reporting verbs used in research writing

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Explore different ways of referring to literature and foregrounding your voice.

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Reporting verbs help you introduce the ideas or words of others as paraphrase or quotation from scholarly literature. Always accompanied by a reference, they indicate where you’re drawing on other people’s work to build your own argument. They also indicate  your stance  (agree, disagree, etc) on the scholarship you’re describing, highlighting your critical contribution. There are lots of reporting verbs to choose from and, depending on the context, they might be used to convey more than one stance, so you’ll notice that some appear in more than one category. 

The following reporting verbs has been organised according to the critical stances they signal.

Neutral description of what the text says

Reporting verbs.

• Observes 
• Describes 
• Discusses 
• Reports 
• Outlines 
• Remarks 
• States 
• Goes on to say that 
• Quotes that 
• Mentions 
• Articulates 
• Writes  
• Relates  
• Conveys 

Abrams mentions that culture shock has “long been misunderstood as a primarily psychological phenomenon” (34)  

Chakrabarty outlines the four stages of mitosis (72-3)

Acceptance as uncontested fact, having critiqued it

• Recognises 
• Clarifies 
• Acknowledges 
• Concedes 
• Accepts 
• Refutes 
• Uncovers 
• Admits 
• Demonstrates 
• Highlights 
• Illuminates 
• Supports  
• Concludes 
• Elucidates 
• Reveals 
• Verifies  

Abrams refutes the idea that culture shock is a “primarily psychological phenomenon” (34)

Chakrabarty demonstrates that mitosis actually occurs over five stages (73)

Recognition that this is one perspective on or interpretation of an issue or conclusion, and others might be possible

• Argues 
• Reasons 
• Maintains 
• Contends 
• Hypothesises 
• Proposes 
• Theorises  
• Feels 
• Considers 
• Asserts 
• Disputes 
• Advocates 
• Opines  
• Thinks  
• Implies  
• Posits 

Abrams contends that culture shock is socially produced (38)

Chakrabarty hypothesises that metaphase is a more complex process than previously thought (77)

Agreement with that perspective, interpretation or conclusion

• Shows 
• Illustrates  
• Points out 
• Proves 
• Finds 
• Explains 
• Agrees 
• Confirms 
• Identifies 
• Evidences  
• Attests  

Abrams points out that culture shock is a “stress response mechanism” (34)

Chakrabarty proves that mitosis is irreversible, once triggered (80)

Disagreement with that perspective, interpretation or conclusion

• Believes 
• Claims 
• Justifies 
• Insists  
• Assumes  
• Alleges 
• Denies 
• Speculates  
• Disregards 
• Supposes  
• Conjectures  
• Surmises 

Abrams’ analysis disregards the neurochemical factors that contribute to culture shock (36)

Chakrabarty speculates that “metaphase is the most important stage of mitosis” (78)

Slight reservations held - probably true but being cautious

Reporting verb.

• Notes 
• Suggests 
• Challenges 
• Critiques  
• Emphasises 
• Declares 
• Indicates 
• Comments 
• Upholds  

Abrams asserts that theories of culture shock have moved away from psychological explanations.

Chakrabarty emphasises the role of metaphase within mitosis (78)

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List of Reporting Verbs in Academic Writing

200 reporting verbs for students and academics.

• Albert Einstein agrees that...
• Albert Einstein and Arthur Patschke agree that...

Just for fun, we've added game of hangman, which selects a verb from this list as the secret word. Reporting verbs (also known as "verbs of attribution") are an essential aspect of academic writing, as they allow writers to clearly attribute ideas and information to their original sources. In academic writing, it is important to properly credit the sources of any ideas, facts, or data that are not the writer's own. Reporting verbs are verbs that indicate who said or wrote the information being presented, such as "argued," "claimed," "explained," "stated," or "suggested."

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Reporting verbs Link in-text citations to the information cited

In academic writing, you will need to cite (or 'refer to') other people's work or ideas. In order to do this accurately, you will need to use reporting verbs to link your in-text citation to the information cited. This section looks at what reporting verbs are , then looks at the strength and grammar of reporting verbs. Finally, there is a table which lists some of the most common reporting verbs , giving meaning, strength and usage. At the end there are some exercises to help you practice.

What are reporting verbs?

For another look at the same content, check out YouTube or Youku , or the infographic . There is a worksheet (with answers and teacher's notes) for this video.

Reporting verbs, also known as referring verbs, are verbs which are used when you report or refer to another writer's work. They are needed to connect the in-text citation to the information which you are citing. See the following examples, in which the reporting verbs ( point out and state ) are shown in bold.

• Sharpling (2012) points out that reporting verbs have subtle differences in meaning.
• University of Adelaide (2014) states that using the same reporting verb all the time is both repetitive and boring.

The most common reporting verb is state . However, while it is simpler to use the same verb over and over, this will not give your writing much variation. In addition, each reporting verb has a slightly different meaning, depending on what the writer you are citing is saying. It is therefore important for you to be aware of and try to use a range of reporting verbs, depending on the information you are citing.

