1. What are reporting verbs? Reporting verbs are used in academic writing to describe or report on others’ works.
2. Why are they important?
Fundamentally, you can use them for two purposes:
1) To report what a writer has done or believes
2) To express your own attitude towards something a writer has said or done
Examples of the use of reporting verbs:
Johnson (2007) suggests that people who see themselves as lucky are in fact lucky, because they take advantage of more opportunities
Johnson (2007) discusses whether people who see themselves as lucky are in fact lucky, because they take advantage of more opportunities.
There is a wide variety of reporting verbs in the English Language. Below is a list of reporting verbs for reference.
| accept accuse acknowledge add admit advise agree announce apologise argue assure beg blame claim comment complain concede confirm |
consider critique decide declare demand demonstrate deny disagree encourage estimate explain imply indicate inform inquire insist mention observe |
persuade postulate promise propose recognize recommend refute remark report retort reveal show speculate suggest support suppose warn |
| Reporting Verb | Definition |
| accept: | to receive with approval or favour |
| according to: | in a manner conforming to; or as stated by |
| accuse: | to find fault with; blame |
| acknowledge: | to show or express recognition or realization of |
| add: | to say or write further |
| admit: | to confess to be true or the case |
| advise: | to offer suggestions about the best course of action to someone |
| agree: | to have the same opinion about something |
| announce: | to make known or to proclaim |
| apologise: | to offer an apology or excuse for some fault |
| argue: | to present reasons for or against something |
| assure: | to declare earnestly to; to tell someone something positively to dispel any doubts |
| beg: | to ask someone earnestly or humbly for something |
| blame: | to hold responsible; to find fault with |
| claim: | to state or stress that something is the case, typically without providing evidence |
| comment: | to make remarks, observations or criticisms |
| complain: | to express dissatisfaction or annoyance about something |
| concede: | to acknowledge as true |
| confirm: | to acknowledge with definite assurance |
| consider: | to think carefully on a matter |
| critique: | a detailed analysis and assessment of something |
| decide: | to come to a resolution in the mind as a result of consideration |
| declare: | to make known or state clearly |
| demand: | the act or demanding and asking especially with authority |
| demonstrate: | to show the truth of something that has been observed or investigated |
| deny: | to state that something is not true |
| disagree: | to have or express a different opinion |
| encourage: | to persuade someone to do or continue to do something by giving support and advice |
| estimate: | an approximate calculation or judgment of the value or extent of something |
| explain: | to make an idea or situation clear to someone by describing it in great detail |
| imply: | to indicate or suggest without being explicitly stated |
| indicate: | to point out or show something |
| inform: | to give or convey knowledge |
| inquire: | to seek information by questioning |
| insist: | to assert or maintain firmly |
| mention: | to refer to something briefly without going into detail |
| observe: | to perceive or notice; to make a remark |
| persuade: | to induce someone to do something through advising and urging |
| postulate: | to claim or assume the existence or truth of, especially as a basis forreasoning or arguing. |
| promise: | to declare that something will or will not be done |
| propose: | to offer or suggest a matter or idea for consideration |
| recognise: | to acknowledge or accept the existence or validity of something |
| recommend: | to mention favourably |
| refute: | to prove a statement or theory to be wrong; to disprove |
| remark: | to say something or to mention |
| report: | to give an account of something that has been observed or investigated |
| retort: | to answer or reply by a counter argument |
| reveal: | to make previously unknown information known |
| show: | demonstrate or prove an idea |
| speculate: | to engage in thought or reflection |
| suggest: | to put forward for consideration |
| support: | to agree with or approve or something or someone |
| suppose: | to believe that something is true |
| warn: | to tell someone about possible dangers or trouble |
NB: Make sure you know the definition of the reporting verb and also when and how to use it in an academic paper.
