The Discourse of Literature Reviews and Critical Evaluation

A Traditional Card Catalogue

Critical evaluations and literature reviews employ an academic discourse. I've started to compose a list of the most frequently used words and phrases :

Accentuated differences

Acclaimed authors

According to

Account

Acknowledge the issue

Addresses

Addresses the contradictions

Adequate

Adopts
Advances the idea

Almost all
Analyses

Arbitrary categories

Argues

Argument

Assesses

Attempts to challenge

Bogged down

Bold

Breaks new ground

Brief discussion

Brings together

By ignoring this

Care with which

Centres on

Certain types of

Challenges

Charts

Cited

Combines analyses of

Comments on

Compelling argument

Comprehensive
Conceptual framework

Concise

Confesses

Confides

Connects

Considered

Contains

Contradictions

Contributors

Trinity Library Dublin

Conveys the sense

Convincing

Covers a range of topics

Critics

Debates about

Dense literature

Describes the trends

Detailed

Disadvantages

Disciplines

Discusses

Discrepancy

Discuss

Dispute

Disputing

Drawbacks

Embrace

Emphasis on the

Engagement with

Enjoying a renaissance

Even handed

Evokes

Exaggerated

Examines

Excellent
Explains

Exploring

Exposes

Fascinating

Features

Focus

Frequently

From that perspective

Fulcrum topics

Fully revised

Generally

Grateful

Ground-breaking

Guides

Imaginative

Impressive

In this field

Inadequate

Inaugurated the field

Incisive

Includes

Influence

Innovative

Interdisciplinary team

Interrogates

Interesting

Interface of ... and

It is believed that
It is thought that
It is a widely held view that
It has been reported that
It has commonly been assumed that

Joined by several new scholars

Judicious use of

Last word on this ... must go to

Limitations
Long quotations

Lucid

Make sense of the contradictions

Many scholars hold the view that …
Many types of

Minor errors

Most
Muddles

Multifaceted

Nearly always

New ground

Offers

Offers guidance

Often

Old ground

Opines that

Original
Occasionally

Overlooks

Overview

Paradoxically

Bodleian Library Classics

Partially answered

Perspective

Persuasive

Pertinent voice

Precision

Presents

Project is driven by

Prose

Provides an overview

Purpose

Questions

Quality of

Range of alternatives

Readers lose patience

Recent research has suggested that

Recognisable concerns

Reflecting on

Relationship between

Relevant
Relies heavily on

Revealing

Riddled with misprints

Rigid

Rooted in her knowledge of

Sadly

Scholars

Serve as a warning

Several Scholars

Short quotations

Shows how / that

Significant

Some types of

Sometimes

Speaks to

Style

Subject

Subtext

Supple

Tellingly

The majority of

There is some evidence to indicate that

This book

This comment

This concern with

This contribution to the debate

This exploration of

This issue

This study

This volume

Thorough

Through a series of case studies

Traces

Timely

To be commended

Trifling particulars

Undoubtedly the standard work on this

Uniquely

Updated edition

Use of long quotation

Useful

Uses

Valuable insights

Various disciplines

Vast range of topics

Vital to consider

Weaknesses

Wide-range of

Wide-ranging

 Dr Ian McCormick is the author of
The Art of Connection: the Social Life of Sentences and 11+ English