Note that According to is another common way to refer to a writer's work. This is not a reporting verb, but is used in the same way. A common student mistake is to use this with a reporting verb such as state , which makes the sentence grammatically incorrect. See the following examples.

• According to Smith (2016), using According to and state in the same sentence is a common student error.
• Smith (2016) states that using According to and state in the same sentence is a common student error.
• According to Smith (2016) states that using According to and state in the same sentence is a common student error.

Strength of reporting verbs

Check out the reporting verbs infographic »

Reporting verbs vary in terms of strength. Consider the following examples.

• Smith (2016) assumes that reporting verbs have different strengths.
• Smith (2016) insists that reporting verbs have different strengths.

Although both verbs have the same general meaning, namely believe , the verb assume is quite weak, while the verb insist is much stronger. The second verb most closely matches the information above on this page, i.e. as a fact, and is therefore more accurate than the first one.

Grammar of reporting verbs

Reporting verbs are often followed by a that clause. However, not all verbs follow this pattern. It is important, when using reporting verbs, to check the grammar usage to make sure that your writing is accurate. Consider the following examples.

• Smith (2016) insists that reporting verbs have different strengths. [ insist + that ]
• Smith (2016) agrees with Sharpling (2012) that reporting verbs have subtle differences in meaning. [ agree with sb ]
• Smith (2016) challenges writers to use reporting verbs accurately. [ challenge sb to do sth ]

Note that it is usually acceptable to use reporting verbs in either the past or present tense. The present tense is more common as this brings the past research into the present and therefore makes it more current and important. There may, however, be special requirements for your course, so it is always useful to check the style guide for assignments.

Examples of usage for the most common reporting verbs are given in the table in the following section.

Examples of reporting verbs

The table below lists some of the most common reporting verbs. They are listed according to their general meaning. Usage and strength are also given. Verbs which are in the same cell have the same general meaning, usage and strength (e.g. admit and concede both mean agree , are both followed by that clauses, and are both weak verbs).

To aid in studying reporting verbs, frequency data for the verbs have been added, for two academic corpora : the BAWE (British Academic Written English), a 6.5 million word corpus of written academic English, and the academic section of the BNC Baby, a 1 million word sub-corpus of the BNC (British National Corpus). The frequencies given are total counts for the verbs and corresponding forms. Click on the buttons to show the frequencies .

There is another version of the list, sorted by frequency , on another page.

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Bailey, S. (2000). Academic Writing. Abingdon: RoutledgeFalmer

EIT Online (n.d.). Reporting Verbs . Available at: http://www2.eit.ac.nz/library/ls_guides_reportingverbs.html (Access date: 17/6/16)

Hampton, M. (n.d.). Writing about others’ work: verbs for citations (Harvard APA style) . Available at: http://www.port.ac.uk/media/contacts-and-departments/student-support-services/ask/downloads/Verbs-for-citation.pdf (Access date: 17/6/16)

Sharpling, G. (2012). Reporting Verbs . Available at: https://www2.warwick.ac.uk/fac/soc/al/globalpad/openhouse/academicenglishskills/grammar/reportingverbs/ (Access date: 17/6/16)

University of Adelaide (2014). Verbs for Reporting . Available at: https://www.adelaide.edu.au/writingcentre/sites/default/files/docs/learningguide-verbsforreporting.pdf (Access date: 17/6/16)

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Author: Sheldon Smith    ‖    Last modified: 25 February 2024.

Sheldon Smith is the founder and editor of EAPFoundation.com. He has been teaching English for Academic Purposes since 2004. Find out more about him in the about section and connect with him on Twitter , Facebook and LinkedIn .

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Problem-solution essays are a sub-type of SPSE essays (Situation, Problem, Solution, Evaluation).

Transition signals are useful in achieving good cohesion and coherence in your writing.

Reporting verbs are used to link your in-text citations to the information cited.

Reporting verbs

Academic writing must draw on ideas from other scholarly sources. You can refer to these sources in your writing using reporting verbs. 

The reporting verb you choose can show the original author’s view or your view of the ideas. This shows the marker that you can understand and evaluate the source. 

Reporting verbs can be tentative, neutral or strong. Some verbs can fit in more than one category. Each reporting verb has a different meaning, so use a dictionary to check that you have chosen the right verb for your context.

Tentative reporting verbs

Tentative reporting verbs indicate less certainty and acknowledge other views may exist. 

Example sentence: Jones (2019) suggests that water pollution damages children’s health.

Neutral reporting verbs

Neutral reporting verbs describe the information as fact and tell the reader that you consider the source to be credible.

Example sentence: Watson (2018) notes that water pollution damages children’s health.

Strong reporting verbs

Strong reporting verbs can be used for information that is not factual but supported by sound evidence.

Example sentence: Adams (2016) disagrees with Jones (2019) and rejects the idea that water pollution damages children’s health.

Common reporting verbs

The following table categorises reporting verbs by their strength.

Grammar of reporting verbs

Many reporting verbs are followed by ‘that’.

Example: Wallis (2019) argues that the policy failed to protect children.

