When integrating information from secondary sources, consider the role of authorial intent. This concept refers to the thoughts or feelings of the original author(s) that readers infer based on how text has been written.
As writers ourselves, we use our best judgement to represent these attitudes accurately. In doing so, we pay special attention to the signal or reporting verbs that we use when referencing the author(s) directly.
Be mindful of disciplinary norms when using these verbs; some disciplines may favour a limited number of neutral-sounding verbs while others draw on a wider range of more dynamic ones. Pay close attention to how scholars in your field use reporting verbs to help build your awareness of disciplinary conventions.
A non-exhaustive list of verbs are provided in the resource below. Verbs that have stronger connotations have been bolded for ease of reference; while these verbs can be used, we must be aware of what these words imply to ensure that we do not misrepresent the intent of the original author(s).