• 3-minute read
• 29th November 2015

Word Choice: Alternatives to ‘Said’ and ‘Because’

Our research shows that ‘said’ and ‘because’ are two of the most overused words in academic writing. This is understandable, as both are useful for explaining research and the results of studies.

However, excessive repetition of common words can detract from the flow of your written work, so it helps to know a few alternatives.

Alternatives to ‘Said’

The word ‘said’ is mostly used when reporting speech. This includes quoting research (e.g. in you literature review) or reporting what participants have said in an interview or survey. For example:

One respondent said that the process was ‘too complicated’.

There are lots of alternatives to ‘said’, all of which attribute the thought being reported to the person named. These include ‘claimed’, ‘suggested’ and ‘remarked’:

One respondent claimed that the process was ‘too complicated’.

One respondent suggested that the process was ‘too complicated’.

One respondent remarked that the process was ‘too complicated’.

There are also words you can use in place of ‘said’ when the person you’re quoting is doing something specific, such as arguing or clarifying a point:

Jones (1994, p.16) argues that ‘previous policies are now outdated’.

The CEO clarified that ‘company policy has changed since the incident’.

With these, make sure the word you use fits the context: it would not make sense, for instance, to say that ‘the CEO argued that company policy has changed’ as this is a factual claim (i.e. either policy has changed or it hasn’t), not an argument.

Alternatives to ‘Because’

The word ‘because’ means ‘due to the fact that’. As such, it’s handy for explaining your reasoning and commonly used when describing the consequences of something.

There are two main ways to use ‘because’. One is as a conjunction, where ‘because’ is followed by a subject and a verb:

A qualitative approach was chosen because it enables collection of in-depth data.

In these cases, alternatives include ‘since’ and ‘as’, both of which are also conjunctions:

A qualitative approach was chosen since it enables collection of in-depth data.

A qualitative approach was chosen as it enables collection of in-depth data.

The phrase ‘because of’, meanwhile, is a preposition, so needs to be followed by a noun phrase or an ‘-ing’ verb:

The results are unreliable because of the limited sample size.

The business failed because of falling prices.

In this case, your alternatives include phrases like ‘due to’ and ‘as a result of’:

The results are unreliable due to the limited sample size.

The business failed as a result of falling prices.

Remember to check whether you’re using ‘because’ or ‘because of’ before selecting an alternative word.