The unreliable narrator
A who insists on his own sanity while describing a murder tells you two things at once: what he says, and what his way of saying it reveals. The reader has to read past the voice. Once you notice the gap between the account and the events, the whole text opens up.
Slik uttrykker du det
An cannot be fully trusted, because they lie, misunderstand or have an interest in the story. The reader has to read past the voice and notice the gap between the account and what actually happens.
Ask what the narrator has at stake in the telling.
Hedging is not weakness
«The data prove that inequality causes crime» claims more than any single study can carry. «The data suggest a link between inequality and crime» is the same finding, stated at the strength the evidence allows. Examiners read the second as precision, not as doubt.
Slik uttrykker du det
Academic hedges claims to the strength the evidence allows. «The data suggest a link» is precise, while «the data prove» claims more than one study can carry. Hedging reads as precision, not as doubt.
Claim exactly as much as your source supports, and no more.
The is the voice telling the story. It can be a character inside it, speaking as «I», or an outside voice looking in. Either way the narrator decides what you get to see, and that choice shapes everything else. When the narrator cannot be trusted, because they lie, misunderstand or have an interest in the telling, the reader has to work out the truth behind the account.
is the other basic. Academic writing is formal, careful and structured: it hedges claims, avoids slang and contractions, and keeps the writer's opinions visible as arguments rather than outbursts. The point is not to sound difficult, but to make your reasoning easy to check.