The academic community can be conservative when it comes to writing styles, but your writing shouldn’t be so boring that people lose interest midway through the first paragraph! Given that competition is at an all-time high for academics looking to publish their papers, we know you must be anxious about what you can do to improve your publishing odds.
To be sure, your research must be sound, your paper must be structured logically, and the different manuscript sections must contain the appropriate information. But your research must also be clearly explained. Clarity obviously depends on the correct use of English, and there are many common mistakes that you should watch out for, for example when it comes to articles, prepositions, word choice, and even punctuation. But even if you are on top of your grammar and sentence structure, you can still make your writing more compelling (or more boring) by using powerful verbs and phrases (vs the same weaker ones over and over). So, how do you go about achieving the latter?
Below are a few ways to breathe life into your writing.
1. Analyze Vocabulary Using Word Clouds
Have you heard of “Wordles”? A Wordle is a visual representation of words, with the size of each word being proportional to the number of times it appears in the text it is based on. The original company website seems to have gone out of business, but there are a number of free word cloud generation sites that allow you to copy and paste your draft manuscript into a text box to quickly discover how repetitive your writing is and which verbs you might want to replace to improve your manuscript.
Seeing a visual word cloud of your work might also help you assess the key themes and points readers will glean from your paper. If the Wordle result displays words you hadn’t intended to emphasize, then that’s a sign you should revise your paper to make sure readers will focus on the right information.
As an example, below is a Wordle of our article entitled, “How to Choose the Best title for Your Journal Manuscript.” You can see how frequently certain terms appear in that post, based on the font size of the text. The keywords, “titles,” “journal,” “research,” and “papers,” were all the intended focus of our blog post.

2. Study Language Patterns of Similarly Published Works
Study the language pattern found in the most downloaded and cited articles published by your target journal. Understanding the journal’s editorial preferences will help you write in a style that appeals to the publication’s readership.
Another way to analyze the language of a target journal’s papers is to use Wordle (see above). If you copy and paste the text of an article related to your research topic into the applet, you can discover the common phrases and terms the paper’s authors used.
For example, if you were writing a paper onlinks between smoking and cancer, you might look for a recent review on the topic, preferably published by your target journal. Copy and paste the text into Wordle and examine the key phrases to see if you’ve included similar wording in your own draft. The Wordle result might look like the following, based on the example linked above.

If you are not sure yet where to publish and just want some generally good examples of descriptive verbs, analytical verbs, and reporting verbs that are commonly used in academic writing, then have a look at this list of useful phrases for research papers.
3. Use More Active and Precise Verbs
Have you heard of synonyms? Of course you have, but have you looked beyond single-word replacements and rephrased entire clauses with stronger, more vivid ones? You’ll find this task is easier to do if you use the active voice more often than the passive voice. Even if you keep your original sentence structure, you can eliminate weak verbs like “be” from your draft and choose more vivid and precise action verbs. As always, however, be careful about using only a thesaurus to identify synonyms. Make sure the substitutes fit the context in which you need a more interesting or “perfect” word. Online dictionaries such as the Merriam-Webster and the Cambridge Dictionary are good sources to check entire phrases in context in case you are unsure whether a synonym is a good match for a word you want to replace.
To help you build a strong arsenal of commonly used phrases in academic papers, we’ve compiled a list of synonyms you might want to consider when drafting or editing your research paper. While we do not suggest that the phrases in the “Original Word/Phrase” column should be completely avoided, we do recommend interspersing these with the more dynamic terms found under “Recommended Substitutes.”
