Giving examples

Writers may give specific examples as evidence to support their general claims or arguments. Examples can also be used to help the reader or listener understand unfamiliar or difficult concepts, and they tend to be easier to remember. For this reason, they are often used in teaching. Finally, students may be required to give examples in their work to demonstrate that they have understood a complex problem or concept. It is important to note that when statements are supported with examples, the explicit language signalling this may not always be used.

Examples as the main information in a sentence

A well-known example of this is …
Another example of what is meant by X is …
This is exemplified in the work undertaken by …
This distinction is further exemplified in studies using …
An example of this is the study carried out by Smith (2004) in which …
The effectiveness of the X technique has been exemplified in a report by Smith et al. (2010)

A classic
A useful
A notable
A prominent
An important
example of X is …..

This is evident in the case of …
This is certainly true in the case of …
The evidence of X can be clearly seen in the case of …
In a similar case in America, Smith (1992) identified …
This can be seen in the case of the two London physics laboratories which …

X is a good illustration of …
X illustrates this point clearly.
This can be illustrated briefly by …
By way of illustration, Smith (2003) shows how the data for …
These experiments illustrate that X and Y have distinct functions in …

For example, the word ‘doctor’ used to mean a ‘learned man’.
For example, Smith and Jones (2004) conducted a series of semi-structured interviews in …
Young people begin smoking for a variety of reasons. They may, for example, be influenced by ….

Examples as additional information

Young people begin smoking for a variety of reasons, such as pressure from peers or …
The prices of resources, such as copper, iron ore, and aluminium, have declined over …
Pavlov found that if a stimulus, for example the ringing of a bell, preceded the food, the …
Many diseases can result at least in part from stress, including: arthritis, asthma, and migraine.
Gassendi kept in close contact with many other scholars, such as Kepler, Galileo, Descartes, and …

Reporting cases as support

This case has shown that …
This has been seen in the case of …
The case reported here illustrates the …
Overall, these cases support the view that …
This case study confirms the importance of …
The evidence presented thus far supports the idea that …
This case demonstrates the need for better strategies for …
As this case very clearly demonstrates, it is important that …
This case reveals the need for further investigation in patients with …
This case demonstrates how X used innovative marketing strategies in …
Recent cases reported by Smith et al. (2013) also support the hypothesis that …
In support of X, Y has been shown to induce Y in several cases (Smith et al., 2001).