Phrasal verbs in academic English

Phrasal verbs often have one-word synonyms. These are usually of Latin origin and sound more formal than their phrasal verb equivalent but both are appropriate when writing or talking about academic subjects. Vary your language by using both.

 

phrasal verb	synonym	example
put forward (an idea/view/optnion/ theory/plan)	present	In her latest article Kaufmann puts forwarda theory which is likely to prove controversial.
carry out (an experiment / research)	conduct	I intend to carry outa series of experiments.
make up	constitute	Children under die age of 15 make upnearly half of the country's population.
be made up of	consist of	Parliament is made up oftwo houses.
point out	observe	Grenne points outthat the increase in life expectancy has led to some economic problems.
point up	highlight	The study points upthe weaknesses in the current school system.
set out (to do something)	aim	In his article Losanov sets outto prove that...
set out	describe	The document sets outthe terms of die treaty.
go into	discuss	In this book Sergeant goes Intodie causes of the Civil War in some depth.
go/look back over	revise, review	Please go/look back overthis term’s notes.
go through	check	Go throughyour calculations carefully.

 

5. Rewrite the sentences replacing the underlined word in each sentence with a phrasal verb from the table. Note that both versions of each sentence are equally appropriate.

1 We conducted a series of experiments to test out our hypothesis.

2 Before the test you should revise Chapters 7 and 8 of your textbooks.

3 In his article on the American Civil War Kingston discusses the reasons why the situation developed in the way it did.

4 Cole presents some fascinating theories on the development of language m his latest book.

5 The psychologist observed that it was very unusual for a young child to behave in this way.

6 Please check your work again carefully before handing it in.

7 In this article Simpson aims to prove that the Chinese reached America long before the Vikings.

8 Women now constitute over half the student population in most universities in this country.

 

 

6.Match the beginning of each sentence with the most appropriate ending.

1. Feudal society was made   2. Carlson was the first to put   3. Her results appear to go 4. The investigation pointed   5. It took him a long time to work countries. 6. The geography book sets

a. forward a convincing theory with regard to this question. b. up the flaws in the school’s testing methods. c. out the solution to the algebra problem. d. out a lot of basic information about all the world’s countries. e. against what she had found in her earlier studies. f. of dearly defined classes of people.

 

 

7. Answer these questions:

1. What sort of things might a scientist carry out?

2. If you want to study something in more depth, what might you go on to do after getting a first degree?

3. What do postgraduate students typically have to write up at the end of their studies?

4. What sort of things do good students regularly look back over?

5. What sorts of things do scholars typically put forward in their lectures or articles?

6. Why is it sensible to go through any maths calculations that you had to make as part of a research study before you draw any conclusions?