eWriting > Academic Writing > 4.8 Self-Test C
Indicate whether the following sentences are presenting a neutral report (N), showing the original author's attitude (A) or the writer's own judgement (W).
1. 1. According to Miles and Davies' (1998) study ... .
Answer: Neutral
This is a straightforward reporting of the work of Miles and Davies.
2. Most students experience ... (Sato, 2000) .
This paraphrasing comes with no comment from the writer or any indication of the original author's attitude.
3. Green (2000) argues that ..., although Aldo (2002) disputes this.
Answer: Writer's own judgement
Here the writer is indicating her/his own judgement about Green's argument and providing evidence from another researcher as support.
4. Evidence for this is shown in French's (2001) research.
This is presented as neutral report of French's research and the evidence from it.
5. Bull's (2003) conclusions are ... but it can be argued that because ...
The writer is questioning Bull's conclusions and providing a reason for presenting her/his own argument.
6. These arguments suggest ... (Lewis, Armstrong & Bell, 2005).
Answer: Author's attitude but see explanation below
The authors are putting forward their arguments a little tentatively. However it is also possible to interpret this sentence as expressing the writer's own doubts. To make it clearer, the writer could have written 'Lewis, Armstrong and Bell (2005) suggest ...'
7. As da Silva (2004) observes, "stem cell technology is ..." (p.55).
There is no indication of either the author's attitude ('observe is a neutral reporting verb), or the writer's judgement in this sentence.
8. There are results which indicate ... (Petersen & O'Brien, 1999)
'Indicate' is another neutral reporting verb, so there is no author's attitude or writer's judgement shown in this sentence.
9. Brown (2004) emphasises the importance of these findings
Answer: Author's attitude
The author's attitude about the importance of the findings is quite clear.
10. Henley (2005) states that ...
This is a neutral report about what Henley has said.