50 Verbs of Analysis for English Academic Essays
Note: this list is for advanced English learners (CEFR level B2 or above). All definitions are from the Cambridge Dictionary online .
Definition: to have an influence on someone or something, or to cause a change in someone or something.
Example: Experts agree that coffee affects the body in ways we have not yet studied.
Definition: to increase the size or effect of something.
Example: It has been shown that this drug amplifies the side effects that were experienced by patients in previous trials.
Definition: to say that something is certainly true .
Example: Smith asserts that his findings are valid, despite criticism by colleagues.
Characterizes
Definition: Something that characterizes another thing is typical of it.
Example: His early paintings are characterized by a distinctive pattern of blue and yellow.
Definition: to say that something is true or is a fact , although you cannot prove it and other people might not believe it.
Example: Smith claims that the study is the first of its kind, and very different from the 2015 study he conducted.
Definition: to make something clear or easier to understand by giving more details or a simpler explanation .
Example: The professor clarified her statement with a later, more detailed, statement.
Definition: t o collect information from different places and arrange it in a book , report , or list .
Example: After compiling the data, the scientists authored a ten-page paper on their study and its findings.
Definition: to judge or decide something after thinking carefully about it.
Example: Doctor Jensen concluded that the drug wasn’t working, so he switched his patient to a new medicine.
Definition: to prove that a belief or an opinion that was previously not completely certain is true .
Example: This new data confirms the hypothesis many researchers had.
Definition: to join or be joined with something else .
Example: By including the criticisms of two researchers, Smith connects two seemingly different theories and illustrates a trend with writers of the Romanticism period.
Differentiates
Definition: to show or find the difference between things that are compared .
Example: Smith differentiates between the two theories in paragraph 4 of the second part of the study.
Definition: to reduce or be reduced in s i ze or importance .
Example: The new findings do not diminish the findings of previous research; rather, it builds on it to present a more complicated theory about the effects of global warming.
Definition: to cause people to stop respecting someone or believing in an idea or person .
Example: The details about the improper research done by the institution discredits the institution’s newest research.
Definition: to show.
Example: Smith’s findings display the effects of global warming that have not yet been considered by other scientists.
Definition: to prove that something is not true .
Example: Scientists hope that this new research will disprove the myth that vaccines are harmful to children.
Distinguishes
Definition: to notice or understand the difference between two things, or to make one person or thing seem different from another.
Example: Our study seems similar to another one by Duke University: how can we distinguish ourselves and our research from this study?
Definition: to add more information to or explain something that you have said.
Example: In this new paper, Smith elaborates on theories she discussed in her 2012 book.
Definition: to represent a quality or an idea exactly .
Example: Shakespeare embodies English theater, but few can understand the antiquated (old) form of English that is used in the plays.
Definition: to copy something achieved by someone else and try to do it as well as they have.
Example: Although the study emulates some of the scientific methods used in previous research, it also offers some inventive new research methods.
Definition: to improve the quality , amount , or strength of something.
Example: The pharmaceutical company is looking for ways to enhance the effectiveness of its current drug for depression.
Definition: to make something necessary , or to involve something.
Example: The scientist’s study entails several different stages, which are detailed in the report.
Definition: to consider one thing to be the same as or equal to another thing.
Example: Findings from both studies equate; therefore, we can conclude that they are both accurate.
Establishes
Definition: to discover or get proof of something.
Example: The award establishes the main causes of global warming.
Definition: to make someone remember something or feel an emotion .
Example: The artist’s painting evokes the work of some of the painters from the early 1800s.
Definition: to show something.
Example: Some of the research study participants exhibit similar symptoms while taking the medicine.
Facilitates
Definition: to make something possible or easier .
Example: The equipment that facilitates the study is expensive and of high-quality.
Definition: the main or central point of something, especially of attention or interest .
Example: The author focuses on World War II, which is an era she hasn’t written about before.
Foreshadows
Definition: to act as a warning or sign of a future event .
Example: The sick bird at the beginning of the novel foreshadows the illness the main character develops later in the book.
Definition: to develop all the details of a plan for doing something.
Example: Two teams of scientists formulated the research methods for the study.
Definition: to cause something to exist .
Example: The study’s findings have generated many questions about this new species of frog in South America.
Definition: to attract attention to or emphasize something important .
