Get 25% OFF new yearly plans in our Storyteller's Sale
- Grammar Checker
- Paraphrasing Tool
- Critique Report
- Writing Reports
- Learn Blog Grammar Guide Community Events FAQ
- Grammar Guide
Power Verbs for Essays (With Examples)
By The ProWritingAid Team
Adding power verbs to your academic paper will improve your reader’s experience and bring more impact to the arguments you make.
While the arguments themselves are the most important elements of any successful academic paper, the structure of those arguments and the language that is used influence how the paper is received.
Academic papers have strict formal rules, but as long as these are followed, there is still plenty of scope to make the key points of the paper stand out through effective use of language and more specifically, the effective use of power verbs.
Power verbs are verbs that indicate action and have a more positive and confident tone. Using them brings strength and confidence to the arguments you are making, while also bringing variation to your sentences and making your writing more interesting to the reader.
The best academic papers will use such verbs to support their arguments or concepts, so it is important that your paper contains at least three power verbs.
ProWritingAid will check your writing for power verbs and will notify you if you have less than three throughout your whole academic paper.
Power Verbs Boost Ideas
Examples of power verbs.
Academic papers of all disciplines are often filled with overlong and complicated sentences that are attempting to convey specific ideas and concepts. Active and powerful verbs are useful both to the reader and the author of the paper.
For the reader who is trying to tackle these ideas and concepts, the power verbs provide clarity and purpose. Compare the following sentences:
- This paper will say that there were two reasons for the start of the civil war.
- This paper asserts that there were two reasons for the start of the civil war.
Clearly the second sentence is more confident, direct, and authoritative because it has replaced the dull ‘says’ with ‘asserts.’ For the writer, the power verb expresses confidence in the idea being presented.
The following are examples of power verbs that are useful in academic writing, both for supporting an argument and for allowing you to vary the language you use.
Power Verbs for Analysis: appraise, define, diagnose, examine, explore, identify, interpret, investigate, observe.
Power Verbs to Introduce a Topic: investigate, outline, survey, question, feature.
Power Verbs to Agree with Existing Studies: indicate, suggest, confirm, corroborate, underline, identify, impart, maintain, substantiate, support, validate, acknowledge, affirm, assert.
Power Verbs to Disagree with Existing Studies: reject, disprove, debunk, question, challenge, invalidate, refute, deny, dismiss, disregard, object to, oppose.
Power Verbs to Infer: extract, approximate, surmise, deduce.
Power Verbs for Cause and Effect : impacts, compels, generates, incites, influences, initiates, prompts, stimulates, provokes, launches, introduces, advances.
Legal Power Verbs: sanctions, consents, endorses, disallows, outlaws, prohibits, precludes, protects, bans, licenses, authorizes.
Power Verbs that Say: convey, comment, state, establish, elaborate, identify, propose.
Power Verbs that Show: reveal, display, highlight, depict, portray, illustrate.
Be confident about grammar
Check every email, essay, or story for grammar mistakes. Fix them before you press send.
The ProWritingAid Team
The most successful people in the world have coaches. Whatever your level of writing, ProWritingAid will help you achieve new heights. Exceptional writing depends on much more than just correct grammar. You need an editing tool that also highlights style issues and compares your writing to the best writers in your genre. ProWritingAid helps you find the best way to express your ideas.
Get started with ProWritingAid
It's A Steal
Bring your story to life for less. Get 25% off yearly plans in our Storyteller's Sale. Grab the discount while it lasts.
Drop us a line or let's stay in touch via:
50 Verbs of Analysis for English Academic Essays
Note: this list is for advanced English learners (CEFR level B2 or above). All definitions are from the Cambridge Dictionary online .
Definition: to have an influence on someone or something, or to cause a change in someone or something.
Example: Experts agree that coffee affects the body in ways we have not yet studied.
Definition: to increase the size or effect of something.
Example: It has been shown that this drug amplifies the side effects that were experienced by patients in previous trials.
Definition: to say that something is certainly true .
Example: Smith asserts that his findings are valid, despite criticism by colleagues.
Characterizes
Definition: Something that characterizes another thing is typical of it.
Example: His early paintings are characterized by a distinctive pattern of blue and yellow.
