Useful Phrases and Expressions for Writing Academic Essays and Papers

Four years ago, I was doing my MA. in applied linguistics. During this time, I learned so many things about academic research and academic writing. In this post, I want to share with you some of the expressions and phrases that I used in my thesis. This is not a comprehensive list, but I believe some of these expressions can be good starters. A great deal of academic writing is about the choice of words you use. Academic writing is eloquent and makes a great impression on the reader.

Here is a list of words, phrases, and expressions you can use in academic essays and research writing.

1. Academic expressions and phrases to talk about views and perspectives

You can use the following set of expressions to express different views and opinions in research and academic writings. 

•  Several studies view ….. as….
• (…..) puts forward the view that …
• I’m not alone in my view that (…..)
• Popular views suggest (…..) might not be (…..)
• The view that (…..) is commonly perceived to be (…..)
• Recent research seems to validate this view
• The proponents of this view add that (…..)

2. Academic expressions and phrases to talk about research

You can use the following set of expressions and phrases to talk about previous research studies in academic writings. 

• This research was conducted by …
• Empirical research shows that …
• Although there has been little focus on ….., research generally indicates..
• Further research in this respect concludes that …
• There is inadequate research on ….. to draw practical applications of ….
• Research on ….does not support the use of ….
• Research provided enough evidence to claim

3. Academic expressions and phrases to talk about the research literature

You can use the following set of expressions and phrases to talk about previous research studies (literature) in academic writings. 

• Taking a bird’s eye on the literature,
• A landmark study in the literature suggests that (…..)
• Recent studies on (…..) in the literature show that (…..)
• The literature shows that there is a clear discrepancy among scholars ..

4. Academic expressions and phrases to talk about premises and assumptions

You can use the following set of expressions to talk about premises and assumptions s in academic writings. 

• The underlying premise behind (…..) is that (…..)
• There are arguments in favor of X’s premise
• There are arguments against X’s premise
• Both (…..) and (…..) share the same premise that (…..)
• The main theoretical premise underpinning (…..) is (…..)

5. Academic expressions and phrases to talk about issues an topics

You can use the following set of expressions and phrases to talk about premises and assumptions in academic writings. 

• The current study addresses the issue of …
• The issue of whether ….. is causing a huge debate
• Provided the centrality of this issue to the claim that says ‘…..’, I believe…
• This part will discuss the issue of (…..)
• The study investigates the topic of (…..) in relation to (…..)

6. Academic expressions and phrases to talk about claims

You can use the following set of expressions and phrases to talk about claims in academic writings. 

• In this study, the claim that (…..) is put forward
• Researchers as: (…..) and (…..) Claim that (…..)
• Researchers as: (…..) lend support to the claim that (…..)
• I have enough evidence to claim that (…..)

7. Academic expressions and phrases to talk about evidence from other studies

You can use the following set of expressions and phrases to talk about evidence in academic writings. 

• Empirical evidence says that (…..)
• Theoretical evidence to the issue of (…..) shows that ….
• There is a substantial amount of evidence to support (…..)
• The lack of evidence to support this claim calls for more action
• I have adequate evidence to believe (…..)

8. Academic expressions and phrases to talk about debates, disputes, and controversies

You can use the following set of expressions and phrases to talk about debates and disputes in academic writings. 

• There is a heating debate with regard to (…..)
• The issue of (…..) is a long-standing debate
• The question of whether (…..) has led to a considerable debate
• The most recent debate in academia spins around..
• The issue of (…..) has caused an inconclusive debate

9. Academic expressions and phrases to talk about the discussion

You can use the following set of expressions and phrases to talk about the part of the discussion in academic writings. 

• In this part, the discussion will focus on (…..)
• There is an ongoing discussion about (…..) right now
• For the sake of discussion, I would claim that (…..)
• What X said lies at the heart of the discussion
• In this research study, the issue under discussion is (…..)

10. Academic expressions and phrases to argue or to indicate argumentation 

You can use the following set of expressions and phrases to argue in academic writings. 

• X argues that (…..)
• I have compelling reasons to argue that (…..)
• There are three arguments in favor of (…..)
• The underlying argument against the issue of (…..) is (…..)
• In the same context, X argues that (…..)

I hope you find this post useful. Please, share it with someone who needs to know this.

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