Academic Phrasebank

Writing Introductions
There are many ways to introduce an academic essay or assignment. Most academic
writers, however, appear to do one or more of the following in their introductions:
establish the context, background and/or importance of the topic
indicate a problem, controversy or a gap in the field of study
define the topic or key terms
state of the purpose of the essay/writing
provide an overview of the coverage and/or structure of the writing
Examples of phrases which are commonly employed to realise these functions are listed
below. ote that there may be a certain amount of overlap between some of the
categories under which the phrases are listed.
!ntroductory sections for research dissertations, are normally much more complex than
this and, as well as the elements above, may include the following: a synopsis of key
literature/current state of knowledge, synopsis of methods, lists of research "uestions or
hypotheses to be tested, significance of the study, recognition of the limitations of the
study, reasons for personal interest in the topic.
Writing Introductions: Research Dissertations
!ntroductions to dissertations tend to be short but "uite complex. #ome of the
more common moves include:
establishing the context, background and/or importance of the topic
giving a brief synopsis of the relevant literature
indicating a problem, controversy or a gap in the field of study
establishing the desirability of the research
listing the research "uestions or hypotheses
providing a synopsis of the research method$s%
explaining the significance or value of the study
defining certain key terms
provide an overview of the dissertation structure
explaining reasons for the writer&s personal interest in the topic
Examples of phrases which are commonly employed to realise these functions
are listed below. ote that there may be a certain amount of overlap between
some of the categories under which the phrases are listed.

Establishing the importance of the topic:
'ne of the most significant current discussions in legal and moral philosophy is ......
!t is becoming increasingly difficult to ignore the .....
( is the leading cause of death in western industrialised countries.
( is a common disorder characterised by ......
( is an important component in the climate system, and plays a key role in ).
!n the new global economy, ( has become a central issue for ......
!n the history of development economics, ( has been thought of as a key factor in .......
(s are one of the most widely used groups of antibacterial agents and ......
(s are the most potent anti*inflammatory agents known.
( is a ma+or public health problem, and the cause of about ,- of the global burden of disease.
( is an increasingly important area in applied linguistics.
.entral to the entire discipline of ( is the concept of .......
( is at the heart of our understanding of ......
Establishing the importance of the topic (time frame given):
/ecent developments in ( have heightened the need for ......
!n recent years, there has been an increasing interest in ......
/ecent developments in the field of ( have led to a renewed interest in ......
/ecently, researchers have shown an increased interest in ......
The past decade has seen the rapid development of ( in many .......
The past thirty years have seen increasingly rapid advances in the field of......
'ver the past century there has been a dramatic increase in ......
'ne of the most important events of the 0123s was ......
Traditionally, (s have subscribed to the belief that ......
( proved an important literary genre in the early ) community.
The changes experienced by (s over the past decade remain unprecedented.
(s are one of the most widely used groups of antibacterial agents and have been extensively
used for decades to .......
ighlighting a problem in the field of stud!:
4owever, these rapid changes are having a serious effect ......
4owever, a ma+or problem with this kind of application is ......
5ack of ( has existed as a health problem for many years.
6espite its safety and efficacy, ( suffers from several ma+or drawbacks:
4owever, research has consistently shown that first year students have not attained an ade"uate
understanding of ......
There is increasing concern that some (s are being disadvantaged ......
6espite its long clinical success, ( has a number of problems in use.
7uestions have been raised about the safety of prolonged use of ......
ighlighting a controvers! in the field of stud!:
To date there has been little agreement on what ......
More recently, literature has emerged that offers contradictory findings about .....
One observer has already drawn attention to the paradox in ......
In many Xs a debate is taking place between s and !s concerning ......
The controversy about scientific evidence for X has raged unabated for over a century.
"ebate continues about the best strategies for the management of ##
This concept has recently been challenged by ##. studies demonstrating ##.
One of the most significant current discussions in legal and moral philosophy is ......
One observer has already drawn attention to the paradox in ......
In many Xs a debate is taking place between s and !s concerning ......
The controversy about scientific evidence for X has raged unabated for over a century.
$uestions have been raised about the safety of prolonged use of ......
The issue of X has been a controversial and much disputed sub%ect within the field
of .......
The issue has grown in importance in light of recent ......
One ma%or theoretical issue that has dominated the field for many years concerns ......
One ma%or issue in early X research concerned.......
ighlighting a kno"ledge gap in the field of stud! (for research):
#o far, however, there has been little discussion about ......
4owever, far too little attention has been paid to ......
Most studies in ( have only been carried out in a small number of areas.
The research to date has tended to focus on ( rather than ).
!n addition, no research has been found that surveyed .......
#o far this method has only been applied to ......
#everal studies have produced estimates of ( $#mith, 83389 :ones, 833;%, but there is still
insufficient data for .....
4owever, there have been no controlled studies which compare differences in ......
The experimental data are rather controversial, and there is no general agreement about ......
4owever, there is no reliable evidence that ......
(&s analysis does not take account of ..... nor does he examine ......
#ocus$ aim$ argument:
This paper will focus on/examine/give an account of ......
This essay seeks to remedy these problems by analyisng the literature of ......
The ob+ectives of this research are to determine whether ......
This paper seeks to address the following "uestions:
This essay critically examines/discusses/traces ......
The purpose of this paper is to review recent research into the ......
This paper will review the research conducted on ......
This chapter reviews the literature concerning the usefulness of using ......
The aim of this paper is to determine/examine ......
The aim of this study was to evaluate and validate .....
!n this paper ! argue that .....
!n the pages that follow, it will be argued that <<
This paper attempts to show that ......
!n this essay, ! attempt to defend the view that ......
%utline of structure:
The main "uestions/issues addressed in this paper are: a%, b and c%.
