Integrating and citing sources/Reporting Expressions

Reporting Expressions

One way of making sure that you’re signalling to your reader when you’re including someone else’s work is to use something called a “reporting expression.” Reporting expressions signal that you are summarizing or reporting what someone else has written. Examples of reporting expressions include words such as writes, argues, finds, demonstrates, suggests, claims, explains, or shows.

Reporting expressions also allow you as a writer to take a position. For example, writing “Reilly (2010) shows that more than one cup of coffee slows response rates in people” is different than writing “Reilly (2010) suggests that more than one cup of coffee slows response rates in people.” Here, “shows” implies that you agree with Reilly, whereas “suggests” implies that you might have some uncertainty about Reilly’s research. It’s important to choose your reporting expressions carefully!

A helpful hint with citing: if you’re using a reporting expression, you still need to include an in-text citation. This is because you’re reporting what someone else has written, and you need to be sure to credit them for their work.

Further reading:

• Thompson Rivers University Writing Centre's Reporting Words/Phrases
• University of Adelaide's Writing Centre Learning Guide on Verbs for Reporting