SLU CALM Resources Academic Writing Reporting Verbs These verbs communicate your attitude to your reader about what you are reporting. Of course, these verbs are sometimes used in more complex ways; try to notice and think about these as you read academic books and articles in the course of your study. Below is a list of commonly used reporting verbs in formal academic writing, but of course there are many, many more. Don't just choose any reporting verb because their meanings are different. Make sure you know the meaning of a verb before you use it! For examples of ways to use each verb in a sentence click on the verb you are interested in. To argue - the author has tried to persuade readers that something is

true by using evidence and logic, but at this stage in your essay you do not want to say yet whether you agree or not.

Jin (1999) argues that providing safe injecting spaces is the best way to respond to the current wave of drug overdoses.

To challenge – the author argues against an opinion of another person, but

at this point in the essay you do not want to say whether you agree or not.

Hughes (1998) challenges the common belief that employees are most strongly motivated by money, in the light of some studies of her own.

To claim - the author has made a simple statement of fact, which you do

not agree with. Giorgio (1995) claims that most eighteen year olds are

intelligent. You might follow this sentence with something like: "However, Giorgio's definition of intelligence is very narrow."

To define – the author has given a precise definition (if you want to

include the definition in your own work use "as") Mullaly (1967) defines ethics as "moral correctness"

1

To Describe – the author has simply described a thing or a process and you want to refer to it. Describes is often used with 'as'

Papadopoulos (1998) describes how the meetings of the group are conducted. She describes these meetings as "extremely well-organised" (page 32). (Note how when using a direct quote, the page number the quote was taken from is stated).

To highlight - the author has treated this particular thing as the most

important and you want to refer to it. In his discussion of the types of users of accounting

information, Fauve (1997) highlights the needs of the investor. To identify – the author has named and described something or a few

things and you want to write about what they are. Fauve (1997) identifies three major types of users of

accounting information. To list – the author has given a list and you want to refer to it. Nguyen and Tran (1998) list five possible approaches to this

problem, a, b, c, d, and e. To maintain - the author has tried to persuade readers that something is

true by using evidence and logic, but you do not agree. Later in the paragraph or essay you will say you do not agree and explain why.

Skolimowski (1987) maintains that university entry should be restricted to students with TERs of 90 or above, because many current students have difficulty in their first year.

To refute – the author argues that another person’s theory or claim is

wrong AND the author has succeeded in proving to this to you, so you now agree that the theory or claim is wrong (or you already had this opinion before you read what this author said)

Opetai (1998) refutes the commonly accepted notion that aboriginal people accepted whites without struggle by listing hundreds of examples of resistance which occurred over a fifty year period in New South Wales.

To show, to demonstrate

– the author has tried to persuade readers that something is true by using evidence and logic AND the author has succeeded in proving her/his point to you, so you now agree with her/him (or you already had this opinion before you read what this author said).

Tran (1970) demonstrates that investment in tertiary education

2

has a strong beneficial effect on the country’s potential for economic growth

To state Jacubowicz (1997) states that child care is an unnecessary

luxury. You might want to show how there is more than one author who states the same thing. For example: Jacubovicz (1997) and Wright (1999) state that child care is a luxury and not a privilege.

To suggest – the author has put forward an idea for consideration but has

not argued very strongly for it and you do not want to say whether you agree or not.

Stephenson (1987) suggests that one reason for the increase in cases of tuberculosis may be the growth in movement between countries.

3

[Type text]

Last updated: 30/08/10

Page 1 of 2

Academic Skills Unit Resources

Reporting Verbs

When discussing an author’s work, reporting verbs can be used to great effect. For example, the reporting verb you select to introduce your discussion/comments can either indicate your viewpoint regarding the veracity/accuracy of the literature (i.e., correct, neither correct/incorrect, incorrect), or it can indicate the author’s viewpoint regarding the content of the literature (i.e., positive or negative).

Here is a list of possible reporting verbs indicating, from your viewpoint:

a belief that the literature is correct

a neutral attitude towards the veracity of the literature (i.e., neither correct nor incorrect)

a belief that the literature is incorrect.

Care needs to be taken to ensure that these verbs are used appropriately – consult your dictionary for the meaning and usage if you are not sure.

Examples:

1 Stein-Parbury (2000) defines listening as the ability to hear, understand, and appreciate a patient’s experience.

2 De Cieri et al. (2003) clarify the role of human resources in terms of a company’s improved

competitiveness in their Australian Business Excellence Model. 3 In their presentation, Sawyer and Smith (2001) described* their sampling methods and data analysis in

great detail. [*Note: Simple past tense is used as the description of the sampling methods was completed in the past.]