When using reporting verbs in writing, it is important to know its functions. Reporting verbs may be used to comment on someone’s works, agree or disagree on someone’s idea, or explain someone’s research. Below is a list of functions and its definitions.
| agreement | the state of being with the same opinion |
| advice | to offer advice, guidance or recommendation |
| argument | an exchange of opposite views, usually in a heated argument |
| description | to give an account of a person, object or event |
| disagreement | to show lack of consensus or approval |
| discussion | the act of talking about something in order to reach a consensus |
| emphasis | to give special attention or value to something |
| evaluation | to make a judgment about something or to make an assessment |
| explanation | to use a statement or account to make something clear |
| presentation | to show or present something or an idea |
| suggestion | to put forward an idea or plan for consideration |
In addition to its functions, reporting verbs also 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.
| Tentative | Neutral | Strong | |
| Addition | add | ||
| Advice | advise | ||
| Agreement | admit, concede | accept, acknowledge, agree, concur, confirm, recognise | applaud, congratulate, extol, praise, support |
| Argument and Persuasion | apologise | assure, encourage, interpret, justify, reason | alert, argue, boast, contend, convince, emphasize, exhort, forbid, insist, prove, promise, persuade, threaten, warn |
| Believing | guess, hope, imagine | believe, claim, declare, express, feel, hold, know, maintain, profess, subscribe to, think | assert, guarantee, insist, uphold |
| Conclusion | conclude, discover, find, infer, realize | ||
| Description | confuse | ||
| Disagreement and Questioning | doubt, question | challenge, debate, disagree, question, request, wonder | accuse, attack, complain, contradict, criticize, deny, discard, disclaim, discount, dismiss, dispute, disregard, negate, object to, oppose, refute, reject |
| Discussion | comment | discuss, explore | reason |
| Emphasis | accentuate, emphasize, highlight, stress, underscore, warn | ||
| Evaluation and Examination | analyse, appraise, assess, compare, consider, contrast, critique, evaluate, examine, investigate, understand | blame, complain, ignore, scrutinize, warn | |
| Explanation | articulate, clarify, explain | ||
| Presentation | confuse | comment, define, describe, estimate, forget, identify, illustrate, imply, inform, instruct, list, mention, notes, observes, outline, point out, present, remark, remind, report, restate, reveal, show, state, study, tell, use | announce, promise |
| Suggestion | allege, intimidate, speculate | advise, advocate, hypothesize, posit, postulate, propose, suggest, theorize | assert, recommend, urge |
NB: It is important to note that reporting verbs fit into different sentence patterns and that some can fit into more than one.
Structure 1: reporting verb + that + main idea
Bran (1999) argues that providing safe drinking water will improve the situation of deaths by cholera in Africa.
Hilton (1999) believes that euthanasia should be legalised as “everyone has an explicit right to die”.
As a long-time supporter of euthanasia, Amis (2010) agrees that ‘booths’ should be set up on every street corner for easy access to those who wish to terminate their life”.
In his research on alcohol and its effect on liver functions, Butler (2012) claims that females are more susceptible to the development of cirrhosis by twenty-five percent.
Striker (2009) maintains that the minimum age to attain a driving licence should be at 18 years old, because international studies show that driver’s younger than this are more likely to be the cause of an accident.
Kim (2009) acknowledges that economic reform is essential in order to revitalise consumer confidence.
Barker (2014) suggests that one reason for the increase in investor visa applications in Australia is due to Xi Jin Ping’s anti-graft campaign.
Structure 2: reporting verb + preposition (as/to/for/with/of)
Marx (2014) defines technology as “the greatest invention of mankind”.
In his research, Liu (2013) compares the paparazzi’s intrusion of privacy to sexual assault.
Plush (2013) blames the lack of provincial monetary support for the spread of HIV in Tanzania.
Butters (2011) disagrees with Parkers (2010) that the shift in tectonic plates causes atmospheric instability.
Ruth (1988) warns of possible setbacks in the South Korea’s national stability if the government does not join forces with the American military.
Structure 3: reporting verb + noun (noun phrase)
Miller (2010) supports the legalisation of gay marriages in Hong Kong.
Quill (1988) discusses the positive effects of meditation as a treatment for anxiety sufferers in solitary confinement.
Davidson (1992) identifies the implementation of capital punishment as a necessity for deterring crime.
In his discussion on child brides in Yemen, Telling (2011) highlights the role of government authorities and Islamic Leaders on this growing problem.
Johns (1999) validates the argument that Pilates is more suitable for healing spinal injuries than chiropractic procedures during pregnancy.
Chan (2014) applauds the Hong Kong Students Union for their stance on attaining universal suffrage.
Toms (1982) challenges the common belief that humans have five senses. In his research, he finds that there are in fact nine senses.