This paper has been divided into four parts. The first part deals with ......
The essay has been organised in the following way.
This paper first gives a brief overview of the recent history of (.
This paper reviews the evidence for .....
This paper begins by ...... !t will then go on to ......
The first section of this paper will examine ......
=inally, .......
.hapter 8 begins by laying out the theoretical dimensions of the research, and looks at how ......
.hapter ; describes the design, synthesis, characteri>ation and evaluation of ......
The last chapter assesses the ......
E&plaining 'e!"ords
?hile a variety of definitions of the term ( have been suggested, this paper will use the definition
first suggested by #mith $01@A% who saw it as .......
Throughout this paper the term ( will refer to/will be used to refer to .......
!n this article the acronym/abbreviation ()B will be used.

Referring to (iterature
One important characteristic of academic writing is that all the sources of information
that the writer has used need to be indicated, not %ust as a bibliography or list of
references, but also in or alongside the text. In some cases the source will be the main
sub%ect of the sentence, in others the sources may be mentioned parenthetically &in
brackets' or via a notation system &eg. footnotes'. The more common verbs and verb
phrases used in academic writing for referring to sources are given below. (ote that
different referencing systems are used in different disciplines. In the examples, the
)arvard in*text referencing system has been used. +lso note that the ,author as sub%ect,
style is less common in the sciences.
,Ideally, your review should be evaluative and critical of the studies which have a
particular bearing on your own. -or example, you may think a particular study did not
investigate some necessary aspect of the area, or that the authors failed to notice some
problem with their results.,
Taken from the Manchester Good Practice Guide:
http.//www.man.ac.uk/goodpractice/
General descriptions of the relevant literature:
+ considerable amount of literature has been published on X. These studies ......
There is a large volume of published studies describing the role of ##
The first serious discussions and analyses of X emerged during the 0123s with ......
The generalisability of much published research on this issue is problematic.
4hat we know about X is largely based upon empirical studies that investigate how ......
"uring the past 53 years much more information has become available on ......
In recent years, there has been an increasing amount of literature on .......
+ large and growing body of literature has investigated ......
General reference to previous research/scholarly activity (usually
more than one author)
Many historians have argued that ...... &eg. 6ones, 01728 6ohnson, 01138 9mith, 011:'
(umerous studies have attempted to explain ..... &for example, 9mith , 011;8 <elly, 01178
6ohnson, =33='
>ecent evidence suggests that ....... &9mith, 011;8 6ones 01118 6ohnson, =330'
>ecently, in vitro studies have shown that T.thermophylus ?-Tu can ...... &@atel et al.,
01128 6ones et al., 0117'.
9urveys such as that conducted by 9mith &0177' have shown that ......
9everal attempts have been made to ....... &9mith, 011;8 6ones 01118 6ohnson, =330'
9everal studies have revealed that it is not %ust X that acts on ...... &9mith, 011;8
6ones .......
9everal biographies of )arris have been published. 9mith presents an ........ account,
whilst 6ones .....
9everal studies investigating X have been carried out on ......
"ata from several sources have identified the increased morbidity and mortality
associated with obesity
@revious studies have reported ...... &9mith, 017A8 6ones, 01728 6ohnson, 011='.
@revious research findings into X have been inconsistent and contradictory &9mith, 011;8
6ones 0111, ......
+ number of studies have found that ...... &9mith , =3358 6ones, =33:'.
Twenty cohort study analyses have examined the relationship between .......
+t least 0A= case*control studies worldwide have examined the relationship between......
Other studies have considered the relationship ......
The relationship between X and has been widely investigated &9mith, 017A8 6ones,
0172, .......
The causes of X have been widely investigated &6ones, 01728 6ohnson, 01138 9mith,
011:'.
The geology of X has been addressed in several smallscale investigations and .......
Xs have been identified as ma%or contributing factors for the decline of many species &0'.
X has also been shown to reverse the anti*inflammatory effects of glucocorticoids in
murine*induced arthritis &00'.
It has been suggested that levels of X are independent of the siBe of the &9mith et al.,
011A'
It has conclusively been shown that X and increase ! &9mith et al., 01118 6ones,
=330 ......
It has been demonstrated that a high intake of X results in damage to ...... &9mith,
01178 ......
Reference to current state of knowledge
+ relationship exists between an individualCs working memory and their ability to ......
&6ones et al.,0117'.
DM varieties of maiBe are able to cross*pollinate with non*DM varieties &9mith, 01178
6ones, 0111'.
There is an unambiguous relationship between spending on education and economic
development &>ao, 0117'.
X is one of the most intense reactions following E)" &Fane, =335'.
MI- has been found to oppose the anti*infammatory actions of X on &+lourfi, =33:'.
Reference to single investigations in the past: researcher(s) as sentence
subject
9mith &0111'
found that as levels of literacy and education of the population rise .............
showed that reducing X to 013oE decreased ...... &see figure =' .
demonstrated that when the maximum temperature is exceeded .......
6ones et al. &=330'
investigated the differential impact of formal and non*formal education on ......
analysed the data from 2= countries and concluded that .......
reviewed the literature from the period and found little evidence for this claim.
interviewed =A3 undergraduate students using semi*structured Guestionnaires.
studied the effects of Eytochrome @:A3 on unprotected nerve cells.
performed a similar series of experiments in the 01;3s to show that ......
carried out a number of investigations into the ......
conducted a series of trials in which he mixed X with different Guantities of ....
measured both components of the ......
labelled these subsets as .......
examined the flow of international students ...... ......
identified parents of disabled children as .....
used a survey to assess the various .......
4ang et al. &=33:' have recently developed a methodology for the selective introduction
of ......
Reference to single investigations or publications in the past: time frame
prominent
In 012A, 9mith et al. published a paper in which they described .....