A. Describing the scope of a current project or prior research
Purpose | Original Word/Phrase | Recommended Substitute |
To express the purpose of a paper or research
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| This paper + [use the verb that originally followed “aims to”] or This paper + (any other verb listed above as a substitute for “explain”) + who/what/when/where/how X. For example:
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To introduce the topic of a project or paper
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To describe the analytical scope of a paper or study
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*Adjectives to describe degree can include: briefly, thoroughly, adequately, sufficiently, inadequately, insufficiently, only partially, partially, etc. |
To preview other sections of a paper
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[any of the verbs suggested as replacements for “explain,” “analyze,” and “consider” above] |
B.Outlining a topic’s background
Purpose | Original Word/Phrase | Recommended Substitute |
Todiscuss the historical significance of a topic
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| Topic significantly/considerably +
+ who/what/when/where/how… *In other words, take the nominalized verb and make it the main verb of the sentence. |
To describe the historical popularity of a topic
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To describe the recent focus on a topic |
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To identify the current majority opinion about a topic |
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To discuss the findings of existing literature
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To express the breadth of our current knowledge-base, including gaps |
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To segue into expressing your research question |
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C. Describing the analytical elements of a paper
Purpose | Original Word/Phrase | Recommended Substitute |
To express agreement between one finding and another
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To present contradictory findings
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Todiscuss limitations of a study |
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D. Discussing results
Purpose | Original Word/Phrase | Recommended Substitute |
To draw inferences from results
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To describe observations
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E. Discussing methods
Purpose | Original Word/Phrase | Recommended Substitute |
Todiscuss methods
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To describesimulations
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| This study/ research…
+ “X environment/ condition to..” + [any of the verbs suggested as replacements for “analyze” above] |
F. Explaining the impact of new research
Purpose | Original Word/Phrase | Recommended Substitute |
To explain the impact of a paper’s findings
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To highlight a paper’s conclusion
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To explain how research contributes to the existing knowledge-base
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Wordvice Writing Resources
For additional information on how to tighten your sentences (e.g., eliminate wordiness and use active voice to greater effect), you can try Wordvice’s FREE Citation Generator and learn more about how to proofread and edit your paper to ensure your work is free of errors.
Before submitting your manuscript to academic journals, be sure to get academic editing services from Wordvice, including cover letter editing, manuscript editing, and research paper editing services.
We also have a collection of other useful articles for you, for example on how to strengthen your writing style, how to avoid fillers to write more powerful sentences, and how to eliminate prepositions and avoid nominalizations. Additionally, get advice on all the other important aspects of writing a research paper on our academic resources pages.
FAQs
What are some good words to use in a research paper? ›
Some examples are: tentative (hypothesise, imply, suggest), neutral (note, interpret, discuss, reflect, observe), strong (establish, disregard, highlight, recommend).
What are the action verbs that usually being used in writing research objective? ›Each objective should begin with a verb that describes an observable behavior, such as "describe, summarize, demonstrate, compare, plan, score", etc. You can observe the participant and measure how well the objective was met.
What is the most important word in research proposals? ›The most important word here is “convince” – in other words, your research proposal needs to sell your research idea (to whoever is going to approve it). If it doesn't convince them (of its suitability and manageability), you'll need to revise and resubmit.
How do you write a research title example? ›- Indicate accurately the subject and scope of the study.
- Avoid using abbreviations.
- Use words that create a positive impression and stimulate reader interest.
- Use current nomenclature from the field of study.
- analysis.
- exploration.
- inquiry.
- investigation.
- probe.
- delving.
- experimentation.
- groundwork.
- Accuracy. In survey research, accuracy refers to the match between a sample and the target population. ...
- Action Research. ...
- Adjusted R-Squared. ...
- Administrative Data. ...
- Alpha Level. ...
- Alternative Hypothesis. ...
- Analysis of Covariance (ANCOVA) ...
- Analysis of Variance (ANOVA)
- Accelerate.
- Advocate.
- Champion.
- Command.
- Construct.
- Craft.
- Deploy.
- Energize.
- Abstract or Summary.
- Introduction.
- Review of Literature.
- Methods.
- Results.
- Conclusions and Discussion.
- References.
verb. researched; researching; researches. transitive verb. : to search or investigate exhaustively.
What is a research proposal 300 words? ›It is a brief summary of approximately 300 words. It should include the research question, the rationale for the study, the hypothesis (if any), the method and the main findings.
What are the 10 examples of research title? ›
- Infectious disease. 29 articles | 1,643,000 views. ...
- Nutritional immunology. 29 articles | 768,000 views. ...
- Music therapy. 44 articles | 268,000 views. ...
- Political misinformation. 11 articles | 219,000 views. ...
- Plant science. 15 articles | 198,000 views. ...
- Sustainable agriculture. ...
- Mental health. ...
- Aging brains.
The “title” should be descriptive, direct, accurate, appropriate, interesting, concise, precise, unique, and should not be misleading.
What is list of keywords in research? ›Make a List of Useful Keywords. Keep track of the words that are used to describe your topic. This will help you when you are searching in different databases, because not every author uses the same keywords to describe the same topic. What were the important words you found in the encyclopedia?
