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Controlling rhetorical nuance

Understand each item before testing yourself. Choose honestly whether it already feels familiar or needs practice.

1 of 5Expression

It is not entirely persuasive because…

Deliver a controlled but substantive criticism.

Example

It is not entirely persuasive because…

Use understatement, marked contrast, and evaluative framing to control the force of criticism without obscuring the judgement.

It is not entirely persuasive because…
Expression
Deliver a controlled but substantive criticism.
It is not entirely persuasive because…
At best, this establishes…
Expression
Set the strongest conclusion the evidence permits.
At best, this establishes…
It falls well short of demonstrating…
Expression
Mark a significant evidential gap.
At best, the comparison establishes a possibility; it falls well short of demonstrating the claimed effect.
What is ostensibly… is, in fact,…
Expression
Reverse a misleading first impression.
What is ostensibly a minor sampling issue is, in fact, central to the argument’s validity.
We can be measured without being equivocal.
Expression
Separate tact from uncertainty.
We can be tactful in tone without being equivocal about that conclusion.