Reporting Verbs in Academic Writing: A Case Study of MPhil Theses at the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, Kumasi Ghana
Collins Junior Owusu 
& Obed Nii Broohm
Issue: Vol.5 No.11 Issue Article 30 pp. 1841-1859
DOI: https://doi.org/10.38159/ehass.202451118 | Published online 20th September, 2024
© 2024 The Author(s). This is an open access article under the CCBY license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).
This study analyzes the types of reporting verbs employed in the literature review chapters of Master of Philosophy theses from the Agriculture, English and Mathematics departments at the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST), Ghana. The mixed method technique was employed for data collection. Using both purposive and simple random sampling, forty-five (45) Master of Philosophy (MPhil) theses constituted the study’s dataset. Employing a descriptive, content, and inductive analysis, the study found that discourse act verbs, research act verbs, and cognitive acts verbs were all used in the literature review chapters of MPhil theses in Mathematics, English and Agriculture. Overall, it was observed that the verbs were employed in varying degrees and that reporting verb usage is a discourse-defined attribute, influenced by the idiosyncrasies of the discipline in question. The contribution of this study lies in the light it throws on the usefulness of reporting verbs in research works and how reporting verbs ought to be selected carefully. The study also contributes to the body of knowledge on academic discourse in general, and particularly on citation and reporting verbs in Africa. Finally, the study also has pedagogic implications since it highlights the need for more emphasis on the nuances of reporting verbs in teaching Research Methods to (post-graduate) students.
Keywords: Reporting Verbs, Academic Writing, Thesis, Genre
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Owusu Collins Junior is an experienced educator currently teaching English in Japan. He holds a Bachelor’s and Master’s degree from the University of Cape Coast, Ghana, and the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, Ghana respectively. With a strong academic background and passion for research, he focuses on applied linguistics, discourse analysis, and grammar in the English language.
Obed Nii Broohm holds a PhD in Linguistics from the University of Verona, Italy. His research focuses on (Ghanaian) English Linguistics as well as the morpho-syntax of African languages with special interest in morpho-syntactic theory. He is a lecturer with the Department of Language and Communication Sciences, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, Kumasi, and also serves as Associate Editor for the Ghana Journal of Linguistics.
Owusu, Collins Junior and Obed Nii Broohm. “Reporting Verbs in Academic Writing: A Case Study of MPhil Theses at the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, Kumasi Ghana,” E-Journal of Humanities, Arts and Social Sciences 5, no.11 (2024): 1841-1859. https://doi.org/10.38159/ehass.202451118
© 2024 The Author(s). Published and Maintained by Noyam Journals. This is an open access article under the CCBY license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).
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