Academic phrase bank: definitions

Which of the following statements would be most suitable to use when a term is difficult to define?

• X is a rather nebulous term ...

• X is a common term used in this field ...

• X is a term that is easy to define ...

• The definition of X is universally agreed upon ...

Which phrase would be most appropriate to indicate the evolution of the definition of a term in academic writing?

• The term ‘Xʼ embodies a multitude of concepts which ...

• The definition of X has evolved.

• Several definitions of X have been proposed.

• In the field of X, various definitions of X are found.

Which phrase would be most suitable to use when there are multiple terms used to describe the same concept?

• Numerous terms are used to describe X, the most common of which are ....

• Only one term is used to describe X ...

• There is no variation in the terms used to describe X ...

• There is a single term used to describe X in all literature ...

Which phrase would be most suitable to use when two terms are used to refer to the same concept?

• The term ‘Xʼ will be used solely when referring to ...

• In this dissertation, the terms ‘Xʼ and ‘Yʼ are used interchangeably to mean ...

• Throughout this thesis, the term ‘Xʼ is used to refer to informal systems as well as ...

• In this paper, the term that will be used to describe this phenomenon is ‘Xʼ .

Which introductory phrase would be most appropriate when providing a precise definition of a term that has been used variably in literature?

• The term ‘Xʼ was first used by ...

• The term ‘Xʼ can be traced back to ...

• Historically, the term ‘Xʼ has been used to describe ...

• This shows a need to be explicit about exactly what is meant by the word ‘Xʼ .

Which phrase would be most appropriate when acknowledging the inclusive nature of a definition in academic writing?

• This definition models on ...

• This definition has been broadened to include ...

• This definition is useful because ...

• This definition is in need of revision since ...

Which of the following introductory phrases is most commonly used to attribute the first usage of a term to a specific author?

• The term ‘Xʼ can be traced back to ...

• The term ‘Xʼ was introduced by Smith in her ...

• Previous studies mostly defined X as ...

• It is necessary here to clarify exactly what is meant by ...

Which phrase would be most appropriate to use when there is no agreement on the definition of a term?

• There is little consensus about what X actually means.

• The definition of X is universally agreed upon ...

• Everyone agrees on the definition of X ...

• There is no debate about the definition of X ...

Which of the following phrases would be appropriate when referring to an author's definition of a term for the first time?

• For Smith (2001), X means ...

• This definition is close to those of Smith (2012) and Jones (2013) who define X as ...

• Smith, has shown that, as late as 1920, Jones was using the term ‘Xʼ to refer to particular ...

• Smith et al. (2002) have provided a new definition of health: ‘health is a state of being with ...

Which phrase is most appropriate to define a specific term for the entirety of a document?

• The term ‘Xʼ is used here to refer to ...

• In the present study, X is defined as ...

• In this essay, the term ‘Xʼ will be used in its broadest sense to refer to all ...

• While a variety of definitions of the term ‘Xʼ have been suggested, this paper will use the definition first suggested by Smith (1968) who saw it as ...