What is research easy words? ›Research is a process of systematic inquiry that entails collection of data; documentation of critical information; and analysis and interpretation of that data/information, in accordance with suitable methodologies set by specific professional fields and academic disciplines.
What are some cool scientific words? ›- Hyperplane.
- Hyperparameter.
- Gradient Descent.
- Confusion Matrix.
- Softmax.
- Monte Carlo Simulation.
- Multi-armed Bandit.
- The Curse of Dimensionality.
Researchers develop two kinds of definitions: Theoretical Definitions. Operational Definitions.
What are examples of key terms? ›- Definition of Apply.
- Argue.
- Compare/Contrast.
- Define.
- Describe.
- Discuss.
- Evaluate/Critique.
- Interpret.
Action words, also known as action verbs, are verbs that specifically express what a person is doing or has done. When writing a resume, your bulleted action statements should begin with an action word.
What are the 50 examples of verb? ›V1 Base Form | V2 Past Simple | V3 Past Participle |
---|---|---|
drive | drove | driven |
dwell | dwelt | dwelt |
eat | ate | eaten |
fall | fell | fallen |
Infinitive | Past | Participle |
---|---|---|
Amaze | Amazed | Amazed |
Amuse | Amused | Amused |
Answer | Answered | Answered |
Appear | Appeared | Appeared |
What are the 25 main verbs? ›
- be.
- have.
- do.
- say.
- get.
- make.
- go.
- know.
- 1. to be. Conjugation: to be. Definition: ...
- 2. to have. Conjugation: to have. Definition: ...
- 3. to ask. Conjugation: to ask. Definition: ...
- 4. to do. Conjugation: to do. Definition: ...
- 5. to get. Conjugation: to get. ...
- 6. to go. Conjugation: to go. ...
- 7. to hear. Conjugation: to hear. ...
- 8. to say. Conjugation: to say.
Examples: swim, realize, Run, Walk, laugh, have, promise, invite, listen, running, winning, being, etc.
What are the 16 types of verbs? ›There are sixteen verbs used in Basic English. They are: be, do, have, come, go, see, seem, give, take, keep, make, put, send, say, let, get.
What are the 9 parts of research? ›A complete research paper in APA style that is reporting on experimental research will typically contain a Title page, Abstract, Introduction, Methods, Results, Discussion, and References sections. Many will also contain Figures and Tables and some will have an Appendix or Appendices.
What is the verb 3 of study? ›studied - Simple English Wiktionary.
What are the 4 main types of research? ›There are four main types of Quantitative research: Descriptive, Correlational, Causal-Comparative/Quasi-Experimental, and Experimental Research. attempts to establish cause- effect relationships among the variables.
What is the verb 5 of study? ›...
Study V1 V2 V3 V4 V5, Past Simple and Past Participle Form of Study.
Base Form | Past Form | Past Participle |
---|---|---|
study | studied | studied |
How long does it take to write a 2,000 word essay? It takes about 6 hours and 40 minutes to write a 2,000 word essay. How long does it take to write a 2,500 word essay? It takes about 8 hours and 20 minutes to write a 2,500 word essay.
How do you write a 500 word research proposal? ›- Be approximately 500 words.
- Include an outline of your research interests.
- Detail your initial thoughts about a topic.
- Have references to previous work.
- Discuss the methodology and general approach you wish to take.
What are the 10 steps in conducting research? ›
- STEP 1: Formulate your question.
- STEP 2: Get background information.
- STEP 3: Refine your search topic.
- STEP 4: Consider your resource options.
- STEP 5: Select the appropriate tool.
- STEP 6: Use the tool.
- STEP 7: Locate your materials.
- STEP 8: Analyze your materials.
Keep the title statement as concise as possible. You want a title that will be comprehensible even to people who are not experts in your field. Check our article for a detailed list of things to avoid when writing an effective research title. Make sure your title is between 5 and 15 words in length.
What are some good research topics for high school students? ›- Discuss and analyze the impacts of a famous musician on pop music.
- How has pop music evolved over the past decade?
- How has the portrayal of women in music changed in the media over the past decade?
- How does a synthesizer work?
- Identify the project topic. ...
- Review any available literature. ...
- Submit process for review. ...
- Create an initial hypothesis. ...
- Design the research approach. ...
- Begin gathering data. ...
- Analyze the results. ...
- Create your report.
