Reporting

1) Your speech should be clear and precise about the subject you are discussing, so you often need to identify something: for example, to say exactly what it is, to say what category of things it belongs to, or to explain a term. Here are some verbs and expressions that you can use.

• Identifying and defining things: characterize, be characterized by …, define, delimit, delineate, detail, determine, establish, identify, pinpoint, specify.

E.g.: Medical science may not be able to pinpoint the precise cause of this disease.

• Grouping things in categories: arrange, assign, categorize according to …/ as…, class/ classify as …, fall into …, grade, group into …/ according to…, organize, sort into …/ by …/ according to….

E.g.: There are different ways of categorizing decisions. One useful analysis of decisions is into five categories.

These items fall into the category of luxury goods. The topic falls naturally into three sections.

• Saying exactly what something is or explaining a term: be known as…, be termed…, By… we mean…, may be defined as …, The correct / current term is …/ refers to ….

E.g.: By higher education we mean all courses of a standard beyond GCE A Level or its equivalent.

This law is known as Avogadro’s principle.

The following adjectives are used in saying that categories and definitions are clear: clear, clear-cut, distinct, well-defined; not clear: ambiguous, ill-defined, indistinct, nebulous, obscure, unclear, vague.

2) You may sometimes want to emphasize that something is definitely true. At other times, you may want to say that you are not completely certain about the facts. To express your idea accurately you can use the following words and phrases.

• Emphasizing that something is definite: beyond doubt/ question, undoubtedly, there can be no question/ doubt that…, it cannot be denied that…, it is undeniable, there are no two ways about it.

E.g.: It is beyond question that in the 17^th century a distinct change of emphasis had occurred.

• Saying that something is exactly as expected: inevitably, predictably, unsurprisingly, … as predicted/ expected/ foreseen.

E.g.: This proposal predictably caused considerable opposition.

• Saying that something is likely but not definite: conceivably, on balance, evidently, hypothetically, possibly, presumably, probably; it is likely/ feasible/ possible that …, it seems quite probable that …, there are good reasons to believe that … .

E.g.: If market failures can be offset by other policies then, on balance, privatization is likely to be desirable.

• Saying that something is true in most cases: as a rule, by and large, generally speaking, in general, in most cases, normally, on the whole.

E.g.: In general, the solubility of a gas decreases with increasing temperature.

• Saying that something appears to be one thing, but may really be different: allegedly, apparently, in theory, ostensibly, seemingly, theoretically.

E.g.: The second incident allegedly occurred in the spring of 1992.

They had been moved from their traditional homelands, ostensibly in order to protect them against the possibility of an enemy advance.

3) In oral and written speech we often need to evaluate data, ideas or situations and give our opinion of them, apart from just describing them. Here are some groups of adjectives that can be used for this purpose.

• Saying that something is good: appropriate, desirable, encouraging, favourable, positive, proper, right, valuable.

E.g.: Such data is valuable for detecting and monitoring change.

• Saying that something is useful or effective: beneficial, effective, efficient, powerful, productive, satisfactory, useful.

E.g.: This basic technique is effective and computationally simple.

• Saying that something is not good: adverse, disappointing, discouraging, inferior, negative, poor, undesirable, unfavourable, weak.

E.g.: The causes of the disease are uncertain, and attempts to cure it have given poor results.

• Saying that something is not useful or not effective: defective, deficient, flawed, inadequate, ineffective, unproductive, unsatisfactory.

E.g.: Such theories are based on flawed assumption that it is possible to deter the enemy by controlled use of nuclear weapons.

• Saying that something is significant you show your opinion of its value and importance: crucial, dominant/ dominating, essential, important, interesting, key, major, notable, noteworthy, primary, significant, substantial, topical, vital; of great/ considerable/ topical/ vital importance.

E.g.: It is noteworthy that, of the remaining 58 charged with the crime, only 35 were convicted.

When you say that a person’s work is significant because it is the most important or complete in its area: authoritative, definitive, distinguished, foremost, outstanding, pre-eminent.

E.g.: As Preston’s authoritative biography of Franco demonstrates, there is no real evidence to support this notion.

If the work is significant, because it was the first in its area and introduced important new ideas: formative, ground-breaking, innovative, pioneering, seminal.

E.g.: Much of the discussion focused on Niskanen’s pioneering work.

• Saying that something is not significant: inconsequential, insignificant, minor, negligible, secondary, slight, trivial, unimportant.

E.g.: Estimates of its effect are that it has a negligible impact on the ozone layer.

• When evaluating things as bad, writers often use ‘not’ and an adjective with a positive meaning, instead of being too direct and using an adjective with a negative meaning. For example, they might say: “The results are not encouraging” rather than “The results are discouraging”.

When evaluating something, writers often avoid using direct expressions such as I believe and I consider. Instead, they use impersonal and indirect expressions such as it seems likely/ probable that…, this may be considered …, it appears …, it has been proved that …, etc.

4) You sometimes need to paraphrase what you have just written or said, for example to explain something by expressing the idea in a different way, or to correct or adjust it. Here are some expressions that can be used.

• Expressing something in a different way: in other words, i.e., that is, that is to say, to clarify/ paraphrase/ restate this, to put it another way.

