Verbs to Use in Your Research Paper

Verbs to Use in Your Research Paper When you conduct a research project, one part of your job is to assert your own original thesis with an effective argument. There are a few ways to enhance your research paper so it sounds more impressive. One method to sound convincing as an authority is to elevate your vocabulary by using great verbs. Remember, verbs are action words. The verbs you select for your writing should represent a specific action. This means you should avoid generic verbs like the following to keep your writing interesting and sharp. Dont bore your teacher or audience to tears! Stale and boring verbs to avoid: See  Is/wasLookedDidGo/wentSaidTurned Be the Authority No matter what your grade level, you must do your best to come across as an authority on your topic.  Think about the noticeable difference in these statements: I saw more mold on one piece of bread.I observed a distinct difference between the two pieces of bread. Most importantly, one piece of bread displayed a greater density of mold. The second statement sounds more mature, because we replaced saw with observed and had with displayed. In fact, the verb observe is more accurate. When carrying out a scientific experiment, after all, you use more than mere eyesight to scrutinize your results. You may smell, hear, or feel some results, and those are all part of observing. Now consider these statements when writing a history essay: Historian Robert Dulvany says there were three main causes for the war.Historian Robert Dulvany asserted that three events prompted the war. The second phrase just sounds more authoritative and direct. The verbs make all the difference! Also, make sure to use active rather than passive structure with your verbs. Active verbs make your writing clearer and engaging. Review these statements: The war on terror was launched by the United States.The United States launched the war on terror.   The subject-verb construction is a more active and powerful statement. How to Sound Like an Authority Each discipline (like history, science  or literature) has a distinct tone with certain verbs that appear frequently. As you read over your sources, observe the tone and language.   While reviewing the first draft of your research paper, conduct an inventory of your verbs. Are they tired and weak or strong and effective? This list of verbs may provide suggestions to make your research paper sound more authoritative. affirm ascertain assert cite claim clarify communicate concur contribute convey debate defend define detail determine develop differ discover discuss dispute dissect document elaborate emphasize employ engage enhance establish estimate evaluate examine explore express find focus highlight hold hypothesize identify illuminate illustrate imply incorporate infer inquire invest investigate involve judge justify limn observe ponder predict proclaim proffer promote provide question realize recap reconcile refer reflect regard relate relay remark report resolve respond reveal review sanction seek show simplify speculate submit support surmise survey tangle test theorize total transpose underestimate underline underscore understand undertake undervalue usurp validate value verify vex wander

Verbs to Use in Your Research Paper

Verbs to Use in Your Research Paper When you conduct a research project, one part of your job is to assert your own original thesis with an effective argument. There are a few ways to enhance your research paper so it sounds more impressive. One method to sound convincing as an authority is to elevate your vocabulary by using great verbs. Remember, verbs are action words. The verbs you select for your writing should represent a specific action. This means you should avoid generic verbs like the following to keep your writing interesting and sharp. Dont bore your teacher or audience to tears! Stale and boring verbs to avoid: See  Is/wasLookedDidGo/wentSaidTurned Be the Authority No matter what your grade level, you must do your best to come across as an authority on your topic.  Think about the noticeable difference in these statements: I saw more mold on one piece of bread.I observed a distinct difference between the two pieces of bread. Most importantly, one piece of bread displayed a greater density of mold. The second statement sounds more mature, because we replaced saw with observed and had with displayed. In fact, the verb observe is more accurate. When carrying out a scientific experiment, after all, you use more than mere eyesight to scrutinize your results. You may smell, hear, or feel some results, and those are all part of observing. Now consider these statements when writing a history essay: Historian Robert Dulvany says there were three main causes for the war.Historian Robert Dulvany asserted that three events prompted the war. The second phrase just sounds more authoritative and direct. The verbs make all the difference! Also, make sure to use active rather than passive structure with your verbs. Active verbs make your writing clearer and engaging. Review these statements: The war on terror was launched by the United States.The United States launched the war on terror.   The subject-verb construction is a more active and powerful statement. How to Sound Like an Authority Each discipline (like history, science  or literature) has a distinct tone with certain verbs that appear frequently. As you read over your sources, observe the tone and language.   While reviewing the first draft of your research paper, conduct an inventory of your verbs. Are they tired and weak or strong and effective? This list of verbs may provide suggestions to make your research paper sound more authoritative. affirm ascertain assert cite claim clarify communicate concur contribute convey debate defend define detail determine develop differ discover discuss dispute dissect document elaborate emphasize employ engage enhance establish estimate evaluate examine explore express find focus highlight hold hypothesize identify illuminate illustrate imply incorporate infer inquire invest investigate involve judge justify limn observe ponder predict proclaim proffer promote provide question realize recap reconcile refer reflect regard relate relay remark report resolve respond reveal review sanction seek show simplify speculate submit support surmise survey tangle test theorize total transpose underestimate underline underscore understand undertake undervalue usurp validate value verify vex wander

