noun · academic
canon
/ˈkænən/CAN·on
a body of works considered authoritative, important or standard in a particular field
Examples
“She argued that the literary canon needed to include more female authors.”
“Courses often focus on texts from the Western canon.”
“Debates about the canon question who decides what counts as 'classic'.”
Band 8 sentence
“Contemporary scholars increasingly contest the traditional canon, arguing for a more inclusive syllabus that reflects global voices.”
Collocations
- literary canon
- challenge the canon
Word family
Common mistakes
We only study the classics in school so the canon is fixed→We study the classics, but 'canon' is a debated, changing list of works
the canonical books→the canon / canonical works (depending on grammar)
Say it for a higher band
5classics→6classic literature→7+canon
Synonyms
classics
Easily confused
classics
“Many universities include the classics on their reading lists.”
Related words
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