Credibility in texts
To adopt a
credible
argument in your writing of academic texts you
should avoid:
●
exaggerations
●
generalisations that cannot be
supported.
Exaggerations
Using language
choices that exaggerate a situation or issue should
be avoided. Tentative language
choices are preferable.
Also, academic
practice encourages the writer to provide evidence by way of statistics or sourced information that supports the
writer’s point, rather
than
through exaggerated phrases.
Table 9: Removing exaggeration in expressions
Exaggeration in sentences
|
Reworded sentences
|
||
Everyone understands the
new tax laws introduced in
the last financial
year because they were sent
information
pamphlets about them.
|
✗
|
To promote an understanding of the new tax laws introduced
in the last financial year,
information pamphlets were sent to all householders and
businesses.
|
✓
|
Drink driving always results
in tragedy.
|
✗
|
Drink driving frequently results
in tragedy. The following national
figures identifying the
causes of road accidents provide
evidence of this.
|
✓
|
No one in
local government is concerned about the purity levels of
the town water.
|
✗
|
Few councillors in local government appear concerned about the purity level of the town water.
|
✓
|
Generalisations
that cannot be supported
Using language choices that generalise comments
or indicate certainty that is unsubstantiated
should be avoided. Tentative
language choices are
preferable.
Table 10: Removing generalisations in expressions
Generalisations in sentences
|
Reworded sentences
|
||
Low socio-economic groups will experience high levels of poor health.
|
✗
|
Low socio-economic groups are more likely
to
experience higher levels of poor
health compared to high socio- economic groups.
|
✓
|
As all nurses know, there
is more to
health than just the
physical care of the
patient.
|
✗
|
In health care, nurses need to
consider more
than just physical care
of the patient.
|
✓
|
Malaysian students come to Australia to
study Business or Information Technology.
|
✗
|
A large percentage of Malaysian
students in Australia are studying
Business or Information Technology.
|
✓
|
Tentativeness in
text and credibility
An important characteristic of academic
writing is the avoidance of exaggeration or
generalised statements
that lack clear evidence
to
support them.
This helps
the
writing to become
more
credible.
An academic writer puts forward an argument by cautiously choosing words. Tentative language choices suggest possibility rather than certainty.
Tentative language
choices then
can
provide credibility to
a written text where a set of circumstances
or an event suggest or account for a possible outcome. Below are some examples of
rewording sentences in a tentative way to make them more credible.
A generalised statement
that expresses
certainty:
|
Tentative statements that express possibility:
|
Students,
who attend career seminars, will be better motivated to complete their degree studies than other students.
|
Students
who attend career seminars, tend to
be better motivated
/ are likely to be better motivated / may well be better motivated
to complete their degree studies than
other students.
Note: Perhaps some research
has been carried out
following the career seminars, to test motivation of
attendees compared with
students who have not attended. The results
may indicate a link, even
a strong link between
‘seminars’ and
‘motivation’. However, as there
are other contributing factors to
student
motivation, the
researcher
cannot with certainty
comment on
the level of motivation for each group based only on this
one factor – seminar
attendance. In
that case, it is
better to suggest
this
relationship
by using tentative
language.
|
An increase
in demand for quality
technology in the home is
due to a change
in recreational and
work behaviour.
|
An increase
in demand for quality technology
in the home is
perhaps due to / might be due
to
/ may be due to
/ could be due
to / can be
due
to a change in recreational and
work behaviour.
Note: With a growing trend in some
places for people
to
stay at home for their entertainment,
or use the home
as their workplace, there may
be a feeling that this trend is increasing the
demand for quality technology in
the home. However,
as a feeling is not evidence,
a direct causal link between ‘an increase
in the demand for quality technology’ and ‘a
change in recreational and work behaviour’ cannot be stated
with certainty. In
that case, it is
better to suggest a
link between
the
two factors
by using tentative language.
|
A generalised statement
that expresses
certainty:
|
Tentative statements that express possibility:
|
Given the current weather pattern, rain will
continue throughout the
week.
|
Given the current weather pattern, rain is likely
to continue / is quite likely to
continue / is
highly likely to
continue throughout the
week.
Note: As expressed in these sentences there are degrees of tentativeness. As
a writer you can make
informed judgements about a situation
and express the level or degree of possibility
that you
attribute to
the
outcome.
You can also avoid irresponsible generalisations by indicating less than one
hundred percent in
frequency, number or amount. Only use the
words ‘always’ and
‘never’ with caution. These words
allow for no
exceptions. It is likely that your statements would be more credible if you were to use the
words or phrases found in
the list that follows.
|
Note: As expressed in these sentences there are degrees of tentativeness.
As
a writer you
can make informed judgements about a situation and express the level or degree of possibility that
you attribute to the
outcome.
You can also avoid
irresponsible
generalisations
by indicating less than one hundred
percent
in frequency, number or amount.
Only use the
words ‘always’ and ‘never’ with caution.
These words allow for no exceptions. It is likely that your statements would be more credible
if
you were to use the
words or phrases found in the list that follows.
Frequency
|
Number/Amount
|
|
........................100%........................
|
Always
|
All
remember this
means no exceptions
|
....................................................
|
frequently
|
a majority (of)
|
...............................................
|
often
|
a lot (of)
|
............................................
|
usually
|
a number (of)
|
........................................
|
regularly
|
many
|
...................................
|
generally
|
several
|
...............................
|
normally
|
more (than)
|
.........................
|
sometimes
|
a minority (of)
|
.....................
|
occasionally
|
a few
|
................
|
rarely
|
less (than)
|
...........
|
seldom
|
fewer (than)
|
…...
|
hardly ever
|
few
|
0%
|
Never
|
None – no exceptions
|