However, some reporting verbs follow other patterns.

Example: Papadopoulos (2016) rejects the idea that the policy was a failure.

Check a dictionary if you are not sure how to use a particular reporting verb.

Reporting verbs are usually written in the present tense .

Example: Playing golf appears to have significant benefits for a person’s physical and mental health (Woods & Norman, 2018).

Use the past tense when reporting specific findings of a previous study or describing how the study was conducted.

Example: The authors examined the relationship between golf and heart disease. Fifty professional golfers participated in the study.

Use the present perfect tense when summarising research with general subjects (e.g., “Researchers have found…”).

Example: Several studies have found that playing golf can reduce the risk of falls in the elderly (Brown, 2018; Green, 2019; White, 2018). 

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Content on this page adapted from:

The Robert Gillespie Academic Skills Centre. (n.d.). Reporting verbs. https://www.utm.utoronto.ca/asc/sites/files/asc/public/shared/pdf/tip_sheets_writing/Reporting_Verbs_web_v1_XH.pdf Used under CC BY-NC-SA 4.0 license.

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Reporting Verbs

In academic writing (and to a lesser extent, academic speaking) it will often be necessary to refer to the research of others and to report on their findings. In order to do so, we have to use reporting verbs such as 'Evans (1994) suggests that....'; 'Brown (2001) argues that....'.

The difficulty with using reporting verbs is that there are many different verbs, and each of them has slightly different, and often subtle shades of meaning. Using the correct words relies, as much as anything, on making the correct interpretation of what the writer you are studying is saying.

1. What are the different reporting verbs that can be used?

2. What are some of the main language points that need to be considered when using reporting verbs?

3. Example 1 : reporting verbs in an extract of academic writing

Reporting verbs differ in terms of their strength; for example, 'to suggest' is much weaker, and more tentative, than 'to argue'. The two verbs convey very different pictures about how the author you are studying sees his or her materials and research.

Some reporting verbs are used principally to say what the writer does and does not do. These verbs do not indicate any value judgement on the part of the writer; they are called 'neutral' reporting verbs.

A second group of verbs is used to show when the writer has an inclination to believe something but still wishes to be hesitant; we call these 'tentative' reporting verbs.

Finally, if the writer has strong arguments to put forward and is absolutely sure of his or her ground, we can use 'strong' reporting verbs to refer to these ideas.

Obviously, it is important (when we read) to ensure that we interpret the writer's ideas correctly. For instance, if we say 'Jones (1999) argues' rather than 'Jones (1999) suggests', this is a major difference of meaning. The first indicates strength, the second tentativity. It is very important, in academic writing, not to misinterpret a writer's intentions when we are reporting them.

In the table below, the main reporting verbs in English are classified in terms of their function, and their strength.

  2.   What are some of the main language points that need to be considered when using reporting verbs?

• The structure of sentences when using reporting verbs can vary, and can be flexible; for example:
• It is possible (and often quite attractive stylistically) to invert the subject and verb when reporting:

e.g. Thermodynamics, argues Jones (1999), is..

• Reporting the work of others often needs an extra sentence introduction or 'lead-in':
• It is important to remember to put the final 's' on the verb when the subject is 'he/she'.
• Very often, in academic writing, reporting takes place in the present tense , as in the examples above; this is because of the need to bring past research into the present moment.
• If you have used the verb 'said' very often in your writing, try to replace this with something more descriptive and precise.
• The words 'mention' or 'reckon' are informal and are often best replaced with a more formal equivalent.
• Other informal verbs of saying that are best avoided in academic writing are: 'come up with', 'guess', etc.
• As regards referencing, it is usually best to put the year of publication straight after the name used, before going on with the sentence. The page reference can then be placed at the end of the sentence.

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Reporting verbs

Academic writing requires you to use citations to refer to the original source when you have used someone else’s ideas or concepts in your writing.

One of the most common ways to incorporate these citations into your writing is to use reporting verbs to help you to present the information.

The use of reporting verbs in your written academic work can help to reflect your attitudes to the 'sourced information' or help you to voice your opinions/arguments better in your assignment work.

There is a wide variety of reporting verbs in the English language, some of which are detailed below:

Part 1: Advanced ways to show your attitude

Reporting verbs are a way for you, the writer, to show your attitude towards the source of information you are citing. These attitudes are either ‘ positive ’, ‘ negative ’ or ‘ neutral ’.

Do you agree with what the author has said? If so, use reporting verbs with a positive meaning to them. Here are some reporting verbs that tend to be positive:

Do you disagree with what the author has said? In this case, you can use a negative reporting verb to indicate this. Here are some reporting verbs used when there is a belief that the literature is incorrect:

Perhaps you feel neutral about the source you are citing. In this situation, you should use a neutral reporting verb. Here are some reporting verbs that tend to be neutral:

Keep in mind that there are many more reporting verbs you can use to more fully express how you feel about the sources you are using in your essays and papers. Adapted from:  The Independent Learning Centre  (opens external site), Chinese University, Hong Kong, n.d.  Reporting verbs , viewed 26 October 2012

Part 2: Your "writer's" voice

Academic writing at university normally requires you to use multiple information sources, and to evaluate the quality of these ideas. One important tool for doing this is reporting verbs.