In 0113 @atel et al. demonstrated that replacement of )=O with heavy water led to ......
Thirty years later, 9mith &012:' reported three cases of Eandida +lbicans which .......
In the 01A3s Dunnar Myrdal pointed to some of the ways in which ##### &Myrdal,
01A2'
In 0170, 9mith and co workers demonstrated that X induced in vitro resistance to .......
In 0113, ?l*Duerrou% et al. reported a new and convenient synthetic procedure to
obtain ......
In 017: 6ones et al. made several amino acid esters of X and evaluated them as water*
soluble pro*drugs.
Reference to single publication: no time frame
9mith has written the most complete synthesis to date of ......
Reference to single investigations in the past: investigation prominent
@reliminary work on X was undertaken by +bdul<arim &011='.
The first systematic study of X was reported by @atel et al. in 017;.
The study of the structural behavior of X was first carried out by >ao et al. &017;'......
+nalysis of the genes involved in X was first carried out by 9mith et al &0175'.
+ recent study by 9mith and 6ones &=330' involved ......
+ longitiudinal study of X by 9mith &=33=' reports that ......
+ small scale study by 9mith &=33=' reaches different conclusions, finding no increase
in ......
9mithCs cross*country analysis &=33=' showed that ......
9mithCs comparative study &=33=' found that ......
"etailed examination of X by 9mith and @atel &01;0' showed that ......
In another ma%or study, !hao &012:' found that %ust over half of the ......
In a radomised controlled study of X, 9mith &=33:' reported that ......
In a large longitudinal study, Houcahy et al. =33:' investigated the incidence of X in .
Reference to single investigations in the past: research topic as subject
Elassical conditioning was first demonstrated experimentally by @avlov &9mith, =33='. In
his seminal study ......
The electronic spectroscopy of X was first studied by 9mith and "ouglas 0 in 0123
The acid*catalyBed condensation reaction between X and was first reported by Haeyer
in 072=
X formed the central focus of a study by 9mith &=33=' in which the author found ......
X was originally isolated from in a soil sample from ...... &4ang et al., 01A='.
The way in which the X gene is regulated was studied extensively by )o and colleagues
&)o et al. 011A and 0117'.
To determine the effects of X, !hao et al &=33A' compared ......
Reference to what other writers do in their text (author as subject)
9mith &=335' identifies poor food, bad housing, inadeGuate hygiene and large families as
the ma%or causes of ......
>ao &=335' lists three reasons why the ?nglish language has become so dominant. These
are. ......
9mith &=335' traces the development of 6apanese history and philosophy during the 01th
century.
6ones&=335' provides in*depth analysis of the work of +ristotle showing its relevance to
contemporary times.
9mith &=335' draws our attention to distinctive categories of motivational beliefs often
observed in .......
9mith &=335' defines evidence based medicine as the conscious, explicit and %udicious
use of .....
>ao &=335' highlights the need to break the link between economic growth and transport
growth ......
9mith &=335' discusses the challenges and strategies for facilitating and promoting ......
Toh &=335' mentions the special situation of 9ingapore as an example of .....
9mith &=335' questions whether mainstream schools are the best environment for ......
9mith &=335' considers whether countries work well on cross*border issues such as ......
9mith &=335' uses examples of these various techniGues as evidence that ......
In her ma%or study,
In her seminal article,
In her classic critiGue of
......,
In her case study
of ......,
In her review of ......,
In her analysis of ......,
In her introduction
to ......,C
9mith &=33:' identifies five characteristics of .......
9ome analysts &eg Earnoy, =33=' have attempted to draw fine distinctions between ........
Other authors & see )arbison, =3358 <aplan, =33:' Guestion the usefulness of such an
approach.
Reference to other writers ideas (author as subject)
According to 9mith &=335', preventative medicine is far more cost effective, and
therefore better adapted to the developing world.
9mith &=335'
points out
argues
maintains
claims
concludes
suggests
that
preventative medicine is far more cost
effective, and therefore better adapted to
the developing world

9mith &=335'
argues for
offers
proposes
suggests
an explanatory theory for each type of irrational
belief.
This view is supported by 6ones &=333' who writes ......
9mith argues that her data support OCHrienCs &0177' view that ......
+s 9mith reminds us, ..............
?lsewhere, 9mith has argued that ......
!ome ways of introducing "uotations
In the final part of the Theses, Marx writes. ,@hilosophers have hitherto only interpreted
the world in various ways8 the point .......,
9achs concludes. ,The idea of development stands today like a ruin in the intellectual
landscape#, &9achs, 011=a. 0A;'.
+s 9mith argues. ,In the past, the purpose of education was to ......, &9mith , =333.0A3'.
+s Earnoy &=33:. =0A' states. ,there are many good reasons to be sceptical,.








)eing *ritical
Cs an academic writer, you are expected to be critical of the sources that you use. This
essentially means "uestioning what you read and not necessarily agreeing with it +ust
because the information has been published. Deing critical can also mean looking for
reasons why we should not +ust accept something as being correct or true. This can
re"uire you to identify problems with a writer&s arguments or methods, or perhaps to
refer to other people&s criticisms of these. .onstructive criticism goes beyond this by
suggesting ways in which a piece of research or writing could be improved.
...... being against is not enough. We also need to develop habits of constructive
thinking. Edward de Bono
Introducing +uestions$ problems and limitations (theor!)
'ne "uestion that needs to be asked, however, is whether ......
C serious weakness with this argument, however, is that ......
'ne of the limitations with this explanation is that it does not explain why... .
'ne criticism of much of the literature on ( is that ......
The key problem with this explanation is that ......
The existing accounts fail to resolve the contradiction between ( and ).
4owever, there is an inconsistency with this argument.
