QUALIFYING YOUR
STATEMENTS
Whenever
you're writing an argument, you should be sensitive to the impression you might
be making on your reader. How will s/he
react to what you've just written? Will
s/he think that you are over-stating your case?
Will s/he think that you have lost control of yourself by making
statements which you could never possibly prove? Have you left a chink in your armor (i.e.
your argument) by making a statement which could easily be refuted?
If, for
example, you have written, "The teachers at PCC are terrible!" Well, that may be your opinion. Still, all it takes is for a reader to find
one fantastic teacher (I'm sure you can all think of at least one) and s/he
will decide that you are ignorant, overly-emotional, or have bad judgment. This may be a minor point in your argument,
but it could be the one thing that causes the reader to lose confidence in you.
What do
you do about it? Qualify That
Statement! Here are several ways to
do that:
1. Root the
statement in your own experience.
"Every teacher I've had at PCC has been terrible." (then go on to give
examples of their terrible teaching, and
perhaps speculate on the causes of the trend; if you can do both, you've
proven your point and achieved your desired aim--to trash PCC.
2. Replace
"is" with "may" or "might": "The end of the world may be near."
3. Use a
"frequency" qualifier:
"Most of the teachers at PCC are terrible." (and most teachers would probably agree with you-- as long as
they're not included) Other such words:
"for the most part," "on the whole,"
"generally," "usually," "many," "almost
never," "almost" always, "a number," "an
alarming number," "an impressive number," "a disappointing
number," etc.
4. Use a
"speculative" qualifier:
"It may be that the teachers at PCC are terrible." "It seems that the teachers at PCC are
terrible." "The teachers at
PCC are perhaps terrible."
"Probably" is a little stronger. Others: "seemingly," "possibly,"
"apparently," "presumably," "allegedly"
5. Add a
qualifying phrase or subordinate clause to your statement: "Although a few
exceptions do exist (e.g., Michael Dembrow), the
teachers at PCC are on the whole a miserable bunch." "The teachers at PCC are terrible, with
only a few exceptions."
As you can see, one can frequently use combinations of
these devices.
As usual,
don't overdo this. Qualifying every
statement will make your writing seem wishy-washy. When it's time to take a strong stand, do
so. You won't regret it. You probably won't regret it. You'll almost never regret it. You may not regret it. Anyway, most of you won’t regret it!
Qualify the following statements:
1. President Bush
never says anything intelligent.
2. Studying Writing
is a waste of time.
3. Religious
Environmentalists are taking over
4. No one will try
to tamper with Cascade's budget now.
5. Contributing to the Dembrow Fund
is the best investment you could make.