Definition: to say that something is true or is a fact , although you cannot prove it and other people might not believe it.
Example: Smith claims that the study is the first of its kind, and very different from the 2015 study he conducted.
Definition: to make something clear or easier to understand by giving more details or a simpler explanation .
Example: The professor clarified her statement with a later, more detailed, statement.
Definition: t o collect information from different places and arrange it in a book , report , or list .
Example: After compiling the data, the scientists authored a ten-page paper on their study and its findings.
Definition: to judge or decide something after thinking carefully about it.
Example: Doctor Jensen concluded that the drug wasn’t working, so he switched his patient to a new medicine.
Definition: to prove that a belief or an opinion that was previously not completely certain is true .
Example: This new data confirms the hypothesis many researchers had.
Definition: to join or be joined with something else .
Example: By including the criticisms of two researchers, Smith connects two seemingly different theories and illustrates a trend with writers of the Romanticism period.
Differentiates
Definition: to show or find the difference between things that are compared .
Example: Smith differentiates between the two theories in paragraph 4 of the second part of the study.
Definition: to reduce or be reduced in s i ze or importance .
Example: The new findings do not diminish the findings of previous research; rather, it builds on it to present a more complicated theory about the effects of global warming.
Definition: to cause people to stop respecting someone or believing in an idea or person .
Example: The details about the improper research done by the institution discredits the institution’s newest research.
Definition: to show.
Example: Smith’s findings display the effects of global warming that have not yet been considered by other scientists.
Definition: to prove that something is not true .
Example: Scientists hope that this new research will disprove the myth that vaccines are harmful to children.
Distinguishes
Definition: to notice or understand the difference between two things, or to make one person or thing seem different from another.
Example: Our study seems similar to another one by Duke University: how can we distinguish ourselves and our research from this study?
Definition: to add more information to or explain something that you have said.
Example: In this new paper, Smith elaborates on theories she discussed in her 2012 book.
Definition: to represent a quality or an idea exactly .
Example: Shakespeare embodies English theater, but few can understand the antiquated (old) form of English that is used in the plays.
Definition: to copy something achieved by someone else and try to do it as well as they have.
Example: Although the study emulates some of the scientific methods used in previous research, it also offers some inventive new research methods.
Definition: to improve the quality , amount , or strength of something.
Example: The pharmaceutical company is looking for ways to enhance the effectiveness of its current drug for depression.
Definition: to make something necessary , or to involve something.
Example: The scientist’s study entails several different stages, which are detailed in the report.
Definition: to consider one thing to be the same as or equal to another thing.
Example: Findings from both studies equate; therefore, we can conclude that they are both accurate.
Establishes
Definition: to discover or get proof of something.
Example: The award establishes the main causes of global warming.
Definition: to make someone remember something or feel an emotion .
Example: The artist’s painting evokes the work of some of the painters from the early 1800s.
Definition: to show something.
Example: Some of the research study participants exhibit similar symptoms while taking the medicine.
Facilitates
Definition: to make something possible or easier .
Example: The equipment that facilitates the study is expensive and of high-quality.
Definition: the main or central point of something, especially of attention or interest .
Example: The author focuses on World War II, which is an era she hasn’t written about before.
Foreshadows
Definition: to act as a warning or sign of a future event .
Example: The sick bird at the beginning of the novel foreshadows the illness the main character develops later in the book.
Definition: to develop all the details of a plan for doing something.
Example: Two teams of scientists formulated the research methods for the study.
Definition: to cause something to exist .
Example: The study’s findings have generated many questions about this new species of frog in South America.
Definition: to attract attention to or emphasize something important .
Example: The author, Dr. Smith, highlights the need for further studies on the possible causes of cancer among farm workers.
Definition: to recognize a problem , need, fact , etc. and to show that it exists .
Example: Through this study, scientists were able to identify three of the main factors causing global warming.
Illustrates
Definition: to show the meaning or truth of something more clearly , especially by giving examples .
Example: Dr. Robin’s study illustrates the need for more research on the effects of this experimental drug.
Definition: to communicate an idea or feeling without saying it directly .
Example: The study implies that there are many outside factors (other than diet and exercise) which determine a person’s tendency to gain weight.