Reporting verbs tell us that someone said something. However, careful selection of reporting verbs can help show your assessment of the quality of what they have said. This is a vital academic skill. It not only helps turn ordinary Pass-level work into much better work, but it also develops your critical thinking skills.

Reporting verbs can show your opinion of others’ ideas:

• a belief that the literature is correct (stronger position)
• a neutral attitude towards the veracity of the literature (i.e. neither correct nor incorrect – neutral position)
• a belief that the literature is incorrect (weaker position)

The grammar of reporting verbs

Reporting verbs have simple basic grammar. However, it can be confusing because there are two basic patterns.  Some reporting verbs belong to one pattern, some to the other, and some to both.

Pattern 1: Verb + Noun (noun phrase) The authors show the devastating results of this policy (Smith and Jones 2008, p. 12). For example: Gillard (2012) indicated her negative opinion of Abbott’s proposal. Pinker (2002) frequently approves of Chomsky’s theories.

Pattern 2: Verb + That + clause (i.e. sentence) Examples: The authors show that this policy had 'devastating economic results' (Smith & Jones 2008, p. 12). Gillard (2012) indicated that Abbott’s proposal was untenable in her opinion.

Reporting verbs are normally present simple – especially for recent articles and books. For example: Turner (2010) states that the modern nation wields more power in new ways. However, use the past tense if presenting the results of past research – even in recent literature. For example: The groups observed during the research showed a range of leadership styles (Kang 2006).

Adapted from:

Office of Student Success 2010, Reporting verbs , Australian Catholic University, viewed 17 October 2012. (opens external site) University of Adelaide,  Common reporting verbs for academic writing   (PDF 80kB, four pages) , viewed 25 October 2012.

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 Reporting verbs

There are many different reporting verbs in academic English writing. Here is a list of the most common reporting verbs, what they mean and sample sentences to show you how they can be used.

Popular academic reporting verbs

Casts doubt on, demonstrates, hypothesises, provides evidence, puts forward, sentence examples of academic verbs.

Wills (2020) states that genetically modified (GM) food can be harmful for the body.  (says directly)

Jones (2018) mentions the importance of building restoration to a country’s economy.  (refers to briefly)

Harris (2021) suggests that Bitcoin has no value whatsoever. (says indirectly that something is true)  

Ackroyd et al. (2020) questions whether the use of facial recognition software is ethical. (suggests it is inaccurate)

Krashen (1981) discusses that language acquisition does not need extensive use of grammar rules. (to examine the key points)

Samuel and Preston (2021) argue that the increase spending for councils in England is not adequate enough to address the issues in the care sector. (they give reasons for their view)

Watson (2021)  claims that he has had a major breakthrough in the fight against cancer.  (says something is true directly, and firmly, often used when others disagree)

Asprey (2018) emphasises that exercise is a powerful anti-aging tool. (to highlight an important point)

Banks (2021) explains how the UK government plans to launch a rocket into orbit next year. (give clear details about something)

Parker (2019) concludes that a reduction in the manufacturing of single-use plastics is necessary to reduce plastic pollution. (the final point or summary)

Robinson and Williams (2022) reject the claims that 5G technology poses a threat to humans. (disagree with somebody or a theory)

Dawes et al. (2021) points out that a quarter of all adults in the UK used mobile payments in 2020. (states but does not develop at length)

Madley (2022) notes that robots will be an important investment in most industries.   (to say just briefly)

  Updated 2022

Reporting Verbs Worksheet

Reporting verbs: worksheet 

 Use the verbs in the box to put into the sentences in the worksheet. Each sentence has a description of the type of verb needed. Check the grammar of the verb too! TEACHER MEMBERSHIP  / INSTITUTIONAL MEMBERSHIP

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Reporting Verbs in English: List with Examples & Exercises

Reporting verbs are used when you want to tell someone about another conversation. We also call this reported speech or indirect speech. Two examples of reporting verbs are say and tell. There are many others and these have different meanings and grammar structures. In this study guide, we’ll look at examples of these verbs and show you how to use them correctly. We’ll also look at reporting verbs to improve your academic writing. Let’s go!

What are reporting verbs?

Reporting verbs list.

• How do I use them?

Reporting verbs in academic writing

• Test your knowledge: exercises

What you will learn: 

Reporting verbs (or referring verbs) are words used to report about (or refer to) what another person has said, written or done. These verbs are used in reported speech, which can be direct or indirect.

The first reporting verbs that English students learn are usually say and tell . For example compare i) and ii) below:

• “It’s my birthday next weekend. Please, make a birthday cake for me!” Charlotte said to her mum ( direct speech)

Charlotte told her mum to make a birthday cake for her. ( indirect speech)

There are many other reporting verbs in English. These can be particularly useful in formal and academic writing.