E.g.: This thinking was grounded in a negative view of needs. That is to say, it tended to focus on what children cannot do rather than what they can do.

• Correcting something: actually, at least, in (actual) fact, in point of fact, to be more exact/ precise, more accurately/ exactly/ precisely, strictly speaking.

E.g.: It expresses direct perception of an event – to be more precise, the possibility of direct perception.

Multilingual families are each multilingual in their own way. At least, there is likely to be considerable diversity in their behaviour.

• Using vague, informal, or metaphorical language instead of precise and formal: as it were, loosely, so to speak.

E.g.: These constitute, so to speak, the raw materials for effective education.

5) Very often your speech relates to questions that need to be proved, for example by setting out the evidence or arguments in support or against a certain idea. Here are some verbs and expressions that you can use.

• Saying that A definitely proves B: confirm, corroborate, demonstrate, establish, prove, substantiate, validate, verify.

E.g.: This finding confirms the need for considerable attention to be paid to public education.

• Saying that A partly proves B, or makes B seem likely: be indicative/ suggestive/ symptomatic of, imply, indicate, lead to the conclusion/ observation that …, provide evidence of …, reflect the fact that…, show, signify, suggest, support.

E.g.: Increases in precipitation over India were indicative of a more intense monsoon circulation in warm years.

• Saying that B is proved or partly proved by A: be demonstrated/ proved/ shown/ supported/ verified by…, can be seen in …, can be inferred from …

E.g.: The hypothesis can be inferred from the previous studies and is evidenced by the fact that more of these plant families are of very wide distribution.

• Saying that A disproves B, or makes B seem unlikely: challenge, contradict, disprove, invalidate, negate, nullify, refute.

E.g.: This study seems to refute the hypothesis that the disease occurs only in older patients.

• Giving your opinion, after discussing the evidence: conclude, deduce, draw/ come to…, reach a/ the conclusion that …, draw the inference that …, infer.

E.g.: For these reasons, we can deduce that potassium is present.

• The following nouns can be used to refer to the thing you prove: argument, assumption, belief, finding, hypothesis, idea, issue, notion, question, theory, thesis.

6. When you quote what someone has said or written, your choice of words depends on whether you agree or disagree with the statement, or whether you simply want to report what the person has said. For this or that purpose you can use the following verbs.

• If you are simply reporting what the person says: comment, conclude, consider, remark, report, state, write.

E.g.: Harding (1980) states that girls seem to do worse than boys when multiple-choice questions are used.

• If you agree with the person: acknowledge, demonstrate, draw attention to …, emphasize, find, indicate, make clear, note, observe, point out, recognize.

E.g.: He acknowledges that technological development in health care is a continuous process.

• If you disagree with the author, or you are not sure that you agree: assert, claim, contend, imply, maintain.

E.g.: He claims specifically that this is because writing itself has a dual function.

• If you are reporting that the author is not sure: conjecture, hypothesize, postulate, predict, propose, speculate, suggest, surmise, theorize.

E.g.: Hunt suggests that conflict is constructive, when its effect is to introduce different solutions to problems.

• If you are reporting the person’s reaction to some other statement: accept agree, argue, concede, concur, contradict, counter, deny, disagree, object, rebut, refute.

E.g.: She counters this by pointing out that both techniques have a number of disadvantages.

You can show that you agree or disagree with the statement you quote through other choices of wording. For example, as Smith argues means that you agree, but while/ although/ despite/ notwithstanding Smith… means that you disagree. The same is possible through your choice of tenses. For example, Smith argues … means that you are simply reporting what Smith says, but Smith argued… suggests that you disagree, or that Smith has been proved wrong. To report a writer without giving your own opinion, you can use phrases such as according to Smith, in Smith’s view/ opinion, from Smith’s standpoint etc.

7) You often need to state how one thing is related to another, or to say if an idea or fact is relevant to what you are talking about. Here are some groups of adjectives and phrases that you can use.

• When A and B are related: allied, associated, cognate, connected, involved, linked, related.

E.g.: The PGC gene is linked to the HLA cluster.

• When elements fit together and seem to form a single unit: coherent, cohesive, consistent, harmonious, holistic, integrated, orderly, seamless, unified.

E.g.: In primary schools learning will be seamless and music will fit naturally into the programme of activities.

• When A and B are closely related and cannot be separated: bound up, closely connected, inextricably linked, inseparable, integral, interconnected, interdependent, interrelated, interwoven, intimately involved/ connected.

E.g.: The political and economic factors are inseparable.

Bourgeois identity was fundamentally bound up with nationalist ideology.

• When A and B are not related: discrete, distinct, not associated/ connected/ linked, separate, unconnected, unrelated.

E.g.: These species showed great fluctuations in fruit production and this was apparently unconnected with weather.

• When something is relevant: applicable, apposite, apt, germane, pertinent, relevant, to the point.

E.g.: It seemed apt that the winning goal was scored by the captain.

None of them provided information pertinent to the accident investigation.

• When something is not relevant: beside the point, extraneous, inapplicable, inapposite, inappropriate, irrelevant, unconnected.

E.g.: The standard spending assessment is based on irrelevant data.