4 In their study on acculturation, Birman, Sharpe, and Angeles (2004) propose a variety of solutions to the

current problem facing Australian cities such as Melbourne and Sydney, that of “ghettoisation” (p. 77). 5 Previous studies on the work-study balance of tertiary students (Campbell, 2004; Guthrie, Logan, &

Tuomy, 2003; Smith, 1999) have concluded* that most students prioritise work over study. [*Note: Present perfect tense is used here as a number of former studies and their findings are being discussed in terms of their relevance today.]

6 Lygon (2001) ignores conflicting data in his review of the literature thereby compromising the credibility

of his research in the field.

Student’s attitude

towards the literature being cited:

CORRECT

NEUTRAL

INCORRECT

Reporting verbs

These are usually in 3rd

person singular or plural simple present tense form. E.g. Brown (2004)

explains … Smith and Bull

(2003) explain …

acknowledges defines

1

demonstrates explains identifies observes outlines shows throws light on

adds argues claims clarifies

2

concludes5

describes3

expresses feels finds

indicates informs presents proposes

4

remarks reminds reports states uses

confuses disregards ignores

6

Last updated: 30/08/10 Page 2 of 2

Academic Skills Unit Resources

It is also possible to indicate, by careful selection of the appropriate reporting verb, whether the author is

positive or negative in their attitude to the content of the literature being cited.

Here is a list of possible reporting verbs indicating, from the author’s viewpoint:

a positive attitude towards the content of the literature

a negative or uncertain attitude towards the content of the literature.

Care needs to be taken to ensure that these verbs are used appropriately – consult your dictionary for the meaning and usage if you are not sure.

Examples:

7 Taib (2003) and Partridge (2003) concur that the most effective way of improving second language proficiency is through social and linguistic immersion in a country’s culture and society.

8 Bertrand and Sullivan (2002) note that in order to succeed academically, children require strict discipline at home as well as at school.

9 Along with others in their field, Noonan and Williams (2002) subscribe to the theory that carefully selected domestic animals have a positive role to play in the palliative care of children and adults.

10 Beaumont (1998) challenges many long-held beliefs amongst the medical fraternity about mind-body-spirit connections.

11 In their thorough review of related literature, Scederis et al. (2000) dismiss previous studies’ findings relating to the use of Royal Jelly to treat asthmatics.

12 Kennedy (1998) questions the claims made in Beaumont’s paper (1998) on the role of meditation amongst sufferers of post-traumatic stress.

Author’s attitude

towards the content being discussed:

POSITIVE NEGATIVE/UNCERTAIN

Reporting verbs

These are usually in 3rd

person singular or plural simple present tense form. E.g. Brown (2004) insists

… Smith and Bull (2003)

insist …

accepts advises affirms agrees applauds asserts concurs

7

insists maintains notes

8

praises points out posits recommends

remarks stresses subscribes to

9

suggests supports thinks urges

attacks challenges

10

disagrees dismisses

11

disputes doubts mistrusts

opposes questions

12

rejects suspects warns

WRITING CENTRE L E A R N I N G G U I D E

WRITING CENTRE Level 3 East, Hub Central, North Terrace campus, The University of Adelaide SA 5005 Australia T: +61 8 8313 5771 | E: writingcentre@adelaide.edu.au | W: www.adelaide.edu.au/writingcentre/

Reporting Verbs In academic writing, you will often need to refer to the research of others, also called secondary sources. A reporting verb is a word which is used to talk about or report on other people's work. Reporting verbs can be used to great effect, but the difficulty with using them is that there are many, and each of them has a slightly different and often subtle meaning.

Introduction In academic writing, it is important to present an argument logically and cohesively. You may be required to:

comment on someone’s work agree or disagree with someone else’s study evaluate someone’s ideas

Often you will be assessed on your ability to demonstrate these skills. It is repetitive and boring to write ‘Smith says...’ over and over again. Fortunately, there is a wide choice of reporting verbs in English. Reporting verbs can indicate either (a) the author’s personal viewpoint, (b) your viewpoint regarding what the author says, and/or (c) the author’s viewpoint regarding other literature. To interpret the writer’s ideas accurately, however, you will need to use a verb with the correct nuance (sense of meaning). Use an English learner's dictionary to check that you have the right verb for the right context. Function and strength of reporting verbs Some verbs are weaker in their function, while others are strong. Some verbs are followed by a preposition (e.g. as, to, for, with, of), while others are followed by a noun or ‘that’ (see page 3). In addition, some verbs can fit more than one category e.g. warns can be used to disagree with, emphasise or examine an idea.

