“As you can see” highlights something that’s obvious in formal (or informal) writing. It’s good to use in most contexts, but it would help to come up with another way to say “as you can see.” This article will explore some good synonyms. These are the alternatives that work best:
- Evidently
- As is evident from
- Obviously
- Clearly
- From this
- As demonstrated
- As can be seen
- Therefore
- It’s easy to see
- As shown
- As it has been pointed out
Other ways to say “as you can see” are “evidently,” “as is evident from,” and “obviously.” When looking for what to say instead of “as you can see,” these phrases will favour you the most. They apply to most contexts and make the evidence clearer to the reader.
1. Evidently
“Evidently” is a great example of how to say “as you can see” in a more abrupt way. It shows that “evidence” has been brought to light for the reader, making things much more obvious for them than they might have realized.
Be careful using words like this in formal writing, though. It might seem insulting if something doesn’t end up being “evident” from your writing.
Words like “evidently” can easily insult someone’s intelligence if they’re not thinking on the same wavelength as you. While you might find something “obvious” or “evident,” they might still require some explanation.
- We have found a few problems with the testing kit. Evidently, there are more issues here than we care to address.
- You could have told me about this sooner. Evidently, you didn’t want to share the news with me. I’m disappointed.
2. As is Evident From
“As is evident from” is a great phrase that avoids insulting anyone’s intelligence. You should use it when you want to show some information from a previous section in your writing (or a graphical element that you might have provided earlier).
“As is evident from” suggests that the reader can find the information you’re talking about elsewhere in your paper. It’s a good way to get the reader to look back and find the “evidence” you’re referring to.
- We have made the final preparations as is evident from the data you’ve received. Hopefully, everything is ready to go.
- You could have told them sooner, as is evident from their reaction. Now, you’ve made the situation much harder than necessary.
3. Obviously
“Obviously” only works if you’re good at making things obvious in your writing. It’s a great synonym if you can clearly and concisely explain yourself or a situation, allowing a reader to follow along with little to no problems.
If you’re not able to make things obvious, you’re liable to insult the reader with this adverb. Using “obviously” when something isn’t obvious might make the reader feel stupid for not being able to keep up with you.
- Obviously, there was more than one way for this to go. Unfortunately, you decided to take the wrong route. Now, everything is messed up.
- We have three options. Obviously, the first one is the only one that’s going to help us understand our next moves.
4. Clearly
“Clearly” is a more informal choice than “evidently,” but it works well. You should use it after making something “clear.”
It’s another test of your writing abilities, though. If you didn’t make something “clear,” then “clearly” won’t be appropriate. It’ll insult the reader and make them feel like you don’t think they’re smart.
- You needed to get in touch as soon as possible. Clearly, you are not ready to take on the added responsibility of this place.
- I told her not to do these things. Clearly, she wasn’t willing to listen to me. I’ll be having words with her going forward.
5. From This
“From this” allows you to explain how something happens due to another thing. It usually shows the reader how to think “from” some other information you provided earlier in your writing.
It’s a great choice if you can clarify what you’re trying to explain. “From this” suggests that the reader should be on the same page as you.
- I needed to understand a few more things about it. From this, I’ve learned a better way to conduct the experiment in the future.
- We had a few distinct variables to correct. From this, we made the most of the situation and worked through the problems.
6. As Demonstrated
“As demonstrated” works best when you clearly or concisely demonstrate something. Based on your demonstration, the reader should have a better grasp of what you’re talking about.
This puts a lot of pressure on you as the writer, though. If you didn’t “demonstrate” well, you’ll find that most readers lose interest in the rest of what you have to write about.
- As demonstrated by the previous examples, you do not have to lead with the initial variable. Instead, there are multiple options.
- As demonstrated by your understanding of the situation, you should be on high alert. You never know when things can go wrong.
7. As Can Be Seen
“As can be seen” is a decent choice in formal writing. It shows that a reader can “see” some information based on what you’ve already written about or described.
If you’ve done a good enough job, “as can be seen” will work for you. You should use it when you have made something abundantly clear to the reader. This will show them that they do not need to read between the lines or come up with their own explanation.
- As can be seen from the examples above, there is one area that has not been worked through. We need to figure that one out.
- I have had meetings with a few of them. As can be seen by their improvements, the meetings have been very constructive.
8. Therefore
“Therefore” is a decent choice, but it doesn’t always speak to how “obvious” something is in your writing. You should use it when you want to talk about the effect or occurrence resulting from another thing in your writing.
It works well, but it’s context-dependent. You should only use it when you can find a way to link it back to “as you can see” when highlighting an obvious finding.
- I do not believe this is the only answer. Therefore, I am willing to work through a few of the options to find the best fit.
- You should know a few things about this before continuing. Therefore, I would like to meet with you to discuss matters further.
9. It’s Easy to See
“It’s easy to see” shows that something is made obvious to a reader. Using “easy” like this implies that a reader should have no difficulty understanding the things you’re writing about.
As with many of the other alternatives, you might insult someone’s intelligence if you use this one at the wrong time. It might make them feel stupid for not being able to see how “easy” something is.
- It’s easy to see why these experiments went wrong. All you need to do is look into the financial side of it.
- I’m not sure what you want from me. I thought it was easy to see that I wasn’t willing to work with you any longer.
10. As Shown
“As shown” is a great alternative, but it works best when you have a graphical element to link back to. “Shown” implies that there’s something to view from a previous section in your writing (i.e. a table, graph, or figure).
This encourages the readers to look back on the element, which might help them understand more about it.
It doesn’t directly say that something is obvious or easy, but it’s implied.
- As shown before, there have been a few errors in the employees’ judgment here. We need to correct this.
- She could have been there to help us during the meeting. As shown, she does not value her place here, and I think she should leave.
11. As It Has Been Pointed Out
“As it has been pointed out” means something has already been highlighted or made obvious, and you are reminding the reader. You might want to do this if you worry that the reader might not be following along with what you’re writing.
For example, you might briefly highlight an important finding from an experiment earlier in an academic paper. This counts as “pointing it out.”
However, if you only mentioned it briefly, a reader might skim over it and miss something important. Using this phrase helps to remind them of what they read and shows that it’s more important than they first realized.
- As it has been pointed out, you are walking on thin ice. You have got to clean up your conduct before things get bad.
- I’ll be there in the morning. As it has been pointed out, someone has got to keep the morning team in tow.
What Does “As You Can See” Mean?
“As you can see” means that you can take information from something previously mentioned in a written piece. It shows that something has been explained or talked about in an obvious way.
It’s best to use this when something is made clear to the reader. It shows that further detail is unnecessary, which could help people understand more about your writing.