Hi,
For language analysis would you lose marks if you made absolute statements? e.g. "instills fear within readers", "compels readers to..."
I've read many high-scoring essays and they seem to make such statements.
However, during my trial exam the examiner cautioned against this, advising me to say "may instill fear" and "allay possible fears".
I feel that using 'may' and 'might' weakens my language analysis. So I'm quite confused. :S
Yeah, I've heard all sort of mutually exclusive recommendations about this. The best way to think of it is on a spectrum of:
0% - a blank page :p
25% - having no assessment of what the author's doing; just summary, basically
50% - sentences like 'perhaps this makes some readers feel ___ maybe'
75% - golden mean!100% - super-definitive statements like 'all readers are made to feel completely ___'
so you're aiming for that sweet spot between 'seeming really unsure of yourself' and 'being way too confident that you're right.' The sentences you've mentioned ('this instills fear' and 'compels readers to') are both alright in my book, but the safest way of tackling this is to alter the sentence so that you're focusing on the authorial intent, or the language itself.
eg.
'Readers are made to feel afraid'
--> This is designed to elicit fear in readers.
'Thus, readers are likely to feel optimistic.'
--> Thus, the author intends to elicit a sense of optimism.
'Feelings of respect are created through the invocation of 'Professor Smarty-Pants''
--> The author's invocation of 'Professor Smarty-Pants' is included as a means of engendering respect'
etc.
That said, using the occasional 'perhaps' or 'possible' isn't going to disadvantage you. When you're sure of the analysis, don't bother, but if you're taking things a step further and aren't totally convinced you've got the right idea, those qualifiers can be good to balance things out.
Like most things, vary the vocab and the assessors won't mind. So long as your understanding of the effects is correct, and you're not going out on wild limbs by writing things like 'This encourages readers to pursue a career in journalism so that they too can write an article this awesome...'