General reporting verbs

In this table, we have listed out some common reporting verbs that are used in everyday English. To help you understand how to correctly place them in a sentence, we have put them into approximate categories based on their most common usage. However, you should remember that some of these reporting verbs can be used in difference contexts and sometimes with different grammar structures.

Academic reporting verbs

In the table below, we’ve listed out the reporting verbs in groups based on their general meanings. We have also indicated the relative “strength” of each verb. For example, if I imply (suggest/hint, weak) that you are wrong, this is very different from if I assert (state/say, strong) that you are wrong. Remember that English is seldom “black vs. white” – there are often several degrees of meaning.

How do I use reporting verbs?

Understanding what the verbs mean is generally the easiest step. You see a new word, you learn what the word means in your own language and you learn how to pronounce it in English. In actual fact, you can only really say you’ve learnt a word when you also know how to accurately use it in a sentence.

Let’s return to our example with Charlotte’s birthday cake:

 “It’s my birthday next weekend. Make a birthday cake for me,” Charlotte said to her mum ( direct speech)

Easy, right? Now let’s consider that there are many other ways that Charlotte could say this in English. Depending on what she said and how she said it, you might need to use a different reporting verb, not just say or tell . For example:

• If you want to express the idea of “ Don’t forget ” “ Don’t forget to make a birthday cake for me.” Charlotte reminded her mum to make a cake.
• If you want to express the idea of “ No, I don’t want to do something ” (i) “ I’m not going to make my own birthday cake!” Charlotte said that she wouldn’t make her own cake.(ii) “ I’m not going to make my birthday cake. You can do it!” Charlotte refused to make a cake. (iii) “I’ve got lots of work to do this weekend and I might be too busy for other things”Charlotte hinted that she wouldn’t make the cake.  

In these sentences, there are three different verbs (say, hint, refuse). They all mean “no” but say is a neutral verb, hint is a weak verb, and refuse is much stronger .

• If you want to express the idea of “Please do this!” “ Can you make a birthday cake for me, please ?” Charlotte asked her mum to make a cake. “ Please, please, please, can you make a cake for my birthday?” Charlotte begged her mum to make a cake (or) Charlotte pleaded with her mum to make a birthday cake. Ask, plead and beg all have a similar meaning, but plead and beg are much stronger than ask.

Learning words in English is like collecting bricks to build a house. It’s not enough just to get the bricks. You also need to learn how to arrange them correctly so that your house is solid! You can’t build a good house from just a couple of bricks (e.g. say and tell). That’s why you need to learn more vocabulary – like reporting verbs. We don’t want the Big Bad Wolf to blow your house down!

Let’s take a look at HOW to use reporting verbs in real sentences. Below, we have divided the verbs into their different grammar structures so they are easier for you to learn.

1. Reporting verb + infinitive

Verbs: Refuse, decide, promise, demand, agree, threaten, plead with Examples:

• Charlotte refused to make a cake. ( NOT : Charlotte refused making a cake)
• My boss decided to give me a promotion.
• The teacher demanded to know who was responsible for the mess.
• We agreed to keep quiet and not tell anyone the news. (or) We agreed that we would keep quiet.
• We threatened to go to the police.
• They pleaded with the man to release the hostage.

2. Reporting verb + somebody + (not) infinitive

Verbs : remind, ask, beg, warn , order, encourage, persuade, advise, urge, agree Examples :

• Charlotte reminded her mum to make a cake.
• They asked me to cook
• He begged his friend not to tell
• They warned me not to go there by myself.
• The government has ordered everybody to stay at home.
• Her parents always encourage her to work
• They persuaded me to stay for another drink.
• The doctor advised me to stop
• Our new neighbours have invited us to have dinner with them tomorrow.

3. Reporting verb + verb +ing

Verbs: Deny, suggest, recommend, report, propose, admit

These verbs can be used with +ing or with that , but it’s generally better to be concise and use the +ing verb. Short and sweet! Examples :

• They denied taking the last biscuit. (short) (or) They denied that they had taken the last biscuit. (long)
• She admitted stealing the money. (or) She admitted that she had stolen the money. / She admitted to me that she had stolen the money.
• She suggested taking a taxi because it would be quicker. (or) She suggested that we took a taxi.
• I recommend going in the morning when the weather isn’t so hot. (or) I recommend ( that) we go in the morning.
• I propose cancelling the next meeting until we have made a decision. (or) I propose that we cancel the next meeting.

4. Reporting verb + preposition + verb + ing

Verbs: Blame smbd for, accuse smbd of, insist on, apologise for, complain about, confess to, forbid smbd from, agree to, think about Examples :

• They blamed me for missing the train.
• She accused her friend of
• He apologised for breaking the window.
• She is thinking about moving to France.
• He insisted on paying for everybody. / He insisted that he paid for everybody.
• They complained about not having a small hotel room. / They complained that they didn’t have a bigger room.

The reporting verbs we use in academic writing also follow specific grammatical patterns. Again, it is important to know whether the verb needs +ing, the infinitive , or that after it.

