W9B. Summary Paragraph, Reporting Verbs, Academic Writing Style, Peer-Review
1. Summary
1.1 Reporting Verbs in Academic Writing
In academic writing, reporting verbs are used to introduce and integrate the ideas, findings, or arguments of other authors into your own work. They allow you to signal your stance towards the source material—whether you agree, disagree, or are neutral. Using a variety of reporting verbs makes your writing more precise and engaging. There are several common grammatical patterns for using these verbs.
1.1.1 Pattern 1: Verb + that + Subject + Verb
This is one of the most common structures for reporting information. The pattern is: Writer + Reporting Verb + that + Subject + Verb. It is used to present a finding, claim, or statement from another source as a complete clause.
- Verbs for this pattern include: Acknowledge, Agree, Appear, Argue, Assert, Believe, Claim, Conclude, Demonstrate, Determine, Discover, Doubt, Estimate, Explain, Find, Imply, Indicate, Insist, Maintain, Note, Observe, Predict, Prove, Recommend, Report, Reveal, Show, State, Suggest, Write.
- Example: Researchers [33], [34], [35] have demonstrated that the food additive is harmful to children.
1.1.2 Pattern 2: Verb + somebody/something + for + noun/gerund
This pattern is often used to report praise or criticism directed at a person, group, or idea for a specific reason. The structure is: Writer + Reporting Verb + somebody/something + for + noun/gerund.
- Verbs for this pattern include: Account, Applaud, Blame, Condemn, Criticize, Emphasize, Praise, Recognize, Stress.
- Example: Marx [1] actually praised the United States for its freedom, which was alien to Europe in the 1800s.
1.1.3 Pattern 3: Verb + somebody/something + as + noun/gerund/adjective
This structure is used to describe or classify a subject in a particular way, according to the source. The pattern is: Writer + Reporting Verb + somebody/something + as + noun/gerund/adjective.
- Verbs for this pattern include: Appraise, Assess, Characterize, Class, Classify, Define, Depict, Describe, Dismiss, Evaluate, Identify, Interpret, Perceive, Portray, Present, Refer, Regard, View.
- Example: Although Friedman and Garibaldi [2] present their data as conclusive, they failed to account for all the inconsistencies among the test subjects.
1.2 Common Issues in Academic Writing Style
According to cognitive psychologist Steven Pinker, academic writing is often criticized for being dense, convoluted, and difficult to understand. He explores several reasons for this phenomenon.
1.2.1 Potential Reasons for Poor Academic Writing
- Explanation outside academia: A cynical view is that ineffective writing is a deliberate choice. Some believe scientists use foggy wording to hide the fact that they have little to say. Pinker suggests this is not usually the case.
- Explanation inside academia: A common defense is that the subject matter is inherently complex and abstract, making difficult writing unavoidable. Pinker argues this is also not entirely true.
- Authority blaming: Some claim that academic journals will not accept articles unless they are written in a complex and obscure style. Pinker dismisses this as hardly true.
- Industry background: A more plausible reason is a professional defensiveness, where academics write in a complex style to avoid any impression that they are less rigorous or “slacker than their peers.”
- Epistemological barrier: Pinker identifies the curse of knowledge as a primary culprit. This cognitive bias occurs when a writer, being an expert, cannot imagine what it is like for someone else not to know the information. They unconsciously omit crucial context and explanations, assuming the reader shares their background knowledge.
1.3 The Necessity of Clear Writing
Despite these challenges, clarity remains essential in academic communication. Writing clearly is not just about style; it is fundamental to the purpose of scholarship.
1.3.1 Benefits of Clarity
- Better writing process: Clear thinking leads to clear writing. The act of writing clearly helps to refine and organize one’s own thoughts.
- Better clarity: The primary goal is to communicate complex ideas effectively.
- Better readability and understandability: Clear writing ensures that the intended audience can read, understand, and engage with the work without unnecessary struggle.
- Respectful attitude: Writing clearly shows respect for the reader’s time and intellectual energy.
As Steven Pinker states: “Our indifference to how we share the fruits of our intellectual labors is a betrayal of our calling to enhance the spread of knowledge. In writing badly, we are wasting each other’s time, sowing confusion and error, and turning our profession into a laughingstock.”