#mith&s argument relies too heavily on "ualitative analysis of ......
!t seems that :ones& understanding of the ( framework is "uestionable.
#mith&s interpretation overlooks much of the historical research ......
'ne ma+or criticism of #mith&s work is that .....
Many writers have challenged :ones& claim on the grounds that .......
(&s analysis does not take account of ..... nor does he examine ......
Introducing +uestions$ problems and limitations (method,practice)
Cnother problem with this approach is that it fails to take ( into account.
Eerhaps the most serious disadvantage of this method is that .....
6ifficulties arise, however, when an attempt is made to implement the policy.
evertheless, the strategy has not escaped criticism from governments, agencies and
academics.
'ne ma+or drawback of this approach is that ......
The main limitation of biosynthetic incorporation, however, is ......
4owever, this method of analysis has a number of limitations.
4owever, approaches of this kind carry with them various well known limitations.
Cll the studies reviewed so far, however, suffer from the fact that .......
4owever, there are limits to how far the idea of/concept of ( can be taken.
4owever, such explanations tend to overlook the fact that......
4owever, one of the problems with the instrument the researchers used to measure (
was ......
4owever, all the previously mentioned
methods suffer from some serious
limitations
weaknesses
disadvantages
drawbacks.
Identif!ing a stud!-s "eakness
$4owever,%
the main weakness of the study is the failure to address how .......
the study fails to consider the differing categories of damage that .....
the research does not take into account pre*existing ...... such as ......
the author offers no explanation for the distinction between ( and ).
#mith makes no attempt to differentiate between various different
types of (.
:ones fails to fully acknowledge the significance of ......
the paper would appear to be over ambitious in its claims
the author overlooks the fact that ( contributes to ).
what #mith fails to do is to draw a distinction between ......
another weakness is that we are given no explanantion of how ......
no attempt was made to "uantify the association between ( and ).

%ffering constructive suggestions
#mith&s paper
4er
conclusions
The study
The findings
would have
been
might have
been
more
much
more
far more
useful
convincing
interesting
persuasive
original
if he/she
had
if the author
had
included ......
considered ....
..
adopted ......
used ......
C better study would examine a large, randomly selected sample of societies with ......
C much more systematic study would identify how ( interacts with other variables that
are believed to be linked to ......
ighlighting inade+uacies of previous studies
Most studies in the field of ( have only focussed on ......
Most studies in ( have only been carried out in a small number of areas.
The generalisability of much published research on this issue is problematic.
The experimental data are rather controversial, and there is no general agreement about
......
#uch expositions are unsatisfactory because they .....
4owever, few writers have been able to draw on any structured research into the
opinions and attitudes of ......
The research to date has tended to focus on ( rather than ).
The existing accounts fail to resolve the contradiction between ( and ).
/esearchers have not treated ( in much detail.
Erevious studies of ( have not dealt with ......
4owever, these studies used non*validated methods to measure .....
4alf of the studies evaluated failed to specify whether ......
4owever, much of the research up to now has been descriptive in nature <.
Clthough extensive research has been carried out on (, no single study exists which
ade"uately covers ......
4owever, these results were based upon data from over ;3 years ago and it is unclear if
these differences still persist.
Introducing other people-s criticisms
4owever, :ones $833;% points out that .....
Many analysts now argue that the strategy of ( has not been successful. :ones $833;%,
for example, argues that .....
on*government agencies are also very critical of the new policies.
The ( theory has been / vigorously / strongly challenged in recent years by a number of
writers.
#mith&s analysis has been criticised by a number of writers. :ones $011;%, for example,
points out that <<
#mith&s meta*analysis has been sub+ected to considerable criticism.
The most important of these criticisms is that #mith failed to note that ......
:ones $833;% is probably the best known critic of the ( theory. 4e argues that .<.
The latter point has been devastatingly criti"ued by :ones $833;%.
.ritics have also argued that not only do social surveys provide an inaccurate measure
of (, but the......
.ritics "uestion the ability of poststructuralist theory to provide ......
More recent arguments against ( have been summarised by #mith and :ones $01A8%:
:ones $833;% is critical of the conclusions that #mith draws from his findings.




Describing .ethods
!n the Methods section of a dissertation or research article, writers give an account of
how they carried out their research.The Materials and Methods section should be clear
and detailed enough for another experienced person to repeat the research and
reproduce the results. Typical features with examples of this language are listed below.

Describing different methods
To date various methods have been developed and introduced to measure (:
!n most recent studies, ( is measured in four different ways.
/adiographic techni"ues are the main non*invasive method used to determine ....
6ifferent authors have measured ( in a variety of ways.
Erevious studies have based their criteria for selection on ......
C variety of methods are used to assess (. Each has its advantages and drawbacks.
6ata were gathered from multiple sources at various time points during the 8332F833A
academic year.
/iving reasons "h! a particular method "as adopted
The semi*structured approach was chosen because ......
#mith et al $011,% identify several advantages of the case study, .......
!t was decided that the best method to adopt for this investigation was to ......
C case study approach was chosen to allow a ......
The design of the "uestionnaires was based on ......
The ( method is one of the more practical ways of ......
!t was considered that "uantitative measures would usefully supplement and extend the
"ualitative analysis.
Many of the distributions were not normal so non*parametric signed rank tests were run.
The ( approach has a number of attractive features: ......
Indicating a specific method
Crticle references were searched further for additional relevant publications.
Crticles were searched from :anuary 01@G until Cpril 833A.
Eublications were only included if <<.
( was prepared according to the procedure used by Eatel et al. $01G2%.
The synthesis of ( was done according to the procedure of #mith $012;%.
( was synthesised using the same method that was detailed for ), using ......
This compound was prepared by adapting the procedure used by Bhao et al. $0113%.
