When is it okay to use 'weasel words', like may, might, could, perhaps, possibly, potentially etc.?
Is it at all acceptable to use them in an essay, e.g. a History essay?
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2There is no right or wrong answer to this. The only real answer is "you can get away with it when you can get away with it" (which should also demonstrate the problem with weasel words). I think a better approach is to pause, reflect, and ask yourself "why do I want to include these words?". What is your motivation? If it's something like "Well, I can't find any sources to support it..", then back up one step and say "so what makes me believe it enough to include it?". You say "well, it makes logical sense"... and the light begins to break. Can you make a logical argument? Etc etc.– Dan BronCommented Nov 12, 2018 at 19:17
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3What you call "weasel words" might look to others as prudent recognition that some things that look like facts may merely represent probabilities.– RobustoCommented Nov 12, 2018 at 19:22
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1I'd like you to answer the question I asked in my previous comment (and alluded to in the first). Why this factor and not that factor or the price of tea in China? Everyone understands you can't prove intent, but to the extent you can make an argument this particular factor was likely to influence the politician, it strengthens your essay, and raises a defense against charges of weasel-wording. And you'll get better marks from your prof, because this is what he's looking for. Don't just say this factor could be an influence, tell us why.– Dan BronCommented Nov 12, 2018 at 19:24
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1I'm not sure this is on topic for this stack. In any case, as it is this is about writing style, you might get a better answer at Writing.– tmgrCommented Nov 12, 2018 at 20:02
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1I'm flagging this as too broad/POB, since as it's currently worded it's hard to see how there could be a definitive answer and instead it's likely to invite a range of personal views. I support @tmgr's suggestion that migrating it to Writing might be appropriate, though even there it may be too broad - I'd recommend narrowing the scope to some specific examples that test what might be suitable or unsuitable.– Chappo Hasn't ForgottenCommented Nov 13, 2018 at 2:06
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1 Answer
The term "weasel words" is a pejorative put in place by rhetoricians that see words like "probably" or "potentially" as conveying a lack of conviction in the writer's argument or ideas. In the realm of statistical data and empiricism, however, they serve a vital purpose in managing expectations and accurately representing uncertainty around certain results and findings.
It is worth pointing out that in the sciences (hard and social) the use of these words is always accompanied by evidence to back up the assertion, they are not used in lieu of evidence. If you say something is "probably true", you'd best have some verifiable facts to back up that claim. This is equally the case in a history paper as in the documentation for a physics experiment.
If accuracy of objective information is important, then weasel away. If you're trying to convey your personal thoughts, then stick to strong, confident verbiage.
