Language for critique and evaluation
Paraphrase and Direct Quotation
Given that you are surveying a large quantity of literature and that you will be synthesising it and organising it thematically, it is appropriate to use paraphrase as much as possible.
Direct quotation is useful when you want to capture key ideas, metaphors or highly original phrasing, or when it is appropriate to look closely at details that cannot be otherwise adequately paraphrased. Always ensure that you both contextualise and comment upon any lengthy pieces of direct quotation - don't assume the significance will be obvious to your reader. Use direct quotation sparingly.
Citations must be used consistently and precisely. If you are unsure about how to do this, book a consultation with a librarian. You can also consult the Academic Referencing Tool and the Expert Guides on EndNote.
A word of warning. Most theses are now submitted through some kind of text-matching software, such as iThenticate. In the few cases where plagiarism is detected, it is more often than not in the Literature Review. To avoid any unconscious plagiarism, it is imperative that when reading the literature, you take effective notes, paraphrase properly and clearly mark for yourself where something is direct quotation.
Critique and Evaluation
Whole books can, and have, been written on the nature of academic language, so the following provides only a brief summary of some key tips.
There are four main types of language you will be using in your Literature Review:
Language for reporting and describing
“Jones attempts to explain the phenomenon of attrition in the following ways….”
Language for critically interpreting (can be positive or negative)
“What she fails to take account of is the predominance of juvenile male koalas in this process.”
“Her study offers a forceful and convincing explanation of…”
Evaluating the ideas of others often leads to the use of both negative and positive adjectives and sometimes adverbs. However, you do need to be judicious here – over-use of adjectives and adverbs can lead to writing that sounds partisan and non-objective.
|
Positive Evaluation The author/article/study/research is... |
Negative Evaluation The author/article/study/research is... |
| …important, relevant, practical, useful, interesting, thoughtful, vital, essential, critical, thought-provoking, incisive, detailed, comprehensive thorough, insightful, up-to-date, clear, accessible, recent, plausible, & etc. | …limited, restricted, inconsistent, illogical, misleading, false, unreasonable, fallacious, imprecise, incorrect, reductive, invalid, imprecise, begs the question, wrongly assumes, & etc. |
Language for highlighting importance
“This is essential to a nuanced understanding of the procreation process.”
Language for identifying gaps
“The study is limited in its scope and the demographics it explores.”
Excellent Resource
The Manchester Academic Phrasebank provides many examples of alternative structures if you are unsure of the correct grammatical formulation. The list below is an example of the phrasing you can find in the phrasebank.
Tense
Choice of tense can be complicated and the differences in tense can be subtle and to some extent may depend on the conventions of your discipline. However, generally you should use the present tense when describing current or very prominent literature, although if you are approaching a theme chronologically, it may be appropriate to use the past or present perfect tense.
Swales and Feak (2008, p254-255) identify the following as the most common uses of tense to describe academic research:
- Past - Making references to single studies, where the agency of the researcher is important
Jones (1997) investigated the causes of illiteracy
- Present Perfect - Making reference to areas of enquiry, where the agency of the researcher is not important
The causes of illiteracy have been widely investigated (Jones et. al.).
- Present - Making reference to current states of knowledge; making connections to your own position
The causes of illiteracy are complex. This study argues that a new model for intervention is required.
Tip: It is usually the case that you will use present tense to indicate endorsement of what others say, and as a marker of the closeness of arguments to your own position.
Choosing to use past tense can subtly suggest that the material is outdated.
Reporting verbs
There are a wide range of verbs that you can use to report the ideas of others. Reporting verbs can be used to subtly indicate your attitude to the material you are critiquing—to say someone ‘claims’ something is not quite the same as to say someone ‘demonstrates’ something.
Many of these verbs should be followed by a clause beginning with "that...." although this will depend on what you want to say.
Tip: Different disciplines favour the use of different types of reporting verbs and use them in slightly different ways. Scan some of the key journals in your discipline for the types of reporting verbs they use to discuss literature. Make a list and keep it handy to your writing space.
References
Swales, J & Feak, C. (2008). Academic Writing for Graduate Students. University of Michigan Press.