=or this study the ( was used to explore the subsurface <<
Cn alternative method for making scales homogenous is by using <..
Describing the characterisitics of the sample
The initial sample consisted of 833 students of whom 0; did not complete all of the
interviews
Cll studies described as using some sort of ( procedure were included in the analysis.
C systematic literature review was conducted of studies that .....
Cll of the participants were aged between 0A and 01 at the beginning of the study.....
Two groups of sub+ects were interviewed, namely ( and ). The first group were ......
C random sample of patients with ...... was recruited from .......
=orty*seven students studying ( were recruited for this study.
The students were divided into two groups based on their performance on ......
The pro+ect used a convenience sample of ;8 first year modern languages students.
:ust over half the sample $G;-% was female, of whom @1- were ......
Earticipants were recruited from 0G clinics across ......, covering urban and rural areas
<<
Eligibility criteria re"uired individuals to have received <.
=ive individuals were excluded form the study on the basis of <.
Eligible women who matched the selection criteria were identified by <<
#emi structured interviews were conducted with 02 male offenders with a mean age of
;A years
C comparison group of 08 male sub+ects without any history of ( was drawn from a pool
of <<.
Indicating reasons for sample characteristics
C small sample was chosen because of the expected difficulty of obtaining ......
The sub+ects were selected on the basis of a degree of homogeneity of their .......
.riteria for selecting the sub+ects were as follows:
Describing the process: infinitive of purpose
In order to identify the T10 and T11 spinous processes, the subects were asked to ......
In order to understand how ( regulates ), a series of transfections was performed..
To enable the sub+ects to see the computer screen clearly, the laptop was configured
with ......
To see if the two methods gave the same measurement, the data was plotted and ......
To control for bias, measurements were carried out by another person.
To !easure ", a "uestion asking ...... was used.
To deter!ine whether ......, HI*0 cells were incubated for ......
To establish whether ......,
To increase the reliability of measures, each ( was tested twice with a ,*min break
between .......
To co!pare the scores three weeks after initial screening, a global C'JC =*test was
used
The vials were capped with ..... to prevent volatisation.
In an atte!pt to !ake each interviewee feel as comfortable as possible, the
interviewer ......
Describing the process: other phrases e&pressing purpose
#or the purpose of height measurement, sub+ects were asked to stand .....
#or the purpose of analysis, 8 segments were extracted from each ......
#or the esti!ation of protein concentration, 033 $5 of protein sample was mixed with ......
Describing the process: t!pical verbs (note use of passive form)
6ata management and analysis was perfor!ed using #E## A.3 $0111%.
Eublished studies were identified using a search startegy developed in .....
The experiments were carried out over the course of the growing period from .......
!n+ection solutions were coded by a colleague to reduce experimenter bias.
6rugs were ad!inistered by icv in+ection under brief .'8 narcosis9
The mean score for the two trials was subected to multivariate analysis of variance to
determine ......
The sub+ects were asked to pay close attention to the characters whenever ......
Erompts were used as an aid to "uestion two so that ......
The pilot interviews were conducted informally by the trained interviewer ......
Dlood samples were obtained with consent, from 8G@ caucasian male patients ......
!ndependent tests were carried out on the x and y scores for the four years from ......
This experiment was repeated under conditions in which the poor signal/noise ratio was
improved.
#ignificance levels were set at the 0- level using the student t*test.
C total of 8G@ samples were taken from G8 boreholes $=igure 00%.
Describing the process: se+uence "ords,phrases
%rior to commencing the study, ethical clearance was sought from ......
In the end, the EI' was selected as the measurement tool for the current study.
&fter KtrainingK, the sub+ects were told that the characters stood for ( and that their task
was to .......
&fter collection, the samples were shipped back to ( in ......
&fter conformational analysis of (, it was necessary to ......
'nce the (s were located and !arked, a thin clear plastic ruler ......
'nce the positions had been decided upon, the (s were re!oved from each ) and
replaced by .....
'nce the exposures were co!pleted, the ( was re!oved from the ) and placed in ......
'n co!pletion of (, the process of model specification and parameter estimation was
carried out.
#ollowing this, the samples were recovered and stored overnight at ......
These ratings were then made for the ten stimuli to which the sub+ect had been
exposed ......
The analysis was checked when initially performed and then checked again at the end of
......
The sub+ects were then shown a film individually and were asked to ......
The soil was then weighed again, and this weight was recorded as ......
The results were corrected for the background readings and then averaged before being
converted to......
#inally, "uestions were asked as to the role of ......
Describing the process: adverbs of manner
The soil was then placed in a furnace and gradually heated up to .....
The vials were shaken !anually to allow the soil to mix well with the water.
The medium was then aseptically transferred to a conical flask.
The resulting solution was gently mixed at room temperature for ten minutes and ......
C sample of the concentrate was then carefully in+ected into ......
The tubes were accurately reweighed to six decimal places using ......
Describing the process: passive verb 0 using 1111 for instruments
0G sub+ects were recruited using email advertisements re"uesting healthy students
from ......
Cll the work on the computer was carried out using 7uattro Ero for ?indows and ......l.
6ata were collected using two high spectral resolution spectroradiometers.
The data was recorded on a digital audio recorder and transcribed using a .......
#emi*automated genotyping was carried out using ( software and ....
#tatistical significance was analysed using analysis of variance and t*tests as
appropriate.
.omparisons between the two groups were made using unrelated t*tests.
(sing the (*ray and looking at the actual (, it was possible to identify ......
(sing an Cnthos Microplate /eader were able to separate single cells into different ......
Describing the process: giving detailed information
.ompounds ; and G were dissolved in ( at apparent p4 8.G to give concentrations of
,mM .....
