In essays I often find – even to my own writing – people using the same line over and over:

Smith and Byles state that…

Unicorn states…

So, I thought I’d provide you with a few alternatives – some will simply be applicable in the correct circumstances, such as ‘hypothesises’ or ‘proves’ and some will shall more widely usable. Stated is good, but it obtain really, really boring when is gets used away too often.

Alternatives to ‘states’:

• my
• hypothesises
• clarifies (don’t use which is you don’t generally write like this)
• argues
• proves
• proposes
• defines
• counters
• clarifies
• suggests
• describes
• asserts
• alleges
• professes
• cites
• attests
• validating
• demonstrates
• specifies
• implies
• verifies

Try to mix these up a total – use the common ones like ‘says’, ‘states’ also ‘argues’ moreover, but throw in a several of the more specific academic terms to make your writing more academic and interesting to read.