Reporting verbs continued

How many verbs could you think of?

Maybe you thought about some of these?

• describes
• suggests
• finds
• shows
• observes
• reports
• proposes
• discusses
• indicates
• examines
• identifies
• points out
• asserts
• assumes
• maintains

 

Perhaps you could think of others.

What do you notice about the different verbs?

What different effects can be achieved by using different reporting verbs?

The verb choice is important since it helps you to indicate the stance of the author. You might be able to subtly indicate something about your knowledge of the literature in a particular field. For example, imagine you knew that Yang had held a particular position for some years. You might then read a recent journal article authored by Yang which holds the same position and be able to write ‘Yang (2020) maintains that…’, indicating your awareness of this past research.

You might be able to use the choice of verb to help you to point out the limitations of a particular piece of research. You might say ‘Yang (2020) assumes that…’, for example, where you want to highlight problematic assumptions. 

When you’re reading, have a think about how authors in your discipline introduce research that they refer to. You could make a note of verbs that you come across and then keep the list handy when you write.

 

The Manchester Academic Phrasebank can help you think of ways to begin a sentence and has more ideas for ways in which to report the ideas of others.

Academic Phrasebank | The University of Manchester