ABSTRACT
This very detailed chapter teaches how to clarify an argument, one of the most difficult tasks for any writer, particularly those writing in English as a lingua franca. Numerous examples and suggestions show how to incorporate words or phrases into a basic sentence to clarify or enhance the meaning. More detailed tables and explanations are available online. For the third of the 7Cs of Change, connection, this chapter demonstrates how both verbs and adjectives/adverbs can be used to highlight ways the current research connects with previous work, expanding on it and making a unique contribution to knowledge. This is followed by a section on using logical, temporal, and continuity connectors to help readers follow the argument. Connotation, the fourth of the 7Cs, is one of the hardest skills to master, but is vital to writing supportable claims. This section considers how to add various types of qualifiers, modals, delimiters, and hedges to modify claims and make them both easier to support and less offensive to readers who may have developed the techniques the current research is attempting to surpass. The importance of precision in the use of statistical terms is also addressed.