Verbs to Use in Your Research Paper

Verbs to Use in Your Research Paper When you conduct a research project, one part of your job is to assert your own original thesis with an effective argument. There are a few ways to enhance your research paper so it sounds more impressive. One method to sound convincing as an authority is to elevate your vocabulary by using great verbs. Remember, verbs are action words. The verbs you select for your writing should represent a specific action. This means you should avoid generic verbs like the following to keep your writing interesting and sharp. Dont bore your teacher or audience to tears! Stale and boring verbs to avoid: See  Is/wasLookedDidGo/wentSaidTurned Be the Authority No matter what your grade level, you must do your best to come across as an authority on your topic.  Think about the noticeable difference in these statements: I saw more mold on one piece of bread.I observed a distinct difference between the two pieces of bread. Most importantly, one piece of bread displayed a greater density of mold. The second statement sounds more mature, because we replaced saw with observed and had with displayed. In fact, the verb observe is more accurate. When carrying out a scientific experiment, after all, you use more than mere eyesight to scrutinize your results. You may smell, hear, or feel some results, and those are all part of observing. Now consider these statements when writing a history essay: Historian Robert Dulvany says there were three main causes for the war.Historian Robert Dulvany asserted that three events prompted the war. The second phrase just sounds more authoritative and direct. The verbs make all the difference! Also, make sure to use active rather than passive structure with your verbs. Active verbs make your writing clearer and engaging. Review these statements: The war on terror was launched by the United States.The United States launched the war on terror.   The subject-verb construction is a more active and powerful statement. How to Sound Like an Authority Each discipline (like history, science  or literature) has a distinct tone with certain verbs that appear frequently. As you read over your sources, observe the tone and language.   While reviewing the first draft of your research paper, conduct an inventory of your verbs. Are they tired and weak or strong and effective? This list of verbs may provide suggestions to make your research paper sound more authoritative. affirm ascertain assert cite claim clarify communicate concur contribute convey debate defend define detail determine develop differ discover discuss dispute dissect document elaborate emphasize employ engage enhance establish estimate evaluate examine explore express find focus highlight hold hypothesize identify illuminate illustrate imply incorporate infer inquire invest investigate involve judge justify limn observe ponder predict proclaim proffer promote provide question realize recap reconcile refer reflect regard relate relay remark report resolve respond reveal review sanction seek show simplify speculate submit support surmise survey tangle test theorize total transpose underestimate underline underscore understand undertake undervalue usurp validate value verify vex wander

