"A study published in the Geological Society of America's magazine, GSA Today, says there is strong geological evidence that New Zealand deserves to be considered its own continent."
Reporting verbs, also known as referring verbs, are verbs which are used when you report or refer to another writer's work. They are needed to connect the in-text citation to the information which you are citing. See the following examples, in which the reporting verbs (point out and state) are shown in bold.
- Sharpling (2012) points out that reporting verbs have subtle differences in meaning.
- University of Adelaide (2014) states that using the same reporting verb all the time is both repetitive and boring.
Reporting verbs vary in terms of strength. Consider the following examples.
- Smith (2016) assumes that reporting verbs have different strengths.
- Smith (2016) insists that reporting verbs have different strengths.
Although both verbs have the same general meaning, namely believe, the verb assume is quite weak, while the verb insist is much stronger. The second verb most closely matches the information above, and is therefore more accurate than the first one.
In your example, the reporting verb used is "says" which is a very weak reporting verb.
However, there is Strong Source Information, because it says
"A study published in the Geological Society of America's magazine, GSA Today, says there is strong geological evidence that New Zealand deserves to be considered its own continent."
So, considering the above information, your best answer is
"A Weak Reporting Verb"
Hope this helps! Brainliest would be much appreciated! Have a great day! :)
