Using tentative language

Presenting a credible argument or claim

In academic writing, it is important to be cautious in your claims unless they are proven or established beyond doubt or debate. This is because:

• it is unlikely that you have examined all possible evidence, and there may be a convincing case for an alternative conclusion
• the results of individual studies are rarely conclusive and findings may later be shown to be inaccurate, based on false assumptions, or interpreted incorrectly
• what is ‘known’ can change as new discoveries are made
• data is often open to various interpretations

Consider the differences between the two sentences below:

• Diet was an important factor in the health of the respondents.
• The evidence suggests that diet was an important factor in the health of the respondents.

The first sentence presents the findings with absolute certainty. Such a claim would need to be supported by very strong evidence. The second sentence is a hedged claim, indicating that the evidence is not sufficient to make an outright claim, or that it could allow for other interpretations.

Hedged claims can be made by qualifying quantity, frequency or probability.

Your choice of vocabulary and hedging words conveys your degree of confidence. Consider the differences between the three statements below:

1. The nervousness displayed by some of the placement teachers may have been due to the presence of observers.
2. The nervousness displayed by some of the placement teachers was apparently due to the presence of observers.
3. The nervousness displayed by some of the placement teachers was clearly due to the presence of observers.

Only Statement 3 conveys a sense of complete confidence, indicating that it is based on sufficient and convincing evidence.

Avoiding over-generalisations

Compare the two texts below.

Example 1

Chinese are Buddhist. They go to the temple five times a year. Buddhists live simple lives and give money to charity.

Example 2

Many Chinese are Buddhist. Practicing Buddhists go to the temple about five times a year, depending on how devout they are. Generally, Buddhists try to live simple lives and to give money to charity when they can.

The second statement uses qualifiers (such as generally) and quantifiers (such as many) to avoid over-generalisation, allowing for exceptions and variations in degree. Notice how this paints a more nuanced and realistic picture for the reader.

Quantifiers and qualifiers

Acknowledging exceptions and limitations

Qualifying your claims and acknowledging exceptions or limitations reduces the likelihood of the reader raising those issues to criticise your argument or dispute your findings. Qualifiers and quantifiers can be used, along with more direct statements, to do this.

Examples

• Whilst the findings of the study could be applied in most instances, there were some important exceptions. In particular, it was found that people with food allergies did not benefit from the changes to their diet, and in fact in some cases experienced negative reactions.

• The argument that sport is good for your health is hard to dispute, with the exception of instances when it leads to serious injury. For the majority of participants, adventure sports like rock-climbing are very beneficial; however, for an unlucky minority such sports result in permanent injury or even death.

• One limitation of the study was the relatively small sample size. For this reason, the findings cannot be generalized to the broader community based on this study alone.