1.4 The Role of Peer Review
Peer review is a crucial step in the academic writing process. It involves sharing your work, such as a summary paragraph or a full article, with colleagues or classmates. They provide feedback on clarity, argumentation, style, and correctness. This process helps the writer identify areas for improvement that they might have missed due to the curse of knowledge or other biases. The final step is to incorporate the constructive suggestions from peers and instructors to revise and strengthen the text.
2. Academic Style Reminder
2.1 Using spoken English
| Error Description | Error Example | Error Correction |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Using contractions | This solution isn’t the most effective one. | This solution is not the most effective one. |
2. Using forms of there is/are |
There are three ways to solve this problem. | This problem has three solutions. |
3. Using the word like |
The probability of generating the next decoder step can be formulated like this: | The probability of generating the next decoder step can be formulated as follows: |
| Food is destroyed by rodents like rats, mice, and hamsters. | Food is destroyed by rodents, such as rats, mice, and hamsters. | |
4. Preferring and so on to etc. |
React Native provides complete access to the device hardware, such as the camera, file system, Bluetooth, and so on. | React Native provides complete access to the device hardware, such as the camera, file system, Bluetooth, etc. |
5. Using you |
We will consider two products about which you can find enough information on the Internet. | This section will consider two products about which the Internet provides enough information. |
| You should be aware of the drawbacks of the system. | The designer / user / programmer / player should be aware of the drawbacks of the system. | |
6. Using huge |
As a result, I get a huge amount of unneeded connections that I could not filter out. | As a result, I get an enormous amount of unneeded connections that I could not filter out. |
2.2 Subject errors
| Error Description | Error Example | Error Correction |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Isolated demonstrative pronouns | This seems to be a mistake. | This tactics seems to be a mistake. |
2. Using there is/are |
There are three ways to solve this problem. | This problem has three solutions. |
| 3. Gerundial phrases as subjects | Eating uncooked horse meat can cause health problems with students. | If students eat uncooked horse meat, they can have health problems. |
| 4. Ineffective nominalization + BE | Optimization of the workforce is a key goal of the company. | The company aims to optimize its workforce. |
| 5. Placing subjects far from the verb | Lecturers in the electronics department of the university where interviews took place took a similar view to those in biology. | In both departments, the lecturers took a similar view. |
| 6. Long subjects | Searches for the ready-made datasets that could fit to the mathematical formulation of the problem were unsuccessful. | Researchers failed to find the ready-made datasets that could fit the mathematical formulation of the problem. |
| 7. Using an expletive (empty subject) | It is possible to retrieve data from different sources. | Data can be retrieved from different sources. |
| 8. Transitional phrase between subject and verb | This solution, though reasonable under certain unfortunate circumstances, should generally be avoided. | This solution should be generally avoided. However, the proposed solution can be reasonable under certain circumstances… |
| 9. Parenthetical expression between subject and verb | However, traditional numerical methods, due to a number of simplifications and assumptions, introduce an error… | However, traditional numerical methods introduce an error… due to a number of simplifications and assumptions. |
2.3 Redundancies and wordiness
| Error Description | Error Example | Error Correction |
|---|---|---|
1. Using the word process |
The process of data generation is explained with the following plan: | Data generation is explained with the following plan: |
| 2. Ineffective passive | Food is destroyed by rodents. | Rodents destroy food. |
3. Using for + noun/gerund for purpose |
In this section, I explain the software tools… used for model development. | In this section, I explain the software tools… used to develop models. |
4. Preferring utilize to use |
OR-Tools model utilize only the CPU. | OR-Tools model use only the CPU. |
5. Using in order to |
In order to protect the system, a developer must provide a different solution. | To protect the system, a developer must provide a different solution. |
6. Using a number of |
This problem has a number of solutions. | This problem has several solutions. |
7. Preferring and so on to etc. |
React Native provides complete access to the device hardware, such as the camera, file system, Bluetooth, and so on. | React Native provides complete access to the device hardware, such as the camera, file system, Bluetooth, etc. |
8. Using redundant of |