2 Learning Guide © 2009 The University of Adelaide

Common reporting verbs for academic writing It is important you understand and know how to use the verb correctly before placing it in a sentence, and that you use past or present tense as appropriate.

weaker position neutral position stronger position

addition adds advice advises

agreement admits, concedes accepts, acknowledges, agrees, concurs, confirms, recognises

applauds, congratulates, extols, praises, supports

argument and persuasion

apologises assures, encourages, interprets, justifies, reasons

alerts, argues, boasts, contends, convinces, emphasises, exhorts, forbids, insists, proves, promises, persuades, threatens, warns

believing guesses, hopes, imagines

believes, claims, declares, expresses, feels, holds, knows, maintains, professes, subscribes to, thinks

asserts, guarantees, insists, upholds

conclusion concludes, discovers, finds, infers, realises

disagreement and questioning

doubts, questions challenges, debates, disagrees, questions, requests, wonders

accuses, attacks, complains, contradicts, criticises, denies, discards, disclaims, discounts, dismisses, disputes, disregards, negates, objects to, opposes, refutes, rejects

discussion comments discusses, explores reasons

emphasis accentuates, emphasises, highlights, stresses, underscores, warns

evaluation and examination

analyses, appraises, assesses, compares considers, contrasts, critiques, evaluates, examines, investigates, understands

blames, complains, ignores, scrutinises, warns

explanation articulates, clarifies, explains

presentation confuses

comments, defines, describes, estimates, forgets, identifies, illustrates, implies, informs, instructs, lists, mentions, notes, observes, outlines, points out, presents, remarks, reminds, reports, restates, reveals, shows, states, studies, tells, uses

announces, promises

suggestion alleges, intimates, speculates

advises, advocates, hypothesises, posits, postulates, proposes, suggests, theorises

asserts, recommends, urges

Learning Guide © 2010 The University of Adelaide 3

Verbs followed by a preposition

Verbs followed by a noun or –ing form

Verbs followed by ‘that’

accuses x of y warns x of y

defines x as y

apologises for x blames x for y criticises x for y

alerts x to y compares x to y objects to x subscribes to x challenges x to do y exhorts x to do y forbids x to do y warns x to do y

confuses x with y contrasts x with y disagrees with x concurs with x

analyses, applauds, appraises, assesses, attacks, considers, contradicts, critiques,

debates, describes, discards, disclaims, discounts, discusses, dismisses, disregards,

evaluates, examines, explores, expresses, extols, forbids, highlights, identifies,

ignores, illustrates, investigates, justifies, lists, opposes, outlines, praises, presents,

questions, refutes, rejects, restates, scrutinises, studies, supports, underscores, uses, validates, verifies

accepts, acknowledges, adds, admits, advises, advocates, agrees, alerts, alleges,

announces, argues, articulates, asserts, assures, believes, boasts, claims, clarifies,

comments, complains, concedes, concludes, confirms, feels, finds, forgets,

guarantees, guesses, hopes, hypothesises, imagines, implies, indicates, infers

informs, insists, justifies, knows, maintains, notes, observes, persuades, points out,

posits, postulates, promises, proposes, proves, questions, realises, reasons, reasons,

recognises, recommends, remarks, reminds, reports, reveals, shows, speculates,

states, stresses, suggests, suspects, tells, theorises, thinks, understands,

urges, warns

4 Learning Guide © 2009 The University of Adelaide

Example sentences Remember that the tense you use for your reporting verb will depend on your style guide. Some styles prefer present tense while others prefer past tense. Boynton (1982, p. 79) warns the reader that ordinary chocolate is ‘too frail to withstand heat, moisture and proximity to baked beans’. Hanks (2004, p. 257) defines an idiom as an expression whose ‘meaning . . . is distinct from the sum of its parts’. Smith (2005) disagrees with Fry (2003) when she maintains that many students have trouble with reporting verbs. Some people subscribe to the idea that chocolate is unhealthy, but Boynton’s (1982) book refutes this claim. This paper investigates the effects of alcohol on memory and stresses that further research be done as a matter of urgency.

References Boynton, S. (1982). Chocolate: The consuming passion. London: Methuen. Hanks, P. (2004). The syntagmatics of metaphor and idiom. International Journal of Lexicography, 17 (3), 245-274. Useful resources

Websites

http://academicenglishcafe.com/ReportedandQuotedSpeechVerbs.aspx http://tls.vu.edu.au/SLS/slu/ReadingWriting/Referencing/ReportingVerbs/ReportingVerbs.htm http://www.edufind.com/english/grammar/rep7.cfm http://www2.warwick.ac.uk/fac/soc/al/learning_english/leap/grammar/reportingverbs

Printables

http://www.awc.metu.edu.tr/handouts/Verbs_to_Introduce_Paraphrases_and_Quotations.pdf http://www.latrobe.edu.au/lasesl/assets/downloads/verbs-message.pdf http://www.latrobe.edu.au/learning/assets/downloads/Referencing-phrases.doc http://www.york.ac.uk/k-roy/pdfs/Reporting%20Verbs%20functions.pdf

If you require more assistance with Reporting Verbs, please contact the Writing Centre on 8313 5771.

