What the World Is Learning

Featured by Teachers

276+ Ways to Say “This Shows” in Academic Writing (The Ultimate Phrase Bank)

If you’ve ever stared at a paragraph and cringed at how many times you’ve written “this shows,” you’re not alone. It’s one of the most overused phrases in essay writing — and it’s also one of the easiest to fix.

Whether you’re writing a literary analysis, a research paper, or a GCSE/A-Level essay, this ultimate phrase bank gives you over 276 alternatives, organized by function, so you can always pick the right phrase, not just a different one.

Teacher Tip: Don’t just swap words randomly. Each phrase carries a different strength and nuance. Use the strength guide at the bottom to choose wisely.

📋 Table of Contents

Direct Verb Replacements
“This is a…” Noun Phrase Patterns
“It can be / It is…” Patterns
“One can / We can…” Patterns
“As / In light of…” Structural Patterns
“This alludes to / This points to…” Patterns
“This makes / This serves…” Patterns
Conclusion & Transitional Phrases
Paraphrasing & Reformulation Phrases
Extended Full-Phrase Patterns
Quick Guide: Phrases by Strength of Claim

1. Direct Verb Replacements with “This Shows”

These are the simplest swaps. Just replace “shows” with one of the verbs below: “This [verb] that…”

#	Phrase	Best Used When…
1	this demonstrates	you want to show clear, strong proof
2	this illustrates	the evidence provides a clear example
3	this indicates	pointing to a trend or pattern
4	this suggests	the evidence implies but doesn’t fully prove
5	this implies	drawing a logical inference
6	this proves	the evidence is definitive (use cautiously)
7	this reveals	uncovering something not immediately obvious
8	this confirms	the evidence validates an existing belief
9	this displays	making something visible or apparent
10	this portrays	depicting or characterizing something
11	this describes	giving a detailed account
12	this marks	signalling or denoting a point
13	this specifies	narrowing down precisely
14	this designates	assigning or labelling something
15	this highlights	drawing focused attention to a point
16	this underlines	stressing the importance of something
17	this underscores	emphasising significance
18	this emphasizes	bringing special weight to a point
19	this reflects	mirroring a broader truth or reality
20	this represents	standing for or symbolising something
21	this signifies	carrying deeper meaning
22	this conveys	communicating a message or feeling
23	this presents	putting something forward
24	this manifests	making something evident or tangible
25	this exposes	bringing something hidden into the open
26	this supports	backing up a claim with evidence
27	this validates	confirming correctness or truth
28	this exemplifies	giving a perfect example of something
29	this explains	making something understandable
30	this signals	giving a sign or early warning
31	this establishes	setting something as fact
32	this certifies	formally confirming something
33	this corroborates	independently confirming a fact
34	this substantiates	providing substance or proof
35	this affirms	declaring something positively
36	this authenticates	verifying as genuine
37	this verifies	checking something as true
38	this justifies	giving a valid reason for a claim
39	this clarifies	removing ambiguity
40	this elucidates	explaining with great clarity
41	this depicts	portraying visually or descriptively
42	this characterizes	describing defining qualities or traits
43	this outlines	giving a broad overview
44	this testifies	bearing witness to something
45	this accentuates	making a point more prominent
46	this foregrounds	bringing something to the foreground of attention
47	this spotlights	putting something directly in the spotlight
48	this showcases	displaying something prominently
49	this reinforces	strengthening a previously made point
50	this reaffirms	confirming something for a second time
51	this reiterates	repeating to confirm or stress
52	this elaborates	providing more detailed explanation
53	this explicates	unfolding and explaining systematically
54	this uncovers	bringing to light what was hidden
55	this unveils	revealing something for the first time
56	this discloses	making something known
57	this unearths	discovering something buried or overlooked
58	this brings out	making something apparent
59	this interprets	assigning meaning to something
60	this unfolds	revealing step by step
61	this points out	directing attention to a specific detail
62	this mentions	noting something in passing
63	this assumes	taking something for granted as a premise
64	this registers	recording or making note of something
65	this attests	bearing witness or providing testimony

2. “This is a…” Noun Phrase Patterns

These phrases add formality and variety by using a noun instead of a verb:

this is an indication
this is evidence
this is an illustration
this is an example
this is proof
this is a demonstration
this is a sign
this is a reflection
this is a representation
this is a manifestation
this is a confirmation
this is a testament to
this is an indicator
this is a revelation
this is a clear display of