...... and the solutions were degraded at GGL. or ;2L. for a total time of ,8 hours.
Ct intervals of 3.G min, G3 $5of the ( was ali"uoted into 3.Gm5 of cooled boric acid buffer
$p4 2.G% to ......
Indicating problems or limitations
!n this investigation there are several sources for error. The main error is ......
Cnother ma+or source of uncertainty is in the method used to calculate (..
!t was not possible to investigate the significant relationships of ( and ) further because
the sample si>e was too small.
=urther data collection is re"uired to determine exactly how ( affects ).



Reporting Results
The standard approach to this section of a dissertation is to merely present the results,
without elaborate discussion or comment. This does not mean that you do not need any
text to describe data presented in tables and figures. ?riters usually comment on the
significant data presented in the tables and figures. This often takes the form of the
location or summary statement, which identifies the table or figure and indicates its
content. This is normally followed by a statement or statements which point out and
describe the relevant or significant data. Cll your tables should be numbered and given a
title.
More elaborate commentary on the results is normally restricted to the 6iscussion
section. !n research articles, however, authors may comment extensively on their results
as they are presented, and it is not uncommon for the /esults section to be combined
with the 6iscussion section under the heading: /esults and 6iscussion.


Reference to aim,method
To assess (, the ) "uestionnaire was used.
To distinguish between these two possibilities, ......
To compare the scores three weeks after initial screening, a global C'JC =*test was
used
!n order to assess B, repeated measures of C'JC were used.
/egression analysis was used to predict the ......
.hanges in ( and ) were compared using ......
The average scores of ( and ) were compared in order to ......
ine items on the "uestionnaire measured the extent to which ......
The correlation between ( and ) was tested.
The first set of analyses examined the impact of ......
#imple statistical analysis was used to ......
C scatter diagram and a Eearson&s product moment correlation were used to determine
the relationship between ......
T*tests were used to analyse the relationship between ......
.omparisons between the two groups were made using unrelated t*tests.
(ocation and summar! statements:
Table 0
=igure 0
shows
compares
presents
provides
the experimental data on (.
the results obtained from the preliminary analysis of (.
the intercorrelations among the nine measures of (.
The results obtained from the preliminary
analysis of (
are shown
can be compared
are presented
in Table 0.
in =ig 0.
Cs shown in =igure 08.0,
Cs can be seen from the table
$above%,
!t can be seen from the data in
Table 08.0 that
=rom the graph above we can
see that
the ( group reported significantly more ) than
the other two groups.
The table below illustrates
The pie chart above
shows
some of the main characteristics of the ......
the breakdown of ......
ighlighting significant data in a table,chart
!t is apparent from this table that very few ......
This table is "uite revealing in several ways. =irst, unlike the other tables ......
6ata from this table can be compared with the data in Table ,.@ which shows ......
=rom the data in =igure 1, it is apparent that the length of time left between ......
=rom this data we can see that #tudy 8 resulted in the lowest value of ......
The histogram in =ig 0. indicates that ......
?hat is interesting in this data is that ......
!n =ig.03 there is a clear trend of decreasing ......
Cs Table !!! shows, there is a significant difference $t M *8.0G, p M 3.3;% between the two
groups.
2tatements of result (positive)
#trong evidence of ( was found when ......
This result is significant at the p M 3.3G level.
There was a significant positive correlation between ......
There was a signifcant difference between the two conditions ......
'n average, (s were shown to have ......
The mean score for ( was ......
!nterestingly, for those sub+ects with (, ......
C positive correlation was found between ( and ).
The results, as shown in Table 0, indicate that <.
=urther analysis showed that ......
=urther statistical tests revealed .....
2tatements of result (negative)
There was no increase of ( associated with .....
There were no significant differences between ......
o significant differences were found between .....
o increase in ( was detected.
o difference greater than ( was observed.
The .hi*s"uare test did not show any significant differences between ......
one of these differences were statistically significant.
'verall, ( did not affect males and females differently in these measure.
o significant reduction in ( was found with ) compared with placebo.
C clear benefit of ( in the prevention of ) could not be identified in this analysis.
ighlighting significant$ interesting or surprising results
The most striking result to emerge from the data is that ......
!nterestingly, this correlation is related to .....
The correlation between ( and ) is interesting because ......
The more surprising correlation is with the ......
The single most striking observation to emerge from the data comparison was ......
Reporting results from +uestionnaires and intervie"s
The response rate was @3- at six months and G@- at 08 months.
'f the study population, 13 sub+ects completed and returned the "uestionnaire.
'f the initial cohort of 08; students, @@ were female and G2 male.
Thirty*two individuals returned the "uestionnaires.
The ma+ority of respondents/those who responded felt that .....
'ver half of those surveyed reported that ......
23- of those who were interviewed indicated that ......
Clmost two*thirds of the participants $@,-% said that ......
Cpproximately half of those surveyed did not comment on ......
C small number of those interviewed suggested that ......
'nly a small number of respondents indicated that ......
'f the 0,A patients who completed the "uestionnaire, +ust over half indicated that .......
C minority of participants $02-% indicated ......
!n response to 7uestion 0, most of those surveyed indicated that ......
The overall response to this "uestion was very positive.
?hen the sub+ect were asked ......, the ma+ority commented that .....
'ther responses to this "uestion included ......
The overall response to this "uestion was poor.
#ome participants expressed the belief that <..
'ne individual stated that <. Cnd another commented <<.
3ransition statements
Turning now to the experimental evidence on ......
.omparing the two results, it can be seen that ......
C comparison of the two results reveals ......
!f we now turn to ......