Visit the Writing Centre website for additional resources: www.adelaide.edu.au/writingcentre/

Principal Authors: Julia Miller & Donna Velliaris 2009. Revised 2010.

info@proofreadlaw.co.uk RV 2

USING REPORTING VERBS 2

When you are referring to the ideas of other people, you will need to use a range of

different reporting verbs. The following three tables contain some of the most

frequently used reporting verbs. It is important to remember that these verbs may be

followed by different structures (see Tables 1 and 2) and they may have different

strength – used for neutral statements or to report opinions (see Table 3).

o Table 1: Neutral reporting verbs usually followed by ‘that’

acknowledge conclude comment confirm demonstrate establish

explain find hold indicate mention note

observe order point out propose report require

Rule say show state suggest

Example:

The judge stated that it had been an unusual case.

o Table 2: Neutral reporting verbs usually followed by a ‘noun phrase’

address analyse define describe discuss

establish examine explore focus on identify

investigate list mention order present

question refuse review study survey

Example:

The judge refused to consider the case. The lawyers discussed the options available to them.

o Table 3: Opinion (evaluative) reporting verbs – these verbs refer to a

writer’s position or opinion. The structure varies * followed by that

*advocate *agree *allege allude to *argue

*assert *assume *believe challenge *claim

*concede *contend criticise emphasise highlight

*imply *insist *maintain refute *suppose

Example:

The barrister alluded to clause 2 of the contract. He argued that it was no longer valid.

Other reporting expressions that you could use:

According to the witness, the car had not been used. In the view of the judge, the evidence was not strong enough.

info@proofreadlaw.co.uk RV 2

Use of VERB TENSES for reporting information

Students often think that all opinions should be reported in the past tense because the

books and journals that they are reading have been written in the past.

Read the following extract from Lord Denning’s book. Although the book was written in 1979, we would ask the question: “What is he saying?” not “What did he say?”

You can report this in the following way:

Lord Denning says that it has become more difficult for lawyers to advise a client on a case because there are more cases and laws to consider. In other words, you do not always have to use the past tense for reporting the ideas / information just because it was written in the past. In this example, the information is still relevant so the verb tense that you use is the Present tense as it relates to the current relevance of the ideas.

1 Use the PRESENT TENSE when you are reporting information / opinions

that are still current. This signals to the reader that this view is still recognised as valid or relevant to the current thinking on the subject.

examples

As Karliner notes in the context of multi-national firms, ‘[t]he role that organised communities, environmental groups and others have played in compelling the transnationals to change their behaviour is an achievement that most corporate environmentalists fail to recognise’.1

Kauper and Snyder divide private litigation cases into two categories: follow-on actions and independently initiated cases.

1 J. Karliner, The Corporate Planet: Ecology and Politics in the Age of Globalisation (1997) 3

In almost every case in which you have to advise you will have to interpret a statute. There are stacks and stacks of them. Far worse for you than for me.

Denning, (1979) The Discipline of Law London: Butterworth p9

info@proofreadlaw.co.uk RV 2

2 Use the PRESENT PERFECT to make:

a) general reference to previous research or opinion without dates or author:

example

It has been generally accepted that legal sanctions play a major role in preventing and deterring criminal behaviour.

b) reference to author(s) and still relevant now. At the same time, it can

sometimes signal that the information given is not widely accepted.

examples

Snyder and Kauper have shown that competitors account for a substantial proportion of claims filed.

The Chairman of the OFT has emphasized that the Office is prepared to intervene where “policy issues are involved”.

3) Use the PAST SIMPLE when you want to emphasize that the ideas relate to the past and are no longer valid / relevant.

a) Tell the reader that the argument was considered valid or relevant at a previous point in time. Unless you provide arguments to the contrary, the reader will assume that this is no longer the case.

example Harris suggested that the shareholders did not have the right to request information about the incident.

b) If you mention the year or a past time, you need to use Past Simple.

examples

Writing in 1979, Lord Denning said that it had become more difficult for lawyers to make a decision because there were more cases and laws to consider.

In the 1854 case, Baron Alderson stated that damages were only recoverable if two conditions were met.