Precise Verbs for Literary Analysis

Replace vague verbs like 'shows' and 'says' with verbs that name exactly what a text does.

Analytical writing often leans on vague verbs: the author 'shows,' the passage 'says,' the image 'is about. ' Precise analytical verbs tell your reader exactly what the text is doing. Suggests and implies indicate meaning not stated directly. Emphasizes and underscores indicate importance. Reveals indicates something previously hidden coming to light. Undermines and complicates indicate a challenge to an idea. Juxtaposes means places side by side for contrast. Evokes means calls up a feeling or memory. Worked example: weak: 'The author shows that the town is changing.

' Stronger: 'By juxtaposing the shuttered bakery with the new glass office tower, the author suggests that the town's growth comes at the cost of its character. ' The second sentence names the technique (juxtaposition), the meaning (growth at a cost), and the degree of directness (suggests, not states). Swapping one verb can change a summary into an argument.

• 1Vague verbs like 'shows' hide your analysis.
• 2Suggests, emphasizes, reveals, and undermines name specific moves.
• 3Juxtaposes and evokes name techniques and effects.