Two chill pills for writers

Posted by Pak Guru on November 10th, 2017 | 0 comments | adverbs, argument, modals, opinion, strength of claim, Task 2, writing

Students experience stress when they enter university because college life is tough and tiring.

In my opinion this writer needs to take a chill pill. The claim he or she is making about university seems highly subjective and emotional.
The first problem is that there are plenty of students – myself included – who do not experience stress when they enter university. Secondly, college life is not always tough and tiring. College life includes fun social activities with friends, holidays, and leisure activities on and off campus. Both of these ideas can be incorporated into the original statement after taking two chill pills:

• Students often experience stress when they enter university because college life can be tough and tiring.

1. (Pill 1) The adverb often tells us two things:
   • the frequency of stress (not always!)
   • the number of students who experience stress (not all!)
2. (Pill 2) The modal can tells us about the possibility that college life is not always tough and tiring (It’s possible, but maybe not.)

Why is it a good idea to weaken claims like this?

• it makes claims easier to defend
• it makes your writing appear less subjective and more objective
• it shows that you are confidently uncertain. 
• it sends a message to your reader that you might be wrong, and you welcome feedback and corrections

When you’re reading journal articles, look for other strategies writers use to weaken (or strengthen) claims.