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I want to express that after a certain experience I have some new insights. Does an insight come "into mind", or do you "gain/develop" insight? How is this best phrased?

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Things generally come "to mind" rather than "into mind". "Insight" would seem to make sense as a thing to "come to mind", but it somehow doesn't really sound right to me... – Karl Knechtel Aug 27 '11 at 7:11

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Gain insight is a very common (and rather generic) phrasing. Believe me, I know that, I tend to overuse it in academic writing ;-)

Other possible constructions include: “this experience provided me with insight into …”, “I developed a better insight into …”, “this intership offered plenty of insight into …”, etc.

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+1: The suggestions are very good. – Daniel δ Aug 26 '11 at 18:51
Thanks a lot I'm also trying to write an academic paper! My writing is still a bit rusty after 15 years, and English is not my mother tongue – dr jerry Aug 26 '11 at 18:52

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