Descriptive account

How it is used

Used when distinguishing simple reporting from deeper analysis. It often appears in feedback on essays, field notes, and literature reviews.

Example sentences

1. The tutor said my chapter remained a descriptive account of policy changes and needed more critical comparison across countries.

   Here, the term signals that the writing lists and describes developments but does not yet analyze them in a stronger way.

2. In the results section, a descriptive account is useful first, but the discussion must explain why the pattern matters.

   In this example, the term refers to an initial factual presentation that should later be followed by interpretation in another section.

Common collocations

• purely descriptive account
• provide a descriptive account
• descriptive account of events

Related terms

• argumentA position supported by reasons and evidence, or the line of reasoning that runs through an essay, article or thesis.
• evidenceFacts, data or findings that show whether a claim or idea is true or likely to be true.

More terms: Academic Vocabulary

• indicate
• e.g.
• i.e.
• concept
• approach
• implication
• demonstrate
• furthermore
• assumption
• phenomenon
• comprise
• respectively