WRITING / Reference Verbs

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

advances

argues

asserts

assumes

casts doubt on

claims

comments

contends

declares

demonstrates

describes

emphasises

explains

highlights

hypothesises

implies

maintains

mentions

notes

observes

questions

pinpoints

points out

proposes

provides evidence

puts forward

shows

states

stresses

suggests

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

free download – put these verbs into the correct sentence.

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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Teacher’s Activity for reporting verbs

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Reporting verbs: the above teacher’s activity

Cut up and match class activity. Give out the information sheet – students read down through the different verbs and uses. Then give out the activity for students to match verb to definition. Level ***** [B1/B2/C1]TEACHER MEMBERSHIP / INSTITUTIONAL MEMBERSHIP

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Paraphrasing Lesson 1 – how to paraphrase effectively

It starts by discussing the differences between quotation, paraphrase and summary. It takes students through the basics of identifying keywords, finding synonyms and then changing the grammatical structure. There is plenty of practice, all with efficient teacher’s notes. Level ***** [B1/B2/C1] Example / TEACHER MEMBERSHIP / INSTITUTIONAL MEMBERSHIP

Paraphrasing Lesson 2 – improve your paraphrasing skills

This lesson helps students to improve their paraphrasing skills. The guided learning approach includes a text analysis activity where students identify the paraphrasing strategies, five sentence-level tasks to practise the strategies and two paragraph-level exercises to build on the previous tasks.. Level ***** [B1/B2/C1] Example / TEACHER MEMBERSHIP / INSTITUTIONAL MEMBERSHIP

Writing a paragraph – using quotes about smoking

Students are given a worksheet with nine quotes taken from The New Scientist, BBC News, The Economist, etc… and choose only three. They use these three quotes to write a paragraph trying to paraphrase the quotes and produce a cohesion piece of writing. Level ***** [B1/B2/C1] Example/ TEACHER MEMBERSHIP / INSTITUTIONAL MEMBERSHIP