LESSON 6A WRITING | A letter to the editor
- the author puts forward the opinion that – Paraphrase the points made by the original author.
- Despite an outwardly persuasive argument – Concede the points made by the original author, and then argue against them.
- While I would not dispute – Concede the points made by the original author, and then argue against them.
- I would also take issue with the notion that – Put forward contrasting arguments.
- Nor can it be argued that – Put forward contrasting arguments.
- On the contrary – Put forward contrasting arguments.
- In point of fact – Put forward contrasting arguments.
- a vital role – Use emphatic language.
ACTIVE WRITING | Hedging
- In a more formal or academic style, it is common to express ideas with some degree of caution. This is known as hedging.
- verbs such as believe, assume, suggest
- modal verbs such as will, would, might, could
- adverbs of frequency such as often, sometimes
- adverbs and adjectives such as certain/ly, probable/ly, perhaps, surely
- conditional structures such as were this to be the case, it would
- softeners such as somewhat, to some extent