Writing And Reporting For The Media

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In academic writing, you will need to cite (or 'refer to') other people's work or ideas. In order to do this accurately, you will need to use reporting verbs to link your in-text citation to the information cited. This section looks at what reporting verbs are, then looks at the strength and grammar of reporting verbs. Finally, there is a table which lists some of the most common reporting verbs, giving meaning, strength and usage. At the end there are some exercises to help you practice.

What are reporting verbs?

Reporting verbs, also known as referring verbs, are verbs which are used when you report or refer to another writer's work. They are needed to connect the in-text citation to the information which you are citing. See the following examples, in which the reporting verbs (point out and state) are shown in bold.

Sharpling (2012) points out that reporting verbs have subtle differences in meaning.
University of Adelaide (2014) states that using the same reporting verb all the time is both repetitive and boring.

The most common reporting verb is state. However, while it is simpler to use the same verb over and over, this will not give your writing much variation. In addition, each reporting verb has a slightly different meaning, depending on what the writer you are citing is saying. It is therefore important for you to be aware of and try to use a range of reporting verbs, depending on the information you are citing.

Note that According to is another common way to refer to a writer's work. This is not a reporting verb, but is used in the same way. A common student mistake is to use this with a reporting verb such as state, which makes the sentence grammatically incorrect. See the following examples.

According to Smith (2016), using According to and state in the same sentence is a common student error.
Smith (2016) states that using According to and state in the same sentence is a common student error.

~~According to Smith (2016) states that using According to and state in the same sentence is a common student error.~~

Strength of reporting verbs

Reporting verbs vary in terms of strength. Consider the following examples.

Smith (2016) assumes that reporting verbs have different strengths.
Smith (2016) insists that reporting verbs have different strengths.

Although both verbs have the same general meaning, namely believe, the verb assume is quite weak, while the verb insist is much stronger. The second verb most closely matches the information above on this page, i.e. as a fact, and is therefore more accurate than the first one.

Grammar of reporting verbs

Reporting verbs are often followed by a that clause. However, not all verbs follow this pattern. It is important, when using reporting verbs, to check the grammar usage to make sure that your writing is accurate. Consider the following examples.

Smith (2016) insists that reporting verbs have different strengths. [insist + that]
Smith (2016) agrees with Sharpling (2012) that reporting verbs have subtle differences in meaning. [agree with sb]
Smith (2016) challenges writers to use reporting verbs accurately. [challenge sb to do sth]

Note that it is usually acceptable to use reporting verbs in either the past or present tense. The present tense is more common as this brings the past research into the present and therefore makes it more current and important. There may, however, be special requirements for your course, so it is always useful to check the style guide for assignments.

Examples of usage for the most common reporting verbs are given in the table in the following section.

Examples of reporting verbs

The table below lists some of the most common reporting verbs. They are listed according to their general meaning. Usage and strength are also given. Verbs which are in the same cell have the same general meaning, usage and strength (e.g. admit and concede both mean agree, are both followed by that clauses, and are both weak verbs).

General meaning	Reporting verb	Usage	Strength
accuse	accuse	sb of sth	strong
	allege	that	strong
	blame, criticise	sb for sth	strong
add	develop		weak
add	contribute	to sth	strong
agree	admit, concede	that	weak
	echo	sth	neutral
	accept, acknowledge, confirm, recognise	that	neutral
	endorse, support	sth	strong
	agree	that	strong
	concur	with sb	strong
believe	assume	that	weak
	subscribe to	sth	neutral
	feel, hold, profess	that	neutral
	argue, believe, claim, insist, maintain	that	strong
conclude	discover, find, infer, discern	that	neutral
conclude	conclude	that	strong
disagree	question, query	sth	weak
	doubt	sth	neutral
	disapprove	of sth	strong
	challenge	sb to do sth	strong
	cast doubt on, contradict, discount, dismiss, disprove, dispute, oppose, refute, reject, object to	sth	strong
	deny	that	strong
	disagree	with sb	strong
	counter, rebuff		strong
discuss	discuss	sth	neutral
emphasise	highlight, underscore	sth	strong
emphasise	emphasise, stress	that	strong
examine	inquire		weak
	analyse, assess, evaluate, examine, investigate, study	sth	neutral
	compare	sth to sth	neutral
	contrast	sth with sth	neutral
	scrutinise	sth	strong
explain	identify, illustrate	sth	neutral
	define	sth as sth	neutral
	articulate, clarify, explain	that	neutral
guess	speculate, suppose, suspect	that	weak
include	take into consideration		weak
persuade	persuade	that	strong
persuade	convince		strong
require	stipulate	that	strong
see	view	sth as sth	weak
	notice	that	weak
	see		weak
	observe	that	neutral
show	calculate	that	weak
	establish	that	neutral
	demonstrate	that/how	neutral
	prove, reveal	that	strong
	show	that/how	strong
	determine		strong
state	comment, note, remark	that	weak
	describe, express, outline, present	sth	neutral
	add, declare, inform, mention, point out, remind, report, state	that	neutral
	assert	that	strong
suggest	put forward	sth	weak
	imply, intimate, suggest	that	weak
	hypothesise, posit, postulate, propose, theorise	that	neutral
	warn	sb of sth/that	strong
	exhort	sb to do sth	strong
	advise, advocate, affirm, recommend, urge	that	strong
think	consider	sth	neutral
	reflect	that	neutral
	contend, reason	that	strong

Academic Writing Genres

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Checklist

Below is a checklist for this page.

Item	OK?	Note/comment
I know what reporting verbs are.
I understand about the different strength of reporting verbs.
I understand about the grammar of reporting verbs.
I know a range of different reporting verbs and can use them accurately in my writing.