paper trail
A written record, history, or collection of evidence.
Keep a good paper trail in case anyone asks you why you arrived at that conclusion.
ADJ
thick, thin | see-through, transparent | plain, unlined | lined | graph, squared | A3, A4, etc. | foolscap
blank
She handed me a blank paper and asked me to write down my ideas for the project.
printed
She carefully sorted the printed paper from the recycling bin.
brown, coloured
She wrapped the gifts in coloured paper so the children wouldn't recognize them before the party.
greaseproof, waxed | glossy, shiny
scrap, waste
The printer ran out of paper, so I used some waste paper from the recycling bin instead.
computer, typing | writing | blotting | tracing | wrapping | cr | pe | tissue | photographic | filter | kitchen | toilet
cigarette
He rolled a joint using cigarette paper he found in the kitchen drawer.
QUANT
bit, piece, scrap, sheet, slip, strip
She tore off a small strip of paper to write the phone number.
roll
She bought several rolls of wrapping paper for the birthday gifts.
side
My history homework took up three sides of paper before I finished explaining the topic.
VERB + PAPER
fold
She carefully folded the paper into a small square before putting it in her pocket.
shred, tear
crumple (up), screw up
She crumpled up the letter nervously before tossing it across the room.
recycle | wrap sth in
PAPER + VERB
be strewn
After the children finished their art project, paper was strewn across the entire classroom.
PREP
on ~
The company hasn't made any formal offer on paper yet, just a verbal agreement.
PHRASES
put pen to paper
She finally put pen to paper and started writing her novel last month.
a waste of paper
Printing out emails seems like a waste of paper these days.
ADJ
daily, evening, morning, Sunday, weekly | today's, yesterday's | independent, left-wing, right-wing | local, national | broadsheet, quality | tabloid
QUANT
copy
I need to buy several copies of the local paper for my community notice board.
edition
I bought the morning edition of the paper before heading to work.
VERB + PAPER
buy, get, take
My grandmother still buys the morning paper every single day at the newsstand.
flick through, read
She flicked through the morning paper while drinking her coffee.
print, produce, publish | edit, write for/in | appear in
get into
The scandal involving the famous actor got into the papers last week.
PAPER + VERB
come out
The local newspaper comes out on Wednesday mornings and everyone reads it at breakfast.
PAPER + NOUN
shop | boy, girl | round
PREP
in a/the ~
She saw the job advertisement in the paper this morning and decided to apply.
on a/the ~
My brother writes for the Sunday paper as a sports journalist.
papers
ADJ
commercial | necessary | official | identity | personal, private | ballot
QUANT
pile, sheaf
VERB + PAPER
show
The teacher asked us to show our research papers before the final deadline.
ADJ
exam, examination, question, test
written
She found the written paper more difficult than she expected during the exam.
English, geography, etc.
VERB + PAPER
do, sit, take
set
The school's mathematics test was set by the department head last month.
mark
turn over
The teacher asked us to turn over our papers and begin the test.
PREP
in a/the ~
My daughter found several spelling mistakes in the math paper her teacher handed back yesterday.
on a/the ~
I accidentally spilled coffee on the paper while I was reading the newspaper this morning.
ADJ
draft | consultation, consultative, discussion, position, working | research, scientific
VERB + PAPER
deliver, give, present, put forward, read | draft, prepare, produce, write | issue, publish, release
PAPER + VERB
consider sth, deal with sth, focus on/upon sth, look at sth
This research paper considers the effects of climate change on ocean ecosystems.
argue sth, propose sth | demonstrate sth | describe sth, outline sth, present sth | be called sth, be entitled sth
PREP
in a/the ~
The researcher explained her findings in a paper published last month in a medical journal.
~ on
She gave a presentation on her research paper on climate change last week.