Discussions
The term discussion has a variety of meanings in English. !n academic writing, however,
it usually refers to two types of activity: a% considering both sides of an issue, or
"uestion, b% considering the results of research and the implications of these. 6iscussion
sections in dissertations and research articles are probably the most complex in terms of
their elements. The most common elements and some of the language that is typically
associated with them are listed below:

)ackground information (reference to literature or to research
aim,+uestion)
C strong relationship between ( and ) has been reported in the literature.
Erior studies that have noted the importance of ......
!n reviewing the literature, no data was found on the association between ( and ).
Cs mentioned in the literature review, ......
Jery little was found in the literature on the "uestion of .....
This study set out with the aim of assessing the importance of ( in ......
The third "uestion in this research was ......
!t was hypothesi>ed that participants with a history of ......
The present study was designed to determine the effect of ......
2tatements of result (usuall! "ith reference to results section)
The results of this study show/indicate that .......
This experiment did not detect any evidence for ......
'n the "uestion of (, this study found that ......
The current study found that ......
The most interesting finding was that ......
Cnother important finding was that .....
The results of this study did not show that ....../did not show any significant increase
in ......
!n the current study, comparing ( with ) showed that the mean degree of ......
!n this study, (s were found to cause .....
( provided the largest set of significant clusters of ......
!t is interesting to note that in all seven cases of this study......
4ne&pected outcome
#urprisingly, ( was found to .......
#urprisingly, no differences were found in ......
'ne unanticipated finding was that .....
!t is somewhat surprising that no ( was noted in this condition ......
?hat is surprising is that ......
.ontrary to expectations, this study did not find a significant difference between .......
4owever, the observed difference between ( and ) in this study was not significant.
4owever, the C'JC $one way% showed that these results were not statistically
significant.
This finding was unexpected and suggests that ......
Reference to previous research (support)
This study produced results which corroborate the findings of a great deal of the
previous work in this field.
The findings of the current study are consistent with those of #mith and :ones $8330%
who found ......
This finding supports previous research into this brain area which links ( and ).
This study confirms that ( is associated with ......
This finding corroborates the ideas of #mith and :ones $833A%, who suggested that ......
This finding is in agreement with #mith&s $0111% findings which showed .......
!t is encouraging to compare this figure with that found by :ones $011;% who found
that .....
There are similarities between the attitudes expressed by ( in this study and those
described by $#mith, 01A2, 011G% and :ones $01A@%
These findings further support the idea of .....
!ncreased activation in the E.. in this study corroborates these earlier findings.
These results are consistent with those of other studies and suggest that ......
The present findings seem to be consistent with other research which found ......
This also accords with our earlier observations, which showed that ......
Reference to previous research (contradict)
4owever, the findings of the current study do not support the previous research.
This study has been unable to demonstrate that ......
4owever, this result has not previously been described.
!n contrast to earlier findings, however, no evidence of ( was detected.
Clthough, these results differ from some published studies $#mith, 01189 :ones, 011@%,
they are consistent with those of ......
These results results differ from (&s 833; estimate of ), but they are broadly consistent
with earlier .....
E&planations for results:
There are several possible explanations for this result.
These differences can be explained in part by the proximity of ( and ).
C possible explanation for this might be that .....
Cnother possible explanation for this is that ......
This result may be explained by the fact that ...../ by a number of different factors.
!t is difficult to explain this result, but it might be related to ......
!t seems possible that these results are due to ......
The reason for this is not clear but it may have something to do with ......
!t may be that these students benefitted from ......
This inconsistency/discrepancy may be due to ......
This rather contradictory result may be due to ......
These factors may explain the relatively good correlation between ( and ).
There are, however, other possible explanations.
The possible interference of ( can not be ruled out.
The observed increase in ( could be attributed to .....
The observed correlation between ( and ) might be explained in this way. .....
#ome authors
1,;3
have speculated that ......
#ince this difference has not been found elsewhere it is probably not due to ......
C possible explanation for some of our results may be the lack of ade"uate ......
Advising cautious interpretation
These data must be interpreted with caution because ......
These results therefore need to be interpreted with caution.
4owever, with a small sample si>e, caution must be applied, as the findings might not be
transferable to ......
These findings cannot be extrapolated to all patients.
Clthough exclusion of ( did not reduce the effect on (, these results should be
interpreted with caution.
4owever, with a small sample si>e, caution must be applied, as the findings might not be
transferable to ......
2uggesting general h!potheses
The value of ( suggests that a weak link may exist between .....
!t is therefore likely that such connections exist between .....
!t can thus be suggested that ......
!t is possible to hypothesise that these conditions are less likely to occur in ......
!t is possible/likely/probable therefore that ......
4ence, it could conceivably be hypothesised that ......
These findings suggest that ......
!t may be the case therefore that these variations ......
!n general, therefore, it seems that ......
!t is possible, therefore, that ......
Therefore, ( could be a ma+or factor, if not the only one, causing ......
!t can therefore be assumed that the ......
This finding, while preliminary, suggests that<<
5oting implications
This finding has important implications for developing .....
Cn implication of this is the possibility that ......
'ne of the issues that emerges from these findings is ......
#ome of the issues emerging from this finding relate specifically to ......
This combination of findings provides some support for the conceptual premise that .....
*ommenting on findings
4owever, these results were not very encouraging.
These findings are rather disappointing.
The test was successful as it was able to identify students who ......
The present results are significant in at least ma+or two respects.
The results of this study do not explain the occurrence of these adverse events.
2uggestions for future "ork
4owever, more research on this topic needs to be undertaken before the association
between ( and ) is more clearly understood.
=urther research should be done to investigate the ......
/esearch "uestions that could be asked include .....
=uture studies on the current topic are therefore recommended.
C further study with more focus on ( is therefore suggested.
=urther studies, which take these variables into account, will need to be undertaken.
=urther work is re"uired to establish this.