Incorporates
Definition: to include something as part of something larger .
Example: Dr. Smith incorporates research findings from 15 other studies in her well-researched paper.
Definition: to show, point , or make clear in another way.
Example: Overall, the study indicates that there is no real danger (other than a lack of sleep) to drinking three cups of coffee per day.
Definition: to form an opinion or guess that something is true because of the information that you have.
Example: From this study about a new medicine, we can infer that it will work similarly to other drugs that are currently being sold.
Definition: to tell someone about parti c ular facts .
Example: Dr. Smith informs the reader that there are some issues with this study: the oddly rainy weather in 2017 made it difficult for them to record the movements of the birds they were studying.
Definition: to suggest , without being direct , that something unpleasant is true .
Example: In addition to the reported conclusions, the study insinuates that there are many hidden dangers to driving while texting.
Definition: to combine two or more things in order to become more effective .
Example: The study about the popularity of social media integrates Facebook and Instagram hashtag use.
Definition: to not have or not have enough of something that is needed or wanted .
Example: What the study lacks, I believe, is a clear outline of the future research that is needed.
Legitimizes
Definition: to make something legal or acceptable .
Example: Although the study legitimizes the existence of global warming, some will continue to think it is a hoax.
Definition: to make a problem bigger or more important .
Example: In conclusion, the scientists determined that the new pharmaceutical actually magnifies some of the symptoms of anxiety.
Definition: something that a copy can be based on because it is an extremely good example of its type .
Example: The study models a similar one from 1973, which needed to be redone with modern equipment.
Definition: to cause something to have no effect .
Example: This negates previous findings that say that sulphur in wine gives people headaches.
Definition: to not give enough c a re or attention to people or things that are your responsibility .
Example: The study neglects to mention another study in 2015 that had very different findings.
Definition: to make something difficult to discover and understand .
Example: The problems with the equipment obscures the study.
Definition: a description of the main facts about something.
Example: Before describing the research methods, the researchers outline the need for a study on the effects of anti-anxiety medication on children.
Definition: to fail to notice or consider something or someone.
Example: I personally feel that the study overlooks something very important: the participants might have answered some of the questions incorrectly.
Definition: to happen at the same time as something else , or be similar or equal to something else .
Example: Although the study parallels the procedures of a 2010 study, it has very different findings.
Converse International School of Languages offers an English for Academic Purposes course for students interested in improving their academic English skills. Students may take this course, which is offered in the afternoon for 12 weeks, at both CISL San Diego and CISL San Francisco . EAP course graduates can go on to CISL’s Aca demic Year Abroad program, where students attend one semester at a California Community College. Through CISL’s University Pathway program, EAP graduates may also attend college or university at one of CISL’s Pathway Partners. See the list of 25+ partners on the CISL website . Contact CISL for more information.
273 Strong Verbs That’ll Spice Up Your Writing
Do you ever wonder why a grammatically correct sentence you’ve written just lies there like a dead fish?
I sure have.
Your sentence might even be full of those adjectives and adverbs your teachers and loved ones so admired in your writing when you were a kid.
But still the sentence doesn’t work.
Something simple I learned from The Elements of Style years ago changed the way I write and added verve to my prose. The authors of that little bible of style said: “Write with nouns and verbs, not with adjectives and adverbs.”
Even Mark Twain was quoted , regarding adjectives: “When in doubt, strike it out.”
That’s not to say there’s no place for adjectives. I used three in the title and first paragraph of this post alone.
The point is that good writing is more about well-chosen nouns and powerful verbs than it is about adjectives and adverbs, regardless what you were told as a kid.
There’s no quicker win for you and your manuscript than ferreting out and eliminating flabby verbs and replacing them with vibrant ones.
- How To Know Which Verbs Need Replacing
Your first hint is your own discomfort with a sentence. Odds are it features a snooze-inducing verb.
As you hone your ferocious self-editing skills, train yourself to exploit opportunities to replace a weak verb for a strong one .
At the end of this post I suggest a list of 273 vivid verbs you can experiment with to replace tired ones.
