Part 9: Understanding the language point


Task 14: Read the following information about five key principles for reporting on what other people have said and written.


1. Reporting what other people have said or written is a key academic skill. Without doing this, you will not be able to write good essays. When you have done your research, you need to be able to synthesize (i.e., bring together) what others have said with your own ideas. If you only write your own thoughts, your writing will lack evidence and support. If you only write what other people think, it will not be clear what your own opinion is.


2. The most common way of reporting what others have said or written is paraphrasing. This means that you use your own words to say what somebody else has said. This will usually involve changing the words (e.g., using synonyms), changing the grammar (e.g., using a noun form instead of a verb form) or changing the order of the words and/or structure (e.g., using the passive instead of the active voice). For example:


The overwhelming majority are found in Brazil, Argentina and the USA (Jones, 2011).


3. The other common way of reporting what somebody has said is to use direct quotation. This means using the exact words that somebody else has used, and placing these words within quotation marks. For example:


The UN Human Development Report 2014 (p. 137) states that ‘Between 1980 and 2013, Lebanon’s life expectancy at birth increased by 12.0 years.’


4. When paraphrasing or using direct quotation, it is very important to use reporting verbs. These verbs show the reader that you are showing what somebody else thinks. They also indicate what your own view is towards the information. Examples of these verbs can be seen in the table below. The verbs appear in the 3rd


-person singular form of the present


simple, which is the most common form they would appear in for academic writing. Function


Weaker position agreement


disagreement opinion


suggestion


concedes doubts claims alleges


Neutral position accepts


disagrees believes proposes


Stronger position supports refutes asserts


recommends


There are many other verbs which can be used to report what others have said or written. A list of these verbs appears below. If you are unsure how to use any of these verbs, you should look them up in a dictionary:


acknowledges; adds; alerts; analyzes; asks; attributes; calculates; challenges; clarifies; comments; compares; concludes; contends; deduces; debates; defines; describes; discusses; emphasizes; explains; expresses; highlights; identifies; interprets; lists; mentions; orders; predicts; proves; questions; quotes; recommends; refutes; reports; stresses; surmises.


5. There are hundreds of different referencing systems, such as Chicago, MLA or Vancouver. Your teacher or department will inform you which one you should use. The most common or ‘standard’ is the Harvard (author-date) system. When paraphrasing, use the author’s surname plus the year. When quoting directly, use the author’s surname plus year + page.


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