Some verbs of enquiry: how to use them – 163
merely to appeal to the authority of the author. Rather, we quote so
that we can say to our reader: ‘This is what so-and-so says. What
does she mean? How well does the evidence support her view? I agree
(or disagree) with her point of view because . . . ’, and so on. It is
probably true to say that academic authors quote the views of others
when they want to challenge that view more often than when they
want to accede to it.
Finally, quotations may also be used if an author has expressed
a point particularly clearly, succinctly or elegantly. I have done this at
the beginning of the chapters in this book. It is also commonly found
in introductions and conclusions to essays. If your own cultural background is one that places great value on quoting classical authorities,
such enhancement of your own writing can be a good idea, so long
as the quotation is apt. But its value to an academic essay lies in its
sparing use. To indulge yourself too often in the quoting of others’
great thoughts is to run the risk of never learning to formulate your
own.
4
Some verbs of enquiry: how to use them
We have already met many of the verbs you will use to express your
own and other scholars’ processes of enquiry (e.g. know, believe,
analyse, see, observe, examine, find, show, describe, explain, define).
For the most part the distinctions in meaning between these words do
not cause us a great deal of trouble; we get into trouble with them – as
we have seen – when we combine them with other elements in a sentence. There are, nevertheless, some verbs of enquiry whose meanings
and uses often do cause considerable difficulty, partly because they
are used fairly loosely in non-academic writing and speech. Below is
a gloss on the uses of those that cause most difficulty.
Uninterested/disinterested
These words are not, strictly speaking, verbs, but let that pass. ‘Disinterested’ has recently colonised that part of the map of meaning
once occupied by ‘uninterested’, but in the process has been losing
merely to appeal to the authority of the author. Rather, we quote so
that we can say to our reader: ‘This is what so-and-so says. What
does she mean? How well does the evidence support her view? I agree
(or disagree) with her point of view because . . . ’, and so on. It is
probably true to say that academic authors quote the views of others
when they want to challenge that view more often than when they
want to accede to it.
Finally, quotations may also be used if an author has expressed
a point particularly clearly, succinctly or elegantly. I have done this at
the beginning of the chapters in this book. It is also commonly found
in introductions and conclusions to essays. If your own cultural background is one that places great value on quoting classical authorities,
such enhancement of your own writing can be a good idea, so long
as the quotation is apt. But its value to an academic essay lies in its
sparing use. To indulge yourself too often in the quoting of others’
great thoughts is to run the risk of never learning to formulate your
own.
4
Some verbs of enquiry: how to use them
We have already met many of the verbs you will use to express your
own and other scholars’ processes of enquiry (e.g. know, believe,
analyse, see, observe, examine, find, show, describe, explain, define).
For the most part the distinctions in meaning between these words do
not cause us a great deal of trouble; we get into trouble with them – as
we have seen – when we combine them with other elements in a sentence. There are, nevertheless, some verbs of enquiry whose meanings
and uses often do cause considerable difficulty, partly because they
are used fairly loosely in non-academic writing and speech. Below is
a gloss on the uses of those that cause most difficulty.
Uninterested/disinterested
These words are not, strictly speaking, verbs, but let that pass. ‘Disinterested’ has recently colonised that part of the map of meaning
once occupied by ‘uninterested’, but in the process has been losing