5. Academic reporting verb + that

Verbs: Point out, find, observe , state, agree, believe, assert, claim, contend, explain, guess, assert, imply, reason, prove, note, report, reveal.

• Bosley (2017) found that elderly patients experience fewer symptoms of pain when they have regular access to some form of nature. (or) Bosley (2017) found a link between symptoms and access to nature. ( find smth )
• Martinez (2008) and Zhang (2009) agree that … (or) Martinez (2008) and Zhang (2009) agree with this theory . ( agree with + smth/smbd )
• Persson (2003) claims that a community is impossible without a shared aim.
• Research conducted by Bradwell in 2017 revealed that there was a considerable difference in the amount of time UK and US teenagers spent with their families. (or) Research conducted by Bradwell in 2017 revealed a considerable difference in the amount of time UK and US teenagers spent with their families.

6. Academic reporting verb + smth

Verbs: Develop, study, focus on, acknowledge, doubt, contribute to, echo, subscribe to, question, disapprove of, dispute, reject, discuss, investigate, illustrate, present, outline, put forward, consider, support, emphasise, challenge, analyse, discard, identify, explore, propose, highlight, stress. Examples:

• Wang (2016) supports the idea that there is a significant link between play and child development. NOT : Wang (2016) supports that there is a significant link between play and child development.  
• Roberts (2018) identifies three possible factors in early diagnosis.
• Solara (2015) questions the importance of this approach. (or) Solara (2015)  questions whether this approach is important.
• Barboza (2018) rejects the three factors presented by Solara.
• Miller (2016) discusses this theory in detail. NOT : Miller (2016) discusses about this theory in detail

In academic writing, reporting verbs are used when you want to refer to what another person has said. You do this to strengthen your own argument and to show that other academics think the same as you.

It would be easy to just learn the verb “to state”, and use this all the time. However, using a range of other verbs can allow you to express your opinion about the author’s idea more precisely. For example, “to state” is quite neutral , but “to claim” implies that there is no proof behind what the author is saying.

Past or present tense?

You can use both the past and the present tense in academic writing.

If you are talking about recent research, use the present. This makes a connection between past research and now, which adds weight to your argument.

• Wang (2016) support s the idea that there is a significant link between play and child development. (present simple)

If you are talking about how research was conducted, you will need to use the past simple (either active or passive voice).

• Wang (2016) examin ed fifty groups of siblings. (past simple) The siblings were asked the following questions. (passive voice)

Avoid these common mistakes!

• It’s possible to express someone’s opinion using “According to…”. This does not need a reporting verb. “According to” does the job of a reporting verb already. e.g. “According to Covey (2017)…” (Not: “ According to Covey (2017) states that… ”)
• A source written by one author will need a singular verb with “-s” at the end e.g. “Liu (2016) suggest s that…” (Not: “ Liu (2016) suggest that… ”)
• A source written by more than one author will need a plural verb. e.g. “Liu and Helzer (2016) suggest that…” (Not: “ Liu and Helzer (2016) suggests that… ”)
• If you use “et al.” to indicate multiple authors, this will also require a plural verb as it means “they”. e.g. “Rosenberg et al. (2018) argue that…” (Not: “ Rosenberg et al. (2018) argues that…” )

Reporting verbs: Exercises

• Why didn’t you _____________ me that you don’t eat meat? a) say.  b) tell
• I didn’t ____________ anything to you, because I was too worried. a) tell.    b) say
• We __________ them to meet us in the main square at half past eleven. a) told.  b) said
• You should ________ her that you don’t want to go on holiday. a) say.  b) tell
• Are you going to ___________ anything to Sue about your good news? a) say.  b) tell
• They have ________ that we will need to bring our own bed linen and towels. a) told.    b) said

Which of these sentences are right and which are wrong? Choose correct or incorrect.

• She suggested to study together for the exam. a . Correct    b. Incorrect
• I said you not to do that. a. Correct    b. Incorrect
• I didn’t tell anyone anything. a . Correct.  b . Incorrect
• We have decided live in the countryside. a. Correct    b. Incorrect
• My grandmother always encouraged to learn to cook. a. Correct    b. Incorrect

Choose the correct verb to complete the sentences.

• She invited me ________ to her house for a drink after work. a. go    b. going  c. to go
• She asked me _________ some money. a. lending    b. to lend    c . to lend her
• They persuaded me _________ to London with them. a. go    b. to go    c. of going
• He advised _______ more exercise. a. I do    b. me to do    c. me doing
• He begged me not _______ anybody about the accident. a. of telling    b. tell    c. to tell
• He reminded ________ to renew the car insurance. a . to me    b. me    c. of me
• She refused _______ the washing-up again! a. me to do    b. to do.  c. doing
• She apologised _________ me an angry text message. a. of sending. b. for sending    c. sending
• He admitted ________ the red wine on the sofa. a. spilling    b. to spill    c. spill of
• He suggested _________ on a cycling holiday next year. a. go    b . going c. we going
• He denied _________ my car. a. taking    b . to take    c. taking of
• She decided __________ the risotto. a. having.  b. to have    c. to having

Exercise 1:

Exercise 2:

• b. Incorrect (She suggested studying together for the exam.)
• b. Incorrect (I told you not to do that.)
• b. Incorrect (We have decided to live in the countryside.)
• b. Incorrect (My grandmother always encouraged me to learn to cook.)

