VERBS THAT DESCRIBE WHAT TEXTS DO
adds details about …
asks us to sympathize
asks the question(s)
cites an expert
compares
contradicts
tells a joke
demonstrates
describes
dramatizes (i.e., tells a story about)
draws a conclusion
elaborates
evaluates
explains
gives details
informs
interprets
introduces
opposes
predicts
proposes
qualifies
rebuts
reflects
repeats
speculates
suggests/hints
summarizes
supports
shows the writer’s own feelings
gives an example
provokes an emotion
gives background info
demonstrates the writer’s qualifications to talk about the topic
-- And there are many, many other things that a text can do, as you’ll see when you start examining texts in this way, and consciously planning your own texts in this way.
Of course, to make a complete statement, you have to include exactly what the paragraph proposes, or describes, or suggests, or gives details about, or explains, or what emotion it provokes in the audience, etc.
(Adapted from Bean, Chapman, and Gillam, Reading Rhetorically, Pearson, 2012 – who are in turn drawing from the work of Kenneth Bruffee)
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