Example: The author, Dr. Smith, highlights the need for further studies on the possible causes of cancer among farm workers.
Definition: to recognize a problem , need, fact , etc. and to show that it exists .
Example: Through this study, scientists were able to identify three of the main factors causing global warming.
Illustrates
Definition: to show the meaning or truth of something more clearly , especially by giving examples .
Example: Dr. Robin’s study illustrates the need for more research on the effects of this experimental drug.
Definition: to communicate an idea or feeling without saying it directly .
Example: The study implies that there are many outside factors (other than diet and exercise) which determine a person’s tendency to gain weight.
Incorporates
Definition: to include something as part of something larger .
Example: Dr. Smith incorporates research findings from 15 other studies in her well-researched paper.
Definition: to show, point , or make clear in another way.
Example: Overall, the study indicates that there is no real danger (other than a lack of sleep) to drinking three cups of coffee per day.
Definition: to form an opinion or guess that something is true because of the information that you have.
Example: From this study about a new medicine, we can infer that it will work similarly to other drugs that are currently being sold.
Definition: to tell someone about parti c ular facts .
Example: Dr. Smith informs the reader that there are some issues with this study: the oddly rainy weather in 2017 made it difficult for them to record the movements of the birds they were studying.
Definition: to suggest , without being direct , that something unpleasant is true .
Example: In addition to the reported conclusions, the study insinuates that there are many hidden dangers to driving while texting.
Definition: to combine two or more things in order to become more effective .
Example: The study about the popularity of social media integrates Facebook and Instagram hashtag use.
Definition: to not have or not have enough of something that is needed or wanted .
Example: What the study lacks, I believe, is a clear outline of the future research that is needed.
Legitimizes
Definition: to make something legal or acceptable .
Example: Although the study legitimizes the existence of global warming, some will continue to think it is a hoax.
Definition: to make a problem bigger or more important .
Example: In conclusion, the scientists determined that the new pharmaceutical actually magnifies some of the symptoms of anxiety.
Definition: something that a copy can be based on because it is an extremely good example of its type .
Example: The study models a similar one from 1973, which needed to be redone with modern equipment.
Definition: to cause something to have no effect .
Example: This negates previous findings that say that sulphur in wine gives people headaches.
Definition: to not give enough c a re or attention to people or things that are your responsibility .
Example: The study neglects to mention another study in 2015 that had very different findings.
Definition: to make something difficult to discover and understand .
Example: The problems with the equipment obscures the study.
Definition: a description of the main facts about something.
Example: Before describing the research methods, the researchers outline the need for a study on the effects of anti-anxiety medication on children.
Definition: to fail to notice or consider something or someone.
Example: I personally feel that the study overlooks something very important: the participants might have answered some of the questions incorrectly.
Definition: to happen at the same time as something else , or be similar or equal to something else .
Example: Although the study parallels the procedures of a 2010 study, it has very different findings.
Converse International School of Languages offers an English for Academic Purposes course for students interested in improving their academic English skills. Students may take this course, which is offered in the afternoon for 12 weeks, at both CISL San Diego and CISL San Francisco . EAP course graduates can go on to CISL’s Aca demic Year Abroad program, where students attend one semester at a California Community College. Through CISL’s University Pathway program, EAP graduates may also attend college or university at one of CISL’s Pathway Partners. See the list of 25+ partners on the CISL website . Contact CISL for more information.
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Power Verbs for Essays (With Examples)
The ProWritingAid Team
Adding power verbs to your academic paper will improve your reader’s experience and bring more impact to the arguments you make.
While the arguments themselves are the most important elements of any successful academic paper, the structure of those arguments and the language that is used influence how the paper is received.
Academic papers have strict formal rules, but as long as these are followed, there is still plenty of scope to make the key points of the paper stand out through effective use of language and more specifically, the effective use of power verbs.
Power verbs are verbs that indicate action and have a more positive and confident tone. Using them brings strength and confidence to the arguments you are making, while also bringing variation to your sentences and making your writing more interesting to the reader.
The best academic papers will use such verbs to support their arguments or concepts, so it is important that your paper contains at least three power verbs.
ProWritingAid will check your writing for power verbs and will notify you if you have less than three throughout your whole academic paper.
Power Verbs Boost Ideas
Examples of power verbs.
Academic papers of all disciplines are often filled with overlong and complicated sentences that are attempting to convey specific ideas and concepts. Active and powerful verbs are useful both to the reader and the author of the paper.
