A student reads one survey in which 62% of respondents prefer later school starting times.
They write:
Students want school to start later.
The sentence sounds reasonable. It is also broader than the evidence.
A more accurate version is:
Most respondents in the survey preferred a later starting time.
Or:
The survey suggests that a majority of the students questioned would prefer school to start later.
The difference in vocabulary is small. The difference in intellectual quality is large.
Strong English requires control over claim strength.
English contains a ladder of commitment
Compare:
This causes stress.
This can cause stress.
This may cause stress.
This appears to contribute to stress.
This is associated with stress.
These sentences do not make the same claim.
Vocabulary carries the writer’s level of commitment.
Cautious language is not weak language
Students sometimes fear words such as:
may
might
appears
suggests
likely
because they sound uncertain.
But appropriate uncertainty can be a sign of accuracy.
If the evidence is limited, the language should show that boundary.
Overclaiming is both a language and reasoning error
Passage:
Several residents complained about the noise.
Weak rewrite:
The residents were angry about the noise.
Several became all residents. Complained became a specific emotion.
Scope and certainty both increased.
Tiny words control scope
all
most
many
some
several
few
one
These are not decorative.
They determine how many cases the claim covers.
An absolute claim is easier to disprove than a carefully scoped one.
Strong writers know when to narrow
Weak:
Technology makes students lazy.
Stronger:
Easy access to instant answers can encourage some students to avoid productive struggle when technology becomes a substitute for thinking.
The stronger sentence is not stronger because it is longer. It is stronger because it specifies actor, condition and mechanism.
Reporting verbs also calibrate evidence
suggests
indicates
shows
demonstrates
proves
These verbs differ in force.
A single example may suggest a pattern. Strong converging evidence may demonstrate one.
Proves should be used carefully.
A useful rule is:
language strength creates evidence debt.
Adverbs calibrate claims too
possibly
probably
likely
clearly
certainly
undoubtedly
The stronger the adverb, the more support the writer owes the reader.
Modal verbs are part of the same system
may
might
could
can
will
must
Compare:
The policy may reduce traffic.
The policy will reduce traffic.
The topic stays the same. The prediction strength changes.
Certainty matters in comprehension
Text:
Farid read the message twice before placing his phone face down.
Weak:
Farid is afraid.
Better:
Farid may be unsettled by the message, as he rereads it before turning his phone over.
The language matches the evidence.
Certainty matters in oral communication
Compare:
Everyone does this.
with:
Many students experience this, although the effect varies.
The second sentence is easier to defend and more respectful of variation.
Evidence and certainty should move together
Weak evidence:
may, might, suggests.
Moderate evidence:
likely, indicates, supports the view that.
Strong evidence:
strongly indicates, shows, demonstrates.
The exact wording depends on discipline and context, but the principle is alignment.
Excessive hedging creates fog
It might perhaps be possible that some students may possibly benefit…
Good calibration is not maximum caution. It is appropriate caution.
A claim-strength exercise
Arrange:
proves
demonstrates
indicates
suggests
hints
from strongest to weakest.
Then give one piece of evidence and ask which verbs it can justify.
Hilary Mantel as a high-level lens
One useful broad quality in controlled prose is restraint: evidence can carry weight without the sentence shouting more loudly than it supports.
The transferable lesson is calibration, not imitation.
This vocabulary travels across subjects
Science:
supports the hypothesis
may cause
is associated with
History:
suggests that
may have contributed to
Mathematics:
must be true
cannot occur
English:
implies
appears
creates the impression
AI makes calibration especially important
Generative AI can produce fluent certainty even when evidence is weak.
Students should ask:
Is the answer saying is where it should say may?
Did some become all?
Did suggests become proves?
Connections eduKateAI can learn
evidence strength → claim strength → vocabulary choice
scope word → number of cases covered
modal / hedge → uncertainty boundary
overclaim → language stronger than evidence
The public principle is that uncertainty vocabulary is not verbal weakness. It is a system for making language proportional to evidence.
Related eduKateSG resources
Research basis
This article draws on University of Manchester Academic Phrasebank guidance, current academic-writing research on stance and current Cambridge English standards.