3. “It can be / It is…” Patterns

Passive constructions that sound more formal and objective — great for academic essays:

it can be concluded
it can be inferred
it can be stated
it can be seen
it can be argued
it can be observed
it can be noted
it can be determined
it can be deduced
it can be gathered
it can be ascertained
it can be surmised
it could be concluded
it could be argued
it could be inferred
it is evident
it is apparent
it is clear
it is obvious
it is implied
it is suggested
it is demonstrated
it is shown
it is proved by
it is worth noting
it is revealing that
it seems
it seems to me that
it appears
it appears that
it follows that
it goes to show
it demonstrates
it proves
it looks
it looks as though

4. “One can / We can…” Patterns

These are especially useful for literary analysis and philosophy essays:

one can conclude
one can infer
one can see
one can observe
one can argue
one can deduce
one can note
one can surmise
one can gather
we can see that
we can conclude
we can infer
we can observe
we can determine

5. “As / In light of…” Structural Patterns

These are prepositional or clause-based starters that help you embed evidence more naturally into a sentence:

as indicated
as indicated by
as shown by
as demonstrated by
as evidenced by
as suggested by
as illustrated by
as confirmed by
as revealed by
as reflected in
as implied by
as noted by
as stated by
as mentioned by
as apparent from
as can be seen from
as can be inferred from
as outlined by
in light of this
in light of this evidence
in view of this
based on this
based on these findings
based on the above
given this evidence
given these findings
given the above
judging from

6. “This alludes to / This points to…” Patterns

These add sophistication — especially useful when the evidence doesn’t directly state something but implies it:

this alludes to
this alludes to the fact that
this points to
this points toward
this points out
this hints at
this speaks to
this speaks to the fact that
this gestures toward
this nods to
this draws attention to
this brings to light
this brings attention to
this sheds light on
this lends support to
this provides insight into
this provides evidence that
this provides a basis for
this leads us to believe
this allows us to see
this allows to be seen that
this causes us to consider
this invites us to consider
this prompts us to conclude

7. “This makes / This serves…” Patterns

Useful for making an analytical point that follows from the evidence:

this makes it clear
this makes clear
this makes manifest
this makes evident
this makes apparent
this makes plain
this makes the case that
this makes it apparent that
this serves to show
this serves to illustrate
this serves as evidence
this serves as an example
this serves as proof
this serves to underline
this serves to demonstrate

8. Conclusion & Transitional Phrases

Use these after your evidence to signal your analysis or final point:

accordingly
consequently
therefore
thus
hence
for this reason
for that reason
on that account
as a result
as a result of this
thereby
in consequence
this being the case
which means that
this means that
this being so
in turn
this being said

9. Paraphrasing & Reformulation Phrases

When you want to restate or clarify a point in different words:

in other words
that is to say
it is to say that
to put it another way
to put it differently
to rephrase
to restate
to clarify
to elaborate
to be more specific
to be precise
namely
in essence
in brief
simply put
put simply
another way of saying this is
another way of putting it
in another words

10. Extended Full-Phrase Patterns

These longer expressions work beautifully when you want to make the evidence itself the subject of the sentence:

the data shows
the data suggests
the data indicates
the data confirms
the data reveals
the findings show
the findings suggest
the findings indicate
the findings confirm
the results show
the results demonstrate
the evidence shows
the evidence suggests
the evidence indicates
the evidence confirms
the evidence supports
the analysis reveals
the study shows
the research confirms
the passage indicates
the text shows
the author suggests
the author demonstrates
this passage illustrates
this example demonstrates
this fact serves to illustrate
this observation suggests
this outcome demonstrates
this result confirms
this finding reveals
this case illustrates
this instance points to
a clear example of this is
the significance of this lies in
the implication of this is
the inference drawn is
from this one can gather
from this it can be inferred
from this it is clear that
this is proved by
this appears to signify
this is apparent from

⚡ Quick Guide: Phrases by Strength of Claim

Choosing the wrong strength is one of the most common mistakes in essay writing. Use this table to match your phrase to your evidence:

Strength Level	Best Phrases to Use
🔴 Strong / Definitive (Use when evidence is conclusive)	proves, confirms, establishes, validates, verifies, authenticates, certifies, substantiates, corroborates
🟡 Neutral / General (Safe for most situations)	shows, demonstrates, illustrates, indicates, presents, describes, displays, represents
🟢 Tentative / Cautious (Use when evidence is partial or interpretive)	suggests, implies, signals, hints at, points to, alludes to, appears to, seems to
🔵 Emphasis / Attention (Use to stress importance)	highlights, underscores, underlines, emphasizes, accentuates, foregrounds, spotlights
🟣 Revelation / Discovery (Use when evidence uncovers something)	reveals, uncovers, unveils, exposes, discloses, sheds light on, brings to light

Total: 276+ unique phrases and patterns across 10 categories.

Bookmark this page and come back to it every time you write an essay. Your teacher will notice the difference.

Post Views: 1

Your Home Teacher