For the reader who is trying to tackle these ideas and concepts, the power verbs provide clarity and purpose. Compare the following sentences:
- This paper will say that there were two reasons for the start of the civil war.
- This paper asserts that there were two reasons for the start of the civil war.
Clearly the second sentence is more confident, direct, and authoritative because it has replaced the dull ‘says’ with ‘asserts.’ For the writer, the power verb expresses confidence in the idea being presented.
The following are examples of power verbs that are useful in academic writing, both for supporting an argument and for allowing you to vary the language you use.
Power Verbs for Analysis: appraise, define, diagnose, examine, explore, identify, interpret, investigate, observe.
Power Verbs to Introduce a Topic: investigate, outline, survey, question, feature.
Power Verbs to Agree with Existing Studies: indicate, suggest, confirm, corroborate, underline, identify, impart, maintain, substantiate, support, validate, acknowledge, affirm, assert.
Power Verbs to Disagree with Existing Studies: reject, disprove, debunk, question, challenge, invalidate, refute, deny, dismiss, disregard, object to, oppose.
Power Verbs to Infer: extract, approximate, surmise, deduce.
Power Verbs for Cause and Effect : impacts, compels, generates, incites, influences, initiates, prompts, stimulates, provokes, launches, introduces, advances.
Legal Power Verbs: sanctions, consents, endorses, disallows, outlaws, prohibits, precludes, protects, bans, licenses, authorizes.
Power Verbs that Say: convey, comment, state, establish, elaborate, identify, propose.
Power Verbs that Show: reveal, display, highlight, depict, portray, illustrate.
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273 Strong Verbs That’ll Spice Up Your Writing
Do you ever wonder why a grammatically correct sentence you’ve written just lies there like a dead fish?
I sure have.
Your sentence might even be full of those adjectives and adverbs your teachers and loved ones so admired in your writing when you were a kid.
But still the sentence doesn’t work.
Something simple I learned from The Elements of Style years ago changed the way I write and added verve to my prose. The authors of that little bible of style said: “Write with nouns and verbs, not with adjectives and adverbs.”
Even Mark Twain was quoted, regarding adjectives: “When in doubt, strike it out.”
That’s not to say there’s no place for adjectives. I used three in the title and first paragraph of this post alone.
The point is that good writing is more about well-chosen nouns and strong verbs than it is about adjectives and adverbs, regardless what you were told as a kid.
There’s no quicker win for you and your manuscript than ferreting out and eliminating flabby verbs and replacing them with vibrant ones.
- How To Know Which Verbs Need Replacing
Your first hint is your own discomfort with a sentence. Odds are it features a snooze-inducing verb.
As you hone your ferocious self-editing skills, train yourself to exploit opportunities to replace a weak verb for a strong one .
At the end of this post I suggest a list of 273 vivid verbs you can experiment with to replace tired ones.
Want to download a copy of this strong verbs list to reference whenever you write? Click here. What constitutes a tired verb? Here’s what to look for:
- 3 Types of Verbs to Beware of in Your Prose
1. State-of-being verbs
These are passive as opposed to powerful:
Am I saying these should never appear in your writing? Of course not. You’ll find them in this piece. But when a sentence lies limp, you can bet it contains at least one of these. Determining when a state-of-being verb is the culprit creates a problem—and finding a better, more powerful verb to replace it— is what makes us writers. [Note how I replaced the state-of-being verbs in this paragraph.]
Resist the urge to consult a thesaurus for the most exotic verb you can find. I consult such references only for the normal word that carries power but refuses to come to mind.
I would suggest even that you consult my list of powerful verbs only after you have exhaust ed all efforts to come up with one on your own. You want Make your prose to be your own creation, not yours plus Roget or Webster or Jenkins. [See how easy they are to spot and fix?]
Impotent: The man was walking on the platform.
Powerful: The man strode along the platform.
Impotent: Jim is a lover of country living.
Powerful: Jim treasures country living.
Impotent: There are three things that make me feel the way I do…
Powerful: Three things convince me…
2. Verbs that rely on adverbs
Powerful verbs are strong enough to stand alone.
The fox ran quickly dashed through the forest.
She menacingly looked glared at her rival.
He secretly listened eavesdropped while they discussed their plans.
