Style - Use Hedging
Sometimes you need to soften what you say. Usually:
- When you are not sure something is true
- When it is true, but you are not sure it is 100% important/successful.
- Imagine your problem paragraph is about waribashi.
- You summarize a solution (carry your own chopsticks)
- Now you need to respond. Does your solution actually solve the problem?
- The answer is probably not “yes” or “no”.
- The answer is probably “partly” or “maybe”.
- You can
- Qualify uncertain facts (“Despite the lack of evidence, it seems likely that”)
- Qualify weak citations (“Based on Smith (1999), it seems that X, however”
- Qualify when no evidence is available
Ideas for practice
Certain vs uncertain phrases
| Absolute phrase | qualified version |
|---|---|
| X will happen | X may/might/could/could/possibly/may well happen |
| is | may be / might be / is probably |
| was | may have been / might have been / was probably |
| every x/ all x | most x / many x /some x |
| a large proportion of x | |
| a significant number of x | |
| the majority of x | |
| none | a few x / not much x / not many x |
| a small proportion of x | |
| a minority of x | |
| X always happens | X often, usually, frequently, regularly happens |
| X repeatedly, sometimes happens | |
| X never happens | X seldom, occasionally happens |
| X happens only rarely | |
| definitely goes | probably, possibly goes |
| most likely goes | |
| almost certainly goes | |
| tends to go” | |
| X is/ causes Y | X appears/seems to cause Y |
| It is probable that X causes Y | |
| X tends to cause Y | |
| X did not happen | It is unlikely / doubtful / improbable that x happened |
| X, therefore Y | X suggests Y |
| X, which suggests Y | |
| X, which would seem to suggest that Y” | |
| is effective | is effective to some extent, / is somewhat effective |
| it is true | It is possible that X is true |
| X is always true | It is generally true that X |
| In every case | Generally, |
| X means Y is Z | X suggests Y is Z |
| X indicates that Y is probably Z | |
| very | relatively / fairly / somewhat / quite |
| X leads to Y | it tends to be the case that X leads to Y |
Academic writing phrases
- As you go down the list, the chance decreases,
- There are also different grammar patterns.
Phrases
- This will most certainly happen
- It is highly likely it will happen
- There is a good chance it will happen
- It is probable that it will happen
- It is likely it will happen
- We believe it will happen
- It will probably happen
- There is a better than even chance it will happen
- The chances that it will happen are about even
- There is doubt that it will happen
- It is improbable that it will happen
- It is unlikely that it will happen
- It will probably not happen
- There is little chance that it will happen
- It is highly unlikely that it will happen
- There is no chance that it will happen
- Chances are slight/low that it will happen.
- It is impossible that it will happen.
How NOT to qualify
Avoid Weasel Words
Weasel words means qualifying evidence to hide the fact it is missing.
| Question | Honest answer | Weasel words |
|---|---|---|
| Who said that? | I don’t know | Some people say |
| What is the evidence? | There isn’t any, or I didn’t look | A growing body of evidence says that |
| “Is the evidence strong? | I’m not sure | It is obvious that |
| Does anyone disagree | I didn’t look | Critics claim that |
Always yourself these questions about your research and results. It is better to say no evidence was found than hide the fact you didn’t find any. Here are some more questions to ask when you read these phrases in your research:
| If you read… | Ask… |
|---|---|
| “A growing body of evidence” | By who? |
| “It has been claimed that…” | By who? |
| “It has been noted that…” | By who? |
| “Many people” | How many people? Who are they? |
| “Critics claim…” | Who claims? |
| “Clearly/Obviously/Evidently” | It’s not clear or obvious or evident. ///Can you explain why you think it is? |
| “There is evidence that…” | What evidence? |
| “There is strong evidence that…” | Can you explain WHY it is strong |
Avoid qualifying numbers
If you know the exact number, give it. If you do not know it, find out.
| If you read… | Ask… |
|---|---|
| “Over 75%” | How far over? 76? 99? |
| “Very few” | How few? 1? 2? 77? |
| “The vast majority…” | Is this 77% or 99%? |
- “A majority”
- DO USE FOR “I don’t know how much, because it is impossible to tell, but based on my research so far, most say X”
- DO NOT USE FOR “I don’t know how much, because I don’t have time to research”
Avoid vagueness words
Basically, … Essentially, …. (OK for summaries, but too vague for qualifications)
Avoid slang
“Kind of big”, “Pretty big”, “Really big” and “Sort of big “
These are too informal for academic essays
“Rather” is quite an old word, when used for qualifier.
Avoid repetition
Don’t repeat qualifiers (“ a lot…a lot… alot… very…very…very”) Look at the list above - try some new ones. If you need to know how to use them in a sentence, look them up: http://corpus.byu.edu/coca/
Avoid qualifying too often
Try not to use too many qualifiers If you are using a lot, it is a sign you need to do more research
Avoid using on your conclusion or final comment
You spent an essay building up to this sentence. You’ve spent weeks researching it. Why are you still unsure?