!n future investigations it might be possible to use a different ( in which ......
This is an important issue for future research.








Writing *onclusions
.onclusions are shorter sections of academic texts which usually serve two functions.
The first is to summarise and bring together the main areas covered in the writing, which
might be called Klooking backK9 and the second is to give a final comment or +udgement
on this. The final comment may also include making suggestions for improvement and
speculating on future directions.
!n dissertations and research papers, conclusions tend to be more complex and will also
include sections on significance of the findings and recommendations for future work.
.onclusions may be optional in research articles where consolidation of the study and
general implications are covered in the 6iscussion section. 4owever, they are usually
expected in dissertations and essays.

2ummarising the content
This paper has given an account of and the reasons for the widespread use of ( ......
This essay has argued that ( is the best instrument to ......
This assignment has explained the central importance of ( in ).
This dissertation has investigated ......
Restatement of aims (research)
This study set out to determine ......
The present study was designed to determine the effect of .......
!n this investigation, the aim was to assess ......
The purpose of the current study was to determine ......
This pro+ect was undertaken to design ...... and evaluate .....
/eturning to the hypothesis/"uestion posed at the beginning of this study, it is now
possible to state that .....
2ummarising the findings (research)
This study has shown that ......
These findings suggest that in general ......
'ne of the more significant findings to emerge from this study is that .....
!t was also shown that......
This study has found that generally .......
The following conclusions can be drawn from the present study ......
The relevance of ( is clearly supported by the current findings.
This study/research has shown that ......
The second ma+or finding was that ........
The results of this investigation show that .......
The most obvious finding to emerge from this study is that ......
(, ) and B emerged as reliable predictors of ......
Multiple regression analysis revealed that the ......
2uggesting implications
The evidence from this study suggests that ......
The results of this study indicate that ......
The results of this research support the idea that .......
!n general, therefore, it seems that ......
Taken together, these results suggest that ......
Cn implication of this is the possibility that ......
The findings of this study suggest that ......
2ignificance of the findings (research contribution)
The ( that we have identified therefore assists in our understanding of the role of ......
These findings enhance our understanding of ......
This research will serve as a base for future studies and ......
The current findings add substantially to our understanding of ......
The current findings add to a growing body of literature on ......
The study has gone some way towards enhancing our understanding of ......
The methods used for this ( may be applied to other (s elsewhere in the world.
The present study, however, makes several noteworthy contributions to......
The empirical findings in this study provide a new understanding of <<
The findings from this study make several contributions to the current literature. =irst,
<<
The present study provides additional evidence with respect to <<
Taken together, these findings suggest a role for ( in promoting ).
The present study confirms previous findings and contributes additional evidence that
suggests .... .
?hilst this study did not confirm (, it did partially substantiate .......
(imitations of the current stud! (research)
=inally, a number of important limitations need to be considered. =irst, ......
C number of caveats need to be noted regarding the present study.
The most important limitation lies in the fact that ......
The current investigation was limited by ......
The current study was unable to analyse these variables.
The current research was not specifically designed to evaluate factors related to ......
The current study has only examined ......
The pro+ect was limited in several ways. =irst, the pro+ect used a convenience sample
that ......
4owever, with a small sample si>e, caution must be applied, as the findings might not be
transferable to ......
The sample was nationally representative of ( but would tend to miss people who
were ......
C limitation of this study is that the numbers of patients and controls were relatively
small.
Thirdly, the study did not evaluate the use of ......
4owever, these findings are limited by the use of a cross sectional design.
'ur findings in this report are sub+ect to at least three limitations. =irst, these data apply
only to <..
Cn issue that was not addressed in this study was whether<..
'ne source of weakness in this study which could hare affected the measurements of
was that <<
#everal limitations to this pilot study need to be acknowledged. The sample si>e is ......
The main weakness of this study was the paucity of <<
Recommendations for further "ork (research)
This research has thrown up many "uestions in need of further investigation.
=urther work needs to be done to establish whether ......
!t is recommended that further research be undertaken in the following areas:
=urther experimental investigations are needed to estimate ......
?hat is now needed is a cross*national study involving ......
More broadly, research is also needed to determine .....
!t is suggested that the association of these factors is investigated in future studies.
=urther research might explore/investigate ......
=urther research in this field/regarding the role of ( would be of great help in .......
=urther investigation and experimentation into ( is strongly recommended.
C number of possible future studies using the same experimental set up are apparent.
!t would be interesting to assess the effects of ......
More information on ( would help us to establish a greater degree of accuracy on this
matter.
!f the debate is to be moved forward, a better understanding of ...... needs to be
developed.
! suggest that before ( is introduced, a study similar to this one should be carried out
on .....
These findings provide the following insights for future research: .....
.onsiderably more work will need to be done to determine ......
=uture trials should assess a full selective decontamination regimen including
More research is needed to better understand when implementation ends and .......
!t would be interesting to compare experiences of individuals within the same < group.
C further study could assess <...
C future study investigating <... would be very interesting.
The issue of ( is an intriguing one which could be usefully explored in further research.
=uture research should therefore concentrate on the investigation of <...
5arge randomised controlled trials could provide more definitive evidence.
Implications,recommendations for practice or polic!
These findings suggest several courses of action for ......
Cn implication of these findings is that both ( and ) should be taken into account
when ......
The findings of this study have a number of important implications for future practice.
There is, therefore, a definite need for ......
There are a number of important changes which need to be made.
Cnother important practical implication is that ......
Moreover, more ( should be made available to ......
'ther types of ( could include : a%, b%. ......
Nnless governments adopt (, ) will not be attained.
This information can be used to develop targetted interventions aimed at ......
C reasonable approach to tackle this issue could be to ......
Taken together, these findings do not support strong recommendations to ......