3. Verbs with -ing suffixes
Before: He was walking…
After: He walked…
Before: She was loving the idea of…
After: She loved the idea of…
Before: The family was starting to gather…
After: The family started to gather…
- The Strong Verbs List
- Disillusion
- Reverberate
- Revolutionize
- Supercharge
- Transfigure
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- Copy URL https://www.pbs.org/newshour/politics/read-melania-trumps-full-statement-after-donald-trump-injured-in-shooting-at-rally
Read Melania Trump’s full statement after Donald Trump injured in shooting at rally
Former first lady Melania Trump released a public statement Sunday after her husband, former President Donald Trump, was injured in an apparent assassination attempt while speaking at a campaign rally Saturday in Butler, Pennsylvania.
Read the full statement here.
In a social media post, Donald Trump said he was “shot with a bullet that pierced the upper part of my right ear.” The former president was quickly whisked from the stage by Secret Service agents, his ear covered in blood. Officials said the man who opened fire was a 20-year-old from Pennsylvania.
READ MORE: The FBI named a suspect in the Trump assassination attempt. Here’s what we know
The suspected gunman and one attendee are dead, and two others spectators were critically injured, authorities said.
President Joe Biden and political leaders of all stripes condemned the attack , which was the most serious attempt to assassinate a president or presidential candidate since Ronald Reagan was shot in 1981 .
“There’s no place in America for this type of violence,” Biden said in an address Saturday night. “It’s sick. It’s sick.”
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George Clooney argues in new op-ed that Democratic Party needs a new nominee
WASHINGTON - American actor George Clooney, a high-profile supporter of President Joe Biden, argued in an op-ed that the Democratic party needs a new nominee.
“We are not going to win in November with this president. On top of that, we won’t win the House, and we’re going to lose the Senate,” wrote Clooney in a New York Times piece published Wednesday.
“This isn’t only my opinion; this is the opinion of every senator and congress member and governor that I’ve spoken with in private. Every single one, irrespective of what he or she is saying publicly.” he added.
Clooney, a self-described lifelong Democrat, was among a group of A-list celebrities that co-hosted a glitzy Hollywood fundraiser last month for Biden’s campaign that brought in $30 million.
But in his op-ed, Clooney said Biden was not the same person at the fundraiser in Los Angeles that he’s known for years, writing that the one battle Biden can’t win is the “fight against time.”
"It’s devastating to say it, but the Joe Biden I was with three weeks ago at the fund-raiser was not the Joe “ big F-ing deal ” Biden of 2010. He wasn’t even the Joe Biden of 2020. He was the same man we all witnessed at the debate," Clooney wrote.
Actor and filmmaker Rob Reiner wrote on X, formerly Twitter , that Clooney "has clearly expressed what many of us have been saying."
"We love and respect Joe Biden. We acknowledge all he has done for our country. But Democracy is facing an existential threat. We need someone younger to fight back. Joe Biden must step aside," he wrote.
IMAGES
VIDEO
COMMENTS
Powerful Verbs for Weaving Ideas in Essays The following verbs are helpful as a means of showing how an example or quote in literature Supports an idea or interpretation.
Active Verbs in Academic Writing While academic writing is often considered dry and lifeless, this doesn't necessarily need to be the case. Just as a story benefits from engaging, dynamic verbs that keep the plot moving, academic writers can also utilize active verbs to help animate their ideas, analysis, connections, and critiques. The table below recommends useful, guiding, demonstrative ...
Strengthen Your Writing with Strong Verbs: Your "Synonym Tool" Strengthen Your Writing with Strong Verbs: Your "Synonym Tool" **Scroll to bottom of document to view examples of "weak verbs." Think about replacing those weak verbs with strong verbs that appear on this list.
3 Types of Weak Verbs to Beware in Your Writing 1. State-of-being verbs
ACTIVE VERBS FOR ACADEMIC ESSAYS. achieves afflicts allow alternates announce answers appeals applies argues assists assumes avoid becomes begins believe belongs betrays brings captures changes checked choose coincides combines compares complicates condemns connects considers constitutes contains contradicts contrasts corrupts creates damages ...
Effective Verbs for Introducing Quotations Oftentimes in academic writing, you decide to use outside sources to enhance your argument and make it credible. It can be a challenge to insert these sources smoothly without taking away from your voice as a writer. However, if you keep your audience in mind when introducing these references, you'll be able to integrate the outside information with ...
