How to express levels of certainty

You can use different levels of certainty to indicate your level of confidence in the strength of your claim and that of others.

To decide on your level of certainty, ask yourself these three questions:

  1. How certain am I of my claim?
  2. How narrowly or broadly do I want my claim to apply?
  3. What hedging words do I use?

You can imagine these levels of certainty as a ‘certainty barometer’, ranging from low to moderate to high (Lingard, 2020, p. 108):

Low certaintyModerate High certainty

Adverbs:

  • “seldom”
  • “highly difficult”
  • “sometimes”
  • “possibly”

Adverbs:

  • “likely”
  • “probably”
  • “generally”
  • “usually”

Adverbs:

  • “increasingly”
  • “definitely”
  • “never”
  • “specifically”

Verbs:

  • “may”
  • “might”
  • “could”
  • “offer”
  • “consider”
  • “suggest”
  • “think”
  • “note”

Verbs:

  • “can”
  • “would”
  • “ought to”
  • “tend to”
  • “appear to”
  • “comment”
  • “show”
  • “observe”

Verbs:

  • “must”
  • “will”
  • “should”
  • “maintain”
  • “warn”
  • “emphasise”
  • “argue”
  • “know”

However, keep in mind that these adverbs and verbs can move across these levels of certainty, meaning that their usage is relational and contextual. You can also draw on a mixture of these hedging adverbs and verbs as well as adjectives and nouns to express a more nuanced claim.


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