The only cure for unemployment is to make it easier for companies to invest and create new jobs.
Unfortunately, there is no miracle cure for inflation. (=there is nothing that will immediately make the situation better)
Prison is not a cure for all social ills. (=a cure for all social problems) STUDY NOTE: Grammar
Cure, remedy, prescription, and panacea are used metaphorically to talk about dealing with problems. Their original meanings relate to treating illnesses.
remedy noun [countable] a possible way of dealing with a problem, especially using practical methods:
Expensive hi-tech remedies are often useless to poor countries.
A number of remedies have been suggested, but so far none of them has shown itself to be effective.
prescription noun [countable] something that someone suggests as a way of dealing with a problem:
Their prescription for dealing with poverty in Africa is to encourage more trade, instead of increasing aid.
The socialists' main prescription for any social problem seems to be to pump more and more money into the system.
panacea noun [countable] a formal word, meaning something that people hope will solve all their problems. You use panacea when you doubt that something can really do this:
The law is not a universal panacea. (=it cannot solve all our problems)
Some people think that free market capitalism is a panacea for all our ills. (=something that will solve all our problems)
Furthermore, industrialization has rarely been the panacea for rural poverty that had been hoped.
quick fix noun [countable] a quick way of dealing with a problem, which usually only works for a short time. You use quick fix especially when you think that people need to find a more permanent solution:
There is no quick fix to defeat terrorism.
A leading scientist has warned that quick fix schemes to deal with global warming could potentially be more damaging than the problem itself.
STUDY NOTE: Grammar
Quick fix is an informal phrase, and should not be used in formal essays.
magic bullet noun [countable] something that solves a difficult problem quickly and simply. You use magic bullet especially when saying that it will be difficult to find such a solution:
There is no magic bullet for dealing with inflation.
Although a magic bullet for curing cancer is still not likely any time soon, researchers are making slow and steady progress.
Quoting People
Ways of quoting what someone has said
say verb [transitive] used when quoting what someone said in a speech, or wrote in a book, article etc:
John F. Kennedy once famously said "Ask not what your country can do for you. Ask what you can do for your country."
In their report, they say that they see no reason to change the existing system. STUDY NOTE: Grammar
Say is used a lot in English. Below are other words and expressions which mean the same thing, and when writing essays it is a good idea to use some of these instead of repeating say every time.
write verb [transitive] used when quoting what someone wrote in a book, article etc:
Du Bois wrote that the United States was "a land of magnificent possibilities - the home of noble souls and generous people."
point out phrasal verb to mention something in a book, article etc, which seems particularly important and relevant:
Dr Graham points out that "All normal children show some degree of antisocial behaviour".
As Rachel Carson points out in her book "Silent Spring", chemicals used in farming are having a devastating effect on our countryside.
STUDY NOTE: Grammar
You use As ... points out/notes/states etc to show that you agree with what the writer has said.
note / remark verb [transitive] to say that you have noticed that something is true. Note and remark are formal words:
Lyons (1977) notes that not all languages have tenses.
As Brownmiller has remarked, women, on the whole, have not achieved economic equality with men in our society.
observe verb [transitive] to say that you have noticed that something is true. Observe is used when reporting someone's scientific studies, or when saying that someone points out a truth about life or the world:
Winnicott observed that mothers spend much of the first few months imitating their infants.
As Joseph Heller once observed, success and failure can be equally difficult to deal with.
state verb [transitive] used when saying what people, reports, laws and rules say. State sounds very definite and full of authority:
Parkinson's Law states that "work expands to fill the time available".
As Skinner (1948) states, verbal behaviour develops according to the same principles as any other behaviour.
argue verb [transitive] used when you want to say that someone puts forward a set of ideas:
Rousseau argued that all men were born equal.
As Edward Said argues: European culture gained in strength and identity by setting itself off against the Orient (Said 1995).
conclude verb [transitive] used when you are introducing the end of what someone has written, especially when it is a summary of the main point of what they wrote:
Wagner concludes that managers should constantly try to lower costs and achieve high product quality.
claim verb [transitive] you use claim when you are saying what someone has said, and you do not believe that what they said was true or you think there is no proof for what they said:
Some people have claimed that Kennedy was killed by the CIA.
Doctors claimed to have found a cure for the disease.
according to... preposition used when saying what people, organizations, and reports have said:
According to a recent survey by Time magazine, 49 percent of Americans said they thought the President was doing a good job.
Young children need at least ten hours of sleep a day, according to Dr. Shaefer.
in the words of ... used when saying exactly what someone has said, especially when this seems to sum up a situation very welclass="underline"
In the words of one professor, the object of teaching English literature is not to pass on knowledge, but to train the imagination.
Reffering
Referring to an earlier part of an essay, report etc
Referring to a later part of an essay, report etc
Referring to another piece of work
1. Referring to an earlier part of an essay, report etc