear that a link exists between the skills learned at university and the ability one has to accomplish a professional goal." 8. embody (S) "My father is an embodiment of a traditional military upbringing. He does ev erything by routine." (W) "Firstly, technology in the classroom has undeniable links to academic perfo rmance. The use of tablets in Korean classrooms embodies this idea perfectly." 9. fortify (S) "I'm taking courses in the evening after work to fortify my professional ski lls." (W) "Thus, the fact that successful attempts are being made by other developing

countries to replicate China's growth fortifies the argument that the Chinese ec onomic model is one that accelerates the elimination of poverty in undeveloped n ations."