Rhetorical Candour: When and How to Say It Straight in Your Academic Manuscript

Lorelei Lingard

doi:10.5334/pme.2269

Abstract

This Writer’s Craft explores rhetorical candour: the art of saying what you mean and saying it straight, while remaining scholarly and credible. Through control of modality and sentence structure, writers can avoid the habitual academic hedge so that their work is nuanced where necessary and plainspoken where effective.

References

George O. Politics and the English Language. Horizon; 1946.
Search in Google Scholar Back to article
Hyland K. Writing without conviction? Hedging in science research articles. Appl Linguist. 1996;17:433–54. DOI: 10.1093/applin/17.4.433
Open DOI Search in Google Scholar Back to article
Myers G. The pragmatics of politeness in scientific articles. Appl Linguist. 1989;10:1–35. DOI: 10.1093/applin/10.1.1
Open DOI Search in Google Scholar Back to article
Molloy E, Bearman M. Embracing the tension between vulnerability and credibility: ‘intellectual candour’ in health professions education. Med Educ. 2019;53:32–41. DOI: 10.1111/medu.13649
Open DOI Search in Google Scholar Back to article
Scott K. Radical candor How to get what you want by saying what you mean. Pan Books; 2019.
Search in Google Scholar Back to article
Toulmin S. The Uses of Argument. Cambridge University Press; 1958.
Search in Google Scholar Back to article
Brown P, Levinson SC. Politeness: Some Universals in Language Usage. Cambridge University Press; 1987. DOI: 10.1017/CBO9780511813085
Open DOI Search in Google Scholar Back to article
Lingard L, Watling C. The Academic Hedge, Part II: Getting Politeness Right in Your Research Writing. In: Story, Not Study: 30 Brief Lessons to Inspire Health Researchers as Writers. Innovation and Change in Professional Education, vol 19. Springer, Cham; 2021. DOI: 10.1007/978-3-030-71363-8_22
Open DOI Search in Google Scholar Back to article
Salager-Meyer F. Scientific discourse and contrastive linguistics: Hedging. European Science Editing. 2011;37:35–37.
Search in Google Scholar Back to article
Kojima T, Popiel HA. Effective Use of Hedging in Scientific Manuscripts: Advice to Non-Native English-Speaking Researchers. J Korean Med Sci. 2023 May 1;38(17):e152. PMID: 37128879; PMCID: PMC10151619. DOI: 10.3346/jkms.2023.38.e152
Open DOI Search in Google Scholar Back to article
Refnwrite. Hedging Techniques in Academic Writing with Examples. Accessed Feb 4, 2026; 2024. https://www.ref-n-write.com/blog/hedging-techniques-in-academic-writing-with-examples/.
Search in Google Scholar Back to article
Lingard L. The academic hedge Part I: Modal tuning in your research writing. Perspect Med Educ. 2020;9:107–110. DOI: 10.1007/S40037-019-00559-Y
Open DOI Search in Google Scholar Back to article
Anderson M, et al. What Do Mentoring and Training in the Responsible Conduct of Research Have To Do with Scientists’ Misbehavior? Findings from a National Survey of NIH-Funded Scientists. Academic Medicine. 2007;82(9):853–860. DOI: 10.1097/ACM.0b013e31812f764c
Open DOI Search in Google Scholar Back to article
Lingard L, Watling C. The writer’s voice repertoire: Exploring how health researchers accomplish a distinctive ‘voice’ in their writing. Med Educ. 2024;58(5):523–534. DOI: 10.1111/medu.15298
Open DOI Search in Google Scholar Back to article

Rhetorical Candour: When and How to Say It Straight in Your Academic Manuscript

Abstract

Paradigm

My account