Exercise 3:

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Difference Between: Inquiry vs. Enquiry

Inquiry and enquiry sound the same (ɪnkwaɪəri), but have different meanings in British English. Inquiry means ‘official investigation’ – e.g. The government launched an inquiry into corruption. Enquiry means ‘a question about something’ – e.g. The gym received an enquiry about its opening hours. Americans only use inquiry .

Difference Between: Too vs. Also

Too (tuː) and also (ɔːlsoʊ) are both adverbs that mean ‘in addition’. The difference is their position in the sentence. Adding extra information – e.g. Jamie bought some milk. He bought some bread too . Or Jamie bought some milk. He also bought some bread.   Adding emphasis – e.g. Emma can play the guitar. She can play the piano too . Or Emma can play the guitar. She can also play the piano.

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Why are reporting verbs important in academia?

This is the first of three chapters about Reporting Verbs . To complete this reader, read each chapter carefully and then unlock and complete our materials to check your understanding.   

– Introduce the concept of reporting language

– Highlight the usefulness of such language in academia

– Provide examples of reporting verbs and phrases

Chapter 1: Why are reporting verbs important in academia?

Chapter 2: Which reporting verbs and phrases are most useful?

Chapter 3: How can I most effectively use reporting verbs?

Before you begin reading...

• video and audio texts
• knowledge checks and quizzes
• skills practices, tasks and assignments

It’s important when studying the English language that you’re able to fully grasp how to report the speech of others. It’s quite possible that during general English classes in the past you were introduced to basic reporting language, such as the direct and indirect reported speech examples provided below:

You may now be wondering how this kind of language, which uses reporting verbs such as ‘say’, ‘tell’ and ‘ask’, might be useful at a higher, more academic, level. If you’ve already begun studying at an English-speaking university, then you should be familiar with the importance of including a mixture of writer’s voice and source voice in your research and assignment . What this means is that it’s not enough for a student to simply write an idea, but that student must also introduce other authors’ source research to support or further explain their claims and arguments.

Simply put, source voice is when we use integral or non-integral citations to introduce the voices and research of other authors in our own assignments. By looking at the examples below, we can see that the integral citation type in the right column requires particular language to introduce the source (Jones, 2019):

The verb ‘show’ that’s been used with the integral citation in this example is called a reporting verb . There are many different types of reporting verb for a writer to select, each with their own slightly varying meaning and grammar . Reporting verbs such as ‘show’, ‘claim’ and ‘argue’ are generally used to report or discuss another author’s findings within our own research or assignment . Because university students are required provide their own opinion about a topic or evaluate a concept or theory, it’s important that such students are able to utilise reporting language to introduce sources which support their ideas.

Provided below are some example sentences which demonstrate that it’s not only reporting verbs but also reporting phrases that you may be required to learn and confidently use in your academic writing. Note that although these phrases can often use the same reporting verbs, reporting phrases tend to precede the citation .

1. Examples of Reporting Verbs

a)“Smith and Lee (2016) state that having a knowledge of reporting verbs greatly increases the likelihood of success at university.”

b)“Jones et al. (2004) claimed that reporting verbs were an unnecessary distraction for preliminary-year students.”

c)“Huang (2019) discusses whether reporting verbs should be taught to undergraduate students at all.”

2. Examples of Reporting Phrases

a)“ According to Smith and Lee (2016), having a knowledge of reporting verbs greatly increases the likelihood of success at university.”

b)“ As was claimed by Jones et al . (2004), reporting verbs are an unnecessary distraction for preliminary-year students.”

c)“ As discussed in Huang’s (2019) investigation , reporting verbs should perhaps not be taught to undergraduate students at all.”

What can be seen in the above examples (which will be discussed in more detail in Chapters 2-3) is that it’s critical as a writer to not only understand the meaning of the reporting language you’re using, but to also have a sufficient knowledge of how to alter the tense , syntax and pre– and post-modification of these verbs and phrases .

To reference this reader:

Academic Marker (2022)   Reporting Verbs.  Available at: https://academicmarker.com/academic-guidance/vocabulary/reporting-verbs/ (Accessed: Date Month Year).

• Newcastle University
• University of Adelaide
• University of Technology Sydney

Downloadables

Once you’ve completed all three chapters about reporting verbs , you might also wish to download our beginner, intermediate and advanced worksheets to test your progress or print for your students. These professional PDF worksheets can be easily accessed for only a few Academic Marks .

Our reporting verbs    academic reader (including all three chapters about this topic) can be accessed here at the click of a button.

Gain unlimited access to our reporting verbs   beginner worksheet, with activities and answer keys designed to check a basic understanding of this reader’s chapters.

To check a confident understanding of this reader’s chapters, click on the button below to download our  reporting verbs   intermediate worksheet with activities and answer keys.