Want to download a copy of this strong verbs list to reference whenever you write? Click here. What constitutes a tired verb? Here’s what to look for:
- 3 Types of Verbs to Beware of in Your Prose
1. State-of-being verbs
These are passive as opposed to powerful:
Am I saying these should never appear in your writing? Of course not. You’ll find them in this piece. But when a sentence lies limp, you can bet it contains at least one of these. Determining when a state-of-being verb is the culprit creates a problem—and finding a better, more powerful verb to replace it— is what makes us writers. [Note how I replaced the state-of-being verbs in this paragraph.]
Resist the urge to consult a thesaurus for the most exotic verb you can find. I consult such references only for the normal word that carries power but refuses to come to mind.
I would suggest even that you consult my list of powerful verbs only after you have exhaust ed all efforts to come up with one on your own. You want Make your prose to be your own creation, not yours plus Roget or Webster or Jenkins. [See how easy they are to spot and fix?]
Impotent: The man was walking on the platform.
Powerful: The man strode along the platform.
Impotent: Jim is a lover of country living.
Powerful: Jim treasures country living.
Impotent: There are three things that make me feel the way I do…
Powerful: Three things convince me…
2. Verbs that rely on adverbs
Powerful verbs are strong enough to stand alone.
The fox ran quickly dashed through the forest.
She menacingly looked glared at her rival.
He secretly listened eavesdropped while they discussed their plans.
3. Verbs with -ing suffixes
Before: He was walking…
After: He walked…
Before: She was loving the idea of…
After: She loved the idea of…
Before: The family was starting to gather…
After: The family started to gather…
- The Strong Verbs List
- Disillusion
- Reverberate
- Revolutionize
- Supercharge
- Transfigure
Faith-Based Words and Phrases
What You and I Can Learn From Patricia Raybon
A Guest Blog from Stephen King—Yes, that Stephen King
Before you go, be sure to grab my FREE guide:
How to Write a Book: Everything You Need to Know in 20 Steps
Just tell me where to send it:
Great!
Where should i send your free pdf.
IMAGES
VIDEO
COMMENTS
Powerful Verbs for Weaving Ideas in Essays The following verbs are helpful as a means of showing how an example or quote in literature Supports an idea or interpretation. Example + Verb + Explanation or Significance (CD) (CM) You may use the above in a sentence as a general formula that may need modified to fit each situation. verb
ACTIVE VERBS FOR ACADEMIC ESSAYS. achieves afflicts allow alternates announce answers appeals applies argues assists assumes avoid becomes begins believe belongs betrays brings captures changes checked choose coincides combines compares complicates condemns connects considers constitutes contains contradicts contrasts corrupts creates damages ...
%PDF-1.7 %âãÏÓ 159 0 obj > endobj 175 0 obj >/Filter/FlateDecode/ID[030AEB68CB135B48A07D935407104582>]/Index[159 36]/Info 158 0 R/Length 89/Prev 176161/Root 160 0 ...
Active Verbs. The following verbs are helpful as a means of showing how an example or quote in literature supports an idea or interpretation. Literary Essay. Report or Persuasive Essay that refers to an expert's opinion or research studies. Report or Persuasive Essay that describes beginnings, causes, effects, etc.
3. The infinitive "To be" (an infinitive is "to" plus the simple form of a verb) When unnecessary to the meaning, remove it from the sentence. Weak: After a little practice, many students find writing to be fun. Strong: After a little practice, many students find writing fun. 4. Adjective Clauses
3 Types of Weak Verbs to Beware in Your Writing Have Would Had May Do Might Does Must Did Can Being Shall Been Will Could 1. State-of-being verbs These are passive as opposed to powerful: Determining when a state-of-being verb creates a problem—and finding a better, more power-ful verb to replace it—makes us writers. Examples
Active Verbs for Discussing Ideas. This handout is available for download in PDF format.. Active verbs are important components of any academic writing! Just as in other forms of writing, they work as engines, driving the action of your sentences in many potentially vivid, clear, and colorful ways.
