Page 194 - English for Writing Research Papers

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Smoking may / might cause antisocial behavior. (50–70%)
This discrepancy could / may / might be the result of contamination. (50–70%)

Could this interaction be the cause of this discrepancy? (50–70%)

nouns

In all likelihood / probability x = y. (90%)

This raises the possibility that x = y. (50–70%)
These results are consistent with the possibility that x = y. (50–70%)

adjectives

It appears possible / probable / feasible that x = y. (50–70%)
adverbs

X is unlikely to play a role in Y. (80–90%)

X is probably / likely equal to Y. (80–90%)

Possibly , X is not equal to Y. (50–70%)

X could possibly / conceivably / plausibly / ostensibly play a role in Y. (50–70%)

10.8 Saving your own face: revealing and obscuring your

identity as the author in humanist subjects
In natural sciences, authors often adopt an objective stance by writing in an imper-
sonal fashion. Writers in social and political sciences, on the other hand, tend to

have a more personal construction of reality and thus may use the first person to
persuade the reader towards their opinion.

Compare for example:

S1. I argue that the way 18–21 year-olds vote is influenced more by the physical appearance
of the candidate than the candidate’s particular political ideas.
S2. The present study / This paper argues that the way 18–21 year-olds vote is not uniform.

In S1, the author is stating something that may go against what other authors have
previously claimed and she decides to use the first person to show that this is clearly