Users of the plugin rated plugin predictions from 1 to 10. | The plugin users rated plugin predictions from one to ten. |
| 9. Very long sentences | To reach these goals, I decided to analyze the solutions available on the market to highlight the functionality that I want to see in my product, that functionality that can be adapted to my product, and functionality that looks ineffective and it is worth coming up with another solution. | To reach these goals, I decided to analyze the solutions available on the market. I primarily focused on highlighting the functionality that I want to see in my product… |
| 10. Tautology | Big data is the study of systems in which the examined data are big. | Big data is the study of massive and complex datasets. |
2.4 Pronoun errors
| Error Description | Error Example | Error Correction |
|---|---|---|
1. Using we (single author) |
We will consider two products… | This section will consider two products… |
2. Using you |
…about which you can find enough information on the Internet. | …about which the Internet provides enough information. |
| You should be aware of the drawbacks… | The designer / user / programmer should be aware… | |
3. Using I for opinions |
I believe this solution is the most cost-effective one. | This solution is the most cost-effective one. |
| In my opinion, this solution is the most cost-effective one. |
2.5 Wrong choice of vocabulary
| Error Description | Error Example | Error Correction |
|---|---|---|
1. necessary for required |
The necessary data are difficult to obtain. | The required data are difficult to obtain. |
2. Using huge |
I get a huge amount of unneeded connections… | I get an enormous amount of unneeded connections… |
3. Using very |
React is a very lightweight library. | React is an extremely lightweight library. |
4. Using like |
…can be formulated like this: | …can be formulated as follows: |
| Food is destroyed by rodents like rats… | Food is destroyed by rodents, such as rats… | |
5. Using bad |
The device performance is bad. | The device performance is substandard. |
6. Using good |
This design is good. | This design is effective. |
2.6 TRANSITION ERRORS
| Error Description | Error Example | Error Correction |
|---|---|---|
1. Preferring Also |
Also, React Native provides complete access… | Moreover (Furthermore, Additionally), React Native provides complete access… |
2.7 List errors
| Error Description | Error Example | Error Correction |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Long in-line lists | Potential consumers… are as follows: developers of gas turbine engines, serial plants for the production of gas turbine engines, large air hubs… | Potential consumers… are as follows: - developers of gas turbine engines; - serial plants for the production of gas turbine engines… |
| 2. Non-complete introductory sentence | Potential consumers of the research results are: - developers… |
Potential consumers… are the following: - developers… |
| 3. Using bullets to avoid paragraphs | This technique uses three main features: - The first feature is… - The second feature is… |
This technique uses three main features. The first feature is … The second feature is … The third feature is … |
| 4. Non-parallel lists | This report is an overview of the processes involved, problems that we encountered, and how they were solved. | This report is an overview of the processes involved, the problems encountered, and the solutions implemented. |
| 5. Wrong punctuation in a list | …system: 1) implementation…, 2) presence…, 3) tuning… |
…system: 1) implementation…; 2) presence…; 3) tuning… |
2.8 Issues with numbers and digits
| Error Description | Error Example | Error Correction |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Starting a sentence with a digit | 4 of them work in a company for more than a year. | Four of them work in a company for more than a year. |
| 2. Digits for numbers below 11 | This approach has 3 techniques. | This approach has three techniques. |
| 3. Spelling out numbers with units | The object was moving at three km/h. | The object was moving at 3 km/h. |
| The weight of ten kg turned out to be excessive. | The weight of 10 kg turned out to be excessive. | |
| 4. Spelling out numbers over 10 | The research team sampled seven hundred people… | The research team sampled 700 people… |
| 5. Providing tentative facts | The student has collected about 100 examples. | The student has collected approximately 100 examples. |
2.9 Miscellaneous errors
| Error Description | Error Example | Error Correction |
|---|---|---|
1. Using data as singular |
This data was non-convincing. | These data were non-convincing. |
| 2. Apostrophe with non-animated nouns | …under the button’s icon… | …under the button icon… |
| 3. Using questions for statements | How can we address this problem? | Several ways exist to address this problem. |
| 4. Gender bias | If a student goes to the store, he should be prepared to get milk. | If a student goes to the store, he/she should be prepared… |
| If a student goes to the store, they should be prepared… | ||
| If students go to the store, they should be prepared… |