Our reporting verbs   advanced worksheet with activities and answer keys has been created to check a sophisticated understanding of this reader’s chapters. 

To save yourself 5 Marks , click on the button below to gain unlimited access to all of our reporting verbs   chapters and worksheets. The All-in-1 Pack includes every chapter in this reader, as well as our beginner, intermediate and advanced worksheets in one handy PDF.

Click on the button below to gain unlimited access to our reporting verbs  teacher’s PowerPoint, which should include everything you’d need to successfully introduce this topic.

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100+ Research Vocabulary Words & Phrases

The academic community can be conservative when it comes to enforcing academic writing style , but your writing shouldn’t be so boring that people lose interest midway through the first paragraph! Given that competition is at an all-time high for academics looking to publish their papers, we know you must be anxious about what you can do to improve your publishing odds.

To be sure, your research must be sound, your paper must be structured logically, and the different manuscript sections must contain the appropriate information. But your research must also be clearly explained. Clarity obviously depends on the correct use of English, and there are many common mistakes that you should watch out for, for example when it comes to articles , prepositions , word choice , and even punctuation . But even if you are on top of your grammar and sentence structure, you can still make your writing more compelling (or more boring) by using powerful verbs and phrases (vs the same weaker ones over and over). So, how do you go about achieving the latter?

Below are a few ways to breathe life into your writing.

1. Analyze Vocabulary Using Word Clouds

Have you heard of “Wordles”? A Wordle is a visual representation of words, with the size of each word being proportional to the number of times it appears in the text it is based on. The original company website seems to have gone out of business, but there are a number of free word cloud generation sites that allow you to copy and paste your draft manuscript into a text box to quickly discover how repetitive your writing is and which verbs you might want to replace to improve your manuscript.

Seeing a visual word cloud of your work might also help you assess the key themes and points readers will glean from your paper. If the Wordle result displays words you hadn’t intended to emphasize, then that’s a sign you should revise your paper to make sure readers will focus on the right information.

As an example, below is a Wordle of our article entitled, “ How to Choose the Best title for Your Journal Manuscript .” You can see how frequently certain terms appear in that post, based on the font size of the text. The keywords, “titles,” “journal,” “research,” and “papers,” were all the intended focus of our blog post.

2. Study Language Patterns of Similarly Published Works

Study the language pattern found in the most downloaded and cited articles published by your target journal. Understanding the journal’s editorial preferences will help you write in a style that appeals to the publication’s readership.

Another way to analyze the language of a target journal’s papers is to use Wordle (see above). If you copy and paste the text of an article related to your research topic into the applet, you can discover the common phrases and terms the paper’s authors used.

For example, if you were writing a paper on  links between smoking and cancer , you might look for a recent review on the topic, preferably published by your target journal. Copy and paste the text into Wordle and examine the key phrases to see if you’ve included similar wording in your own draft. The Wordle result might look like the following, based on the example linked above.

If you are not sure yet where to publish and just want some generally good examples of descriptive verbs, analytical verbs, and reporting verbs that are commonly used in academic writing, then have a look at this list of useful phrases for research papers .

3. Use More Active and Precise Verbs

Have you heard of synonyms? Of course you have. But have you looked beyond single-word replacements and rephrased entire clauses with stronger, more vivid ones? You’ll find this task is easier to do if you use the active voice more often than the passive voice . Even if you keep your original sentence structure, you can eliminate weak verbs like “be” from your draft and choose more vivid and precise action verbs. As always, however, be careful about using only a thesaurus to identify synonyms. Make sure the substitutes fit the context in which you need a more interesting or “perfect” word. Online dictionaries such as the Merriam-Webster and the Cambridge Dictionary are good sources to check entire phrases in context in case you are unsure whether a synonym is a good match for a word you want to replace. 

To help you build a strong arsenal of commonly used phrases in academic papers, we’ve compiled a list of synonyms you might want to consider when drafting or editing your research paper . While we do not suggest that the phrases in the “Original Word/Phrase” column should be completely avoided, we do recommend interspersing these with the more dynamic terms found under “Recommended Substitutes.”

A. Describing the scope of a current project or prior research

B. outlining a topic’s background, c. describing the analytical elements of a paper, d. discussing results, e. discussing methods, f. explaining the impact of new research, wordvice writing resources.

For additional information on how to tighten your sentences (e.g., eliminate wordiness and use active voice to greater effect), you can try Wordvice’s FREE APA Citation Generator and learn more about how to proofread and edit your paper to ensure your work is free of errors.

Before submitting your manuscript to academic journals, be sure to use our free AI proofreader to catch errors in grammar, spelling, and mechanics. And use our English editing services from Wordvice, including academic editing services , cover letter editing , manuscript editing , and research paper editing services to make sure your work is up to a high academic level.

We also have a collection of other useful articles for you, for example on how to strengthen your writing style , how to avoid fillers to write more powerful sentences , and how to eliminate prepositions and avoid nominalizations . Additionally, get advice on all the other important aspects of writing a research paper on our academic resources pages .