Using strong verbs is one of those methods. Now don't get us wrong. This is not the only way you can increase the intrigue and impact of your book, but it is one of the best ways. But in order to do this right, you have to learn which verbs to change, and which to leave be. We've broken down a list of the most common weak verbs used
Examples of Power Verbs. The following are examples of power verbs that are useful in academic writing, both for supporting an argument and for allowing you to vary the language you use. Power Verbs for Analysis: appraise, define, diagnose, examine, explore, identify, interpret, investigate, observe.
unspecific sentences potentially "states") consider using more vivid or nuanced verbs such as "argues," "insists," expressions colorful ways. Instead of opting for bland, important components. the action of of academic as in other forms of writing, "emphasizes," you communicate "challenges," your ideas acknowledges. announces.
Powerful Verbs for Essays - Free download as PDF File (.pdf), Text File (.txt) or read online for free. The document provides a list of powerful verbs that can be used when writing essays to connect examples or quotes to ideas and interpretations. It offers verbs for showing relationships like "shows" and "demonstrates" as well as categories of verbs for different essay types, such as analytic ...
ACTIVE VERBS LIST Agree Nod Consent Comply Concur Accept Acknowledge Consent Appear Show Flash Materialize Surface Bloom Flower Manifest Surface Emerge Develop Spawn Arrive Arise Ask Request Question Inquire Pose Proposition Solicit Plead Cross-examine Demand Grill Interrogate Needle Query Quiz Attack Assault Strike Ambush Assail Rush Storm ...
Powerful Verbs for Weaving Ideas in Essays The following verbs are helpful as a means of showing how an example or quote in literature Supports an idea or interpretation. Example + Verb + Explanation or Significance (CD) (CM) You may use the above in a sentence as a general formula that may need modified to fit each situation. verb
Definition: to happen at the same time as something else, or be similar or equal to something else. Example: Although the study parallels the procedures of a 2010 study, it has very different findings. Converse International School of Languages offers an English for Academic Purposes course for students interested in improving their academic ...
Strong Verbs—Definition, List of 300+, & Examples. Using strong verbs is one of many tools a writer has. There's a time and place for making your writing stronger with them, and we'll teach you how.
Impotent: The man was walking on the platform. Powerful: The man strode along the platform. Impotent: Jim is a lover of country living. Powerful: Jim treasures country living. Impotent: There are three things that make me feel the way I do…. Powerful: Three things convince me…. 2.
With respect to academic writing, the verb find―and its derivative found―are the most frequently used verbs and represent the basic and central core of academia (Meyer, 1997). Authors of The Concise Oxford English Dictionary (2008) defined the verb find as "discover by chance or deliberately…discover information or a ...
James saw (1) the old house first. Holes showed (2) in its. thatched roof and weeds covered (3) the garden. To hide the. fear that went (4) through their bodies, the boys kept up a. steady stream of chatter. With a show of bravado, they walked (5) through a gap in the.
These transitional words (like finally) have the function of limiting, restricting, and defining time. They can be used either alone or as part of adverbial expressions. at the present time. from time to time. sooner or later. at the same time. up to the present time. to begin with.
Although some verbs will fit the first frame sentence, others will fit when followed by an adjective. Test the frame sentence with each of the following verbs: be, smell, sound, and taste. Each of these verbs forms a sentence in the frame. Activity Next to each word, indicate which, if any, of the following rules of thumb for verbs apply. a.
Connects Declares Implies Informs Introduces Provides Reports Reveals Signifies States Suggests. *CONVEYS. Expresses Relates Reveals. *REVEALS. Clarifies Demonstrates Displays Illustrates. *ENHANCES. Exaggerates Reinforces. *EXAMINES. Analyzes Compares Contrasts Explores Investigates Questions.
student learning outcome should include a VERB that represents the level of learning that is expected. Recommendation: Write questions that test skills other than recall. Research shows that most tests administered by faculty rely too heavily on students' recall of information (Milton, Pollio, and Eison, 1986).
Regular Verbs Most verbs are regular verbs, so they follow the same predictable pattern. In this pattern, the past tense adds an -ed to the base form of the verb. I work I worked The perfect tenses then use that -ed form to form what is called the past participle: I have worked I had worked She has worked Irregular Verbs
AI business writing prompts, with examples. Now that you have a solid understanding of the importance and key features of quality AI business prompts, you can refine your prompts for optimal output. Below, we share AI writing prompts for various business writing tasks. Use or refine them to suit your needs to maximize AI technology in business ...