- Step One: Determine the purpose of the paper. ...
- Step Two: Refine your research question. ...
- Step Three: Organize your approach. ...
- Step Four: Collect information. ...
- Step Five: Attribute the information. ...
- Step Six: Write your conclusion. ...
- Step Seven: Refine your thesis statement.
- Step 1: Identify and Develop Your Topic. ...
- Step 2: Find Background Information. ...
- Step 3: Use Catalogs to Find Books and Media. ...
- Step 4: Use Databases to Find Journal Articles. ...
- Step 5: Find Internet Resources. ...
- Step 6: Evaluate What You Find. ...
- Step 7: Cite What You Find Using a Standard Format.
Knowing the difficulties lying ahead, I would like to suggest the following qualities: interest, motivation, inquisitiveness, commitment, sacrifice, excelling, knowledge, recognition, scholarly approach, and integration.
What are the 4 qualities of a good research? ›Good quality research provides evidence that is robust, ethical, stands up to scrutiny and can be used to inform policy making. It should adhere to principles of professionalism, transparency, accountability and auditability.
What words should you avoid in a research paper? ›You should try to avoid expressions that are too informal, unsophisticated, vague, exaggerated, or subjective, as well as those that are generally unnecessary or incorrect.
What can I say instead of we in a research paper? ›[Note: When describing the focus of a research project, authors often replace “we” with phrases such as “this study” or “this paper.” “We,” however, is acceptable in this context, including for scientific disciplines.
What word can I use instead of you in a research paper? ›
Explanation: Replace instances of "you" in your essay either by using "individual" or "one" to refer to a single hypothetical person and using "people" to refer to a large group to whom something you're saying applies.
Which word is best for research connection? ›- investigation.
- inquiry.
- study.
- exploration.
- examination.
- probing.
- probe.
- inspection.
- Played Out Topics.
- Personal Stories and Information.
- Topics With No Available Information.
- Topics That Are Too Technical.
- Topics That Are Too Narrow.
- Topics That Are Too Broad.
- Opinion-Based or Offensive Controversial Topics.
- Topics That Aren't Significant.
- 1) Contractions. ...
- 2) Idioms. ...
- 3-5) “So on,” “etc,” “and so forth“ ...
- 6) Clichés. ...
- 7-11) “Thing,” “stuff,” “good,” “bad,” “big“ ...
- 12) Slang, jargon, teen speak. ...
- 13) Rhetorical questions.
- Insignificant to the audience. ...
- Lacks your interest or will not hold your interest for long. ...
- Only have few sources to get information. ...
- Unmanageable and do not easily lend themselves to be narrowed. ...
- Usual and have been overly worked by others. ...
- Controversial. ...
- Emotionally linked to someone.
We, us, our,and ourselves are all first-person pronouns. Specifically, they are plural first-person pronouns. Singular first-person pronouns include I, me, my, mine and myself.
Is they a 3rd person word? ›The singular “they” is a generic third-person pronoun used in English. It's not the only third-person singular pronoun—other third-person singular pronouns are “she” and “he” as well as less common options such as “ze” or “hen.”
What verbs are used in quantitative research? ›Suggested verbs to use in quantitative research questions are those which convey the idea of cause and effect i.e. they indicate the link between variables: compare, relate, cause and influence.
How do you put research into your own words? ›Paraphrasing means putting someone else's ideas into your own words. Paraphrasing a source involves changing the wording while preserving the original meaning. Paraphrasing is an alternative to quoting (copying someone's exact words and putting them in quotation marks).
What are 10 powerful words? ›- #10. STRUGGLE. Struggle is a precious gift. ...
- #9. ADVENTURE. This is a topic which is always sure to excite me, my next adventure. ...
- #8. NATURE. There are few things in life from which I gain more satisfaction than being outdoors. ...
- #6. CURIOSITY. ...
- #4. CREATIVITY. ...
- #1. FREEDOM.
What is research in 1 word? ›
1. to search or investigate exhaustively. 2. studious inquiry or examination; especially : investigation or experimentation aimed at the discovery and interpretation of facts, revision of accepted theories or laws in the light of new facts, or practical application of such new or revised theories or laws. 3.
What are strong words? ›Strong words put a clear, specific image in the reader's mind, forcing her to visualize something pleasant or painful, evoking an emotion that affects her thoughts, mood, and eventually, her actions.