Posted by Mitchell on March 30, 2002, at 12:11:40
In reply to Beardy: technical ? re:students, posted by trouble on March 28, 2002, at 8:48:04
I'm not beardy, but I didn't shave yet today, so maybe I can offer some advice on these phrases:
> "In my opinion" or
> "Current research finds," or
> "Conventional wisdom dictates," or
> "To paraphrase Gloria Stienem," or
> "Statistically speaking," or
> "History shows", etc
In my opinion: Great. That distiguishes the statement from the otherwise factual material you might present and spares me having to look for a source that does not exist.Current research finds: What research? Name it. "X's 2001 study found that..." is better.
Conventional wisdom dictates: Depends on the forum in which you are writing. In prose intended for a general readership, it might work. In scientific, scholarly or strictly informational prose, it might be weak. Is the assumption truly conventional? Is it truly wisdom? Are you, the writer, qualified to define conventional wisdom? Would examples do better than an unsubstantiated assertion?
To paraphrase Gloria Stienem: Is it an accurate paraphrase? When and where did Gloria make the comment? Why not quote Gloria instead? Are you naming Gloria to invoke her authority or to credit her as the author of a statement? Usually best to let Gloria speak for herself, even in your writing.
Statistically speaking: What statistics? If the phrase is an introduction to a body of supporting eveidence, great. If the tome points to statistics elsewhere, but for readability or space purposes, one invokes a generalization, that might be cool. But generalizations are not a fair way to avoid substantiating a claim.
History shows: How does history show? What example in history shows? Why not present the example, so readers can determine how valid is your assessment of what history shows?
Any of these phrases would likely risk an editorial comment if it landed on a copy desk at the New York Times, though each would probably stand a chance of surviving the edit if the claim were supported by facts and if the phrase was a fair device for summarizing the facts. Readers must decide if such generalities are indeed credible.
poster:Mitchell
thread:20996
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/social/20020325/msgs/21185.html