Clement Clarke Moore, Author of The Night Before Christmas

Clement Clarke Moore, Author of The Night Before Christmas Clement Clarke Moore was a scholar of ancient languages who is remembered today because of a poem he wrote to amuse his children. His memorable work, widely known as â€Å"The Night Before Christmas† appeared anonymously in newspapers beginning in the early 1820s, titled A Visit From St. Nicholas. Decades would pass before Moore claimed  he had written it. And over the past 150 years there have been hotly disputed claims that Moore did not really write the famous poem. If you accept that Moore was the author, then, along with Washington Irving, he helped to create the character of Santa Claus. In Moore’s poem some of the traits associated with Santa today, such as his use of eight reindeer to pull his sleigh, were established for the very first time. As the poem gained popularity over several decades in the mid-1800s, Moores depiction of Santa Claus became central to how others portrayed the character. The poem has been published countless times and the reciting of it remains a cherished Christmas tradition. Perhaps no one would be more surprised by its enduring popularity than its author, who was, during his lifetime, highly regarded as a very serious professor of difficult subjects. The Writing of A Visit From St. Nicholas According to an account Moore gave to the New York Historical Society when he was in his eighties and presented them with a hand-written manuscript of the poem, he had first written it simply to entertain his children (he was the father of six in 1822). The character of St. Nicholas was, Moore, said, inspired by an overweight New Yorker of Dutch descent who lived in his neighborhood. (Moores family estate became Manhattans present day Chelsea neighborhood.) Moore apparently had no intention of ever publishing the poem. It first appeared in print on December 23, 1823, in the Troy Sentinel, a newspaper in upstate New York. According to published accounts from the late 19th century, a daughter of a minister from Troy had stayed with Moores family a year earlier and heard a recitation of the poem. She was impressed, transcribed it, and passed it along to a friend who edited the newspaper in Troy. The poem began to appear in other newspapers every December, always appearing anonymously. About 20 years after its first publication, in 1844, Moore included it in a book of his own poems. And by that time some newspapers had credited Moore as the author. Moore presented several handwritten copies of the poem to friends and organizations, including the  copy given to the New York Historical Society. The Dispute About Authorship A claim that the poem had been written by Henry Livingston dates to the 1850s, when descendants of Livingston (who had died in 1828) asserted that Moore was wrongfully taking credit for what had become a very popular poem. The Livingston family had no documentary evidence, such as a manuscript or a newspaper clipping, to support the claim. They simply claimed their father had recited to the poem to them as early as 1808. The assertion that Moore hadn’t written the poem was generally not taken seriously. However, Don Foster, a scholar and professor at Vassar College who employs â€Å"linguistic forensics,† had claimed in 2000 that â€Å"A Night Before Christmas† was probably not written by Moore. His conclusion was widely publicized, yet it was also widely disputed. There may never be a definitive answer as to who wrote the poem. But the controversy has captured the public imagination to the extent that in 2013 a mock trial, dubbed The Trial Before Christmas, was held at the  Rensselaer County Courthouse in Troy, New York. Lawyers and scholars presented evidence arguing that either Livingston or Moore had written the poem. The evidence presented by both sides in the argument ranged from the unlikelihood that someone with Moores stern personality would have written the poem to specific notes on language and the meter of the poem (which only matches one other poem written by Moore). The Life and Career of Clement Clarke Moore Again, a reason for speculation about the authorship of the famous poem is simply because Moore was regarded as a very serious scholar. And a cheerful holiday poem about a â€Å"jolly old elf† is like nothing else he had ever written. Moore was born in New York City on July 15, 1779. His father was a scholar and a prominent citizen of New York who served as the rector of Trinity Church and the president of Columbia College. The elder Moore administered the last rites to Alexander Hamilton after he was wounded in his famous duel with Aaron Burr. Young Moore received a very good education as a boy, entered Columbia College at the age of 16, and received a degree in classical literature in 1801. He could speak Italian, French, Greek, Latin, and Hebrew. He was also a competent architect and a talented musician who enjoyed playing the organ and the violin. Deciding to follow an academic career, rather than becoming a clergyman like his father, Moore taught for decades at the Protestant Episcopal Seminary in New York City. He published a number of articles in various newspapers and magazines. He was known to oppose the policies of Thomas Jefferson, and occasionally published articles on political subjects. Moore would also publish poetry on occasion, though none of his published work was anything like â€Å"A Visit From St. Nicholas.† Scholars could argue that the difference in the writing style could mean he didn’t write the poem. Yet it’s also likely that something written simply for the enjoyment of his children would be quite different than a poem published for a general audience. Moore died in Newport, Rhode Island, on July 10, 1863. The New York Times briefly mentioned his death on July 14, 1863 without referring to the famous poem. In the following decades, however, the poem kept being reprinted, and it by the late 19th century newspapers regularly ran stories about him and the poem. According to an article, published in the Washington Evening Star on December 18, 1897, an 1859 edition of the poem published as a small book with drawings by a prominent illustrator, Felix O.C. Darley had made A Visit From St. Nicholas extremely popular just before the Civil War. Of course, since them the poem has been reprinted countless times, and recitations of it are a standard component of Christmas pageants and family gatherings.