In the next three or four sessions, we will look at:

- an example of a report on an academic article- organising & combining sources referencing your sources- essay planning- complex sentences

Graduate DiplomaReading & Writing Session 11

Reporting & Reporting Verbs

VERBS OF REFERENCE

INTRODUCTION

Consider the following conversation:

Omar : I love it when Maggie speaks Chinese in class. It’s like listening to wonderful music.

Naif : Yes, it sounds incredibly beautiful.

Yasir : I think you’re both crazy.

Now look at my report of the conversation. Which words do you think are missing?

Omar _______ that he loves to hear Maggie speaking Chinese. He

compares it to “listening to wonderful music”. Naif _______ that the sound

of Maggie speaking Chinese is beautiful. Yasir _______ that Omar and

Naif are crazy.

Any surprises?

Omar says that he loves to hear Maggie speaking Chinese. He compares

it to “listening to wonderful music”. Naif agrees that the sound of Maggie

speaking Chinese is beautiful. Yasir concludes that Omar and Naif are

crazy.

What would happen if we moved some of these words around? Is this

possible?

Omar agrees that he loves to hear Maggie speaking Chinese. He

compares it to “listening to wonderful music”. Naif concludes that the

sound of Maggie speaking Chinese is beautiful. Yasir says that Omar and

Naif are crazy.

MORE VERBS

Presenting a case Describing a reaction to another writer’s position Other verbs of reference

Presenting a case Describing a reaction to another writer’s position Other verbs of reference

argueclaimconsiderhypothesisesuggestbelievethinkstate

acceptadmitagreedenydoubt

assumeconcludediscoverexplainimplyindicatemaintainpresumerevealshow

VERBS OF REFERENCE

IN USE

Practice 1

Complete the sentences on your handout so that they reflect what the following writers say /said.

Ashcroft: “You could be right. I may have made a mistake in my estimate.”

Bradley: “I did not say that sheep were faster than horses.”

Cowdrill: “Whales are very intelligent animals.”

De Freitas: “I support Ashcroft’s position on cats and dogs.”

Evans: “I’m not sure, but cows probably get cold in winter.”

Fortune: “After much research, I’ve found that pigs can’t fly.”

Garner: “On my travels in the jungle I found a new type of frog.”

Harbey: “I think it unlikely that cats can learn to talk.”

Iacono: “Somebody should compare mouse behaviour with rat behaviour”

J: “There may be a link between health and the seasons”.

Key

Ashcroft admits* that he might have made a mistake in his estimate. (*or accepts / agrees)

Bradley denies saying that sheep are faster than horses.

Cowdrill states that whales are very intelligent animals.

De Freitas agrees with Ashcroft’s position on cats and dogs.

Evans assumes that cows might get cold in winter.

Fortune concludes that pigs cannot fly.

Garner discovered a new type of frog in the jungle.

Harbey doubts that cats can learn to talk.

Iacono suggests that mouse behaviour should be compared with rat behaviour.

Johnson hypothesises that there might be a link between health and the seasons.

VERBS OF REFERENCE

AND PATTERN GRAMMAR

What do the following verbs have in common?

•blame, censure, commend, condemn, criticise

What do the following verbs have in common?

•blame, censure, commend, condemn, criticise

They are followed by somebody/something + for + noun / gerund.

e.g. Lee (1998) blames foreign investors for the panic.

What pattern follows this group of verbs?

• assess, characterise, classify, define, describe, evaluate, identify, interpret, portray, present

What pattern follows this group of verbs?

• assess, characterise, classify, define, describe, evaluate, identify, interpret, portray, present

Verb + somebody/something + as + noun / gerund

e.g. Terry interprets rising oil prices as a result of Asian recovery.

Practice 2

Rewrite the following statements using one of the two sets of verbs listed above.

e.g. King: “Bradley’s work is responsible for many of our current economic problems”King blamed Bradley’s work for many of our current economic problems.

Lillwall: “She was very careless about her research methods”

Mellon: “There are three main species of bees”

Naylor: “The cat family are the kings of the animal world”

O'Reilly: “I’m sure that dogs bark because they are nervous”

Palmer: “Trying to estimate the number of animal species is like shooting in the

dark”

Quinn: “Darwin was the greatest naturalist of the nineteenth century”

Roberts: “An insect is a six-legged arthropod.”

Smith: “Queen Victoria was a short, rather fat woman with dark eyes”

Taylor: “Gregor Mendel can be considered the founder of modern genetics”

Practice 2 : Prompts

Lillwall criticises…

Mellon classifies…

Naylor characterises…

O'Reilly interprets…

Palmer describes…

Quinn evaluates…

Roberts defines…

Smith portrays…

Taylor identifies Gregor Mendel…

Practice 2 : Key

Lillwall criticises her for being careless about her research methods / for the carelessness of her research methods.

Mellon classifies bees into three main species.

Naylor characterises the cat family as “the kings of the animal world”.

O'Reilly interprets dogs’ barking as nervousness.

Palmer describes trying to estimate the number of animal species as being like

“shooting in the dark”.

Quinn evaluates Darwin as “the greatest naturalist of the nineteenth century.”

Roberts defines an insect as a “six-legged arthropod.”

Smith portrays Queen Victoria as “a short, rather fat woman with dark eyes.”

Taylor identifies Gregor Mendel as “the founder of modern genetics.”

PRACTICE

The following extract comes from a Guardian entitled ‘New blow for

Formula One as Toyota pulls out in bid to cut costs’ by Justin McCurry,

published on the 4th November 2009...

The financial challenges facing Formula One increased today after Toyota

confirmed it is to withdraw from the sport in an attempt to cut costs. The

Toyota president Akio Toyoda said at an emotional news conference that

the company wanted to focus on its core business. The world's largest car

manufacturer posted its worst ever loss in the financial year which ended

in March, and is expecting the losses to continue this fiscal year.

Toyoda said: "Based on the current economic environment, we realise we

have no choice but to withdraw. This has been a very painful decision. I

offer my deepest apologies to Toyota's many fans for not being able to

achieve the results we had targeted.“

Can you summarise the second paragraph in one sentence.