Improve your essays with these 50 useful verbs for analysis. This list is great for English learners and college students!
Power verbs add impact and weight to your argument. Good essay power verbs include asserts, define, impart, and deduce.
The document provides a list of powerful verbs that can be used when writing essays to connect examples or quotes to ideas and interpretations. It offers verbs for showing relationships like "shows" and "demonstrates" as well as categories of verbs for different essay types, such as analytic essays, essays describing causes and effects, and essays involving laws or proposals. The document ...
Active Verbs. The following verbs are helpful as a means of showing how an example or quote in literature supports an idea or interpretation. Literary Essay. Report or Persuasive Essay that refers to an expert's opinion or research studies. Report or Persuasive Essay that describes beginnings, causes, effects, etc.
Action Verbs for Writing Powerful Outcomes. Remember. Arrange Identify Omit Repeat Choose Label Order Reproduce Copy List Quote Select Define Locate Recall Spell Describe Match Recite State Duplicate Memorize Recognize Tell Find Name Relate. Understand. Arrange Discuss Interpret Restate Associate Exemplify Locate Review Clarify Explain ...
VERBS are the ACTION WORDS of language. One way of making your writing more interesting is to use STRONG VERBS instead of neutral ones. Verbs such as walk and talk don't really help the reader to build a vivid mental picture of the action being performed; however, there are many other verbs you can use that explain the actions of walking and talking more effectively.
The most common verb tenses used in academic writing are present simple, past simple, and the present perfect tense.
Do you want to supercharge your writing with strong verbs that will spice up your sentences and captivate your readers? Learn how to identify and replace tired verbs with powerful ones that will make your writing more vivid and engaging. Plus, get a free list of 273 strong verbs that you can use in any genre and style.
Literary Essay Report or Persuasive Essay that refers to an expert's opinion or research studies Report or Persuasive Essay that describes beginnings, causes, effects, etc. Persuasive Essay ... Powerful Verbs for Essays.pdf Created Date: 2/15/2018 6:11:25 AM ...
Using strong verbs is one of many tools a writer has. There's a time and place for making your writing stronger with them, and we'll teach you how.
In this article, we present exemplars of scholarly writing and the use, inaccurate use, and overuse of the verb found. We expand upon additional coming-to-know verbs (Meyer, 1997) using the Typology Lists of Verbs for Scholarly Writing (Frels & Onwuegbuzie, 2010) for authors to discriminate verbiage for meaning and clarity in writing.
Process verbs for essays
~ Michael Hauge, Hollywood script consultant and story expert, author of Writing Screenplays That Sell and Selling Your Story in 60 Seconds: The Guaranteed Way to Get Your Screenplay or Novel Read
Connects Declares Implies Informs Introduces Provides Reports Reveals Signifies States Suggests. *CONVEYS. Expresses Relates Reveals. *REVEALS. Clarifies Demonstrates Displays Illustrates. *ENHANCES. Exaggerates Reinforces. *EXAMINES. Analyzes Compares Contrasts Explores Investigates Questions.
Verbs can also be identified by their form because they have been created from other parts of speech (e.g. simplify, detract). Other verbs are recognized by their changing forms, which change according to person and tense (e.g. she sits; shesat;she is sitting).
VERB TENSES In formal, academic writing, actions that take place at different moments in time are represented by different verb tenses. These differences become especially important in lab reports and in papers for geology and history, where they clearly communicate the order in which things happened.
Writing (write - "e" is removed) Ageing (age - "e" is retained) Simple Past. The simple past form indicates an action that took place in the past. Regular verbs usually add "ed" or "d" (for verbs ending in "e") to the root verb. Irregular verbs have unique forms.
The board called directly on voters to use their power at the ballot box against Donald Trump, regardless of who is ultimately on the ballot opposing him.
Former first lady Melania Trump released a public statement Sunday after her husband, former President Donald Trump, was injured in an apparent assassination attempt while speaking at a campaign ...
American actor George Clooney argued in an op-ed that the Democratic party needs a new nominee.
Former first lady Melania Trump issued her first public response since her husband, former President Donald Trump, was injured in a shooting at one of his rallies on Saturday, reflecting on what ...
On the big question that now threatens his campaign, the president offered little reassurance beyond a proud recitation of his accomplishments, writes David Axelrod.