Say how a claim is known, not just how strongly you believe it.
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Two hedges that look like the same move. One of them tells the reader something the other does not.
The delay was probably caused by the supply shortage.
The delay was presumably caused by the supply shortage.
Both hedge. Both decline to state it flatly. Both would be marked correct.
What does the second one add?
Not confidence — if anything presumably is slightly less confident. It adds something else, and naming it is this sprint.
Eighteen situations, no adverbs. Decide what kind of certainty each one involves before the words arrive.
Sort each item into the correct category
Six adverbs across four kinds of claim — and the two that most candidates use to mean something they do not mean.
| What you are claiming | Adverb | What it commits you to |
|---|---|---|
| I reasoned it out | presumably | the facts point here, and a reader with the same facts would agree |
| I am naming a possibility | conceivably | it could happen — and explicitly not that it is likely |
| It can be shown | demonstrably | you could produce the demonstration if challenged |
| It was said without ambiguity | unequivocally | about the wording of a statement |
| It was said absolutely | categorically | about the absence of any exception in a statement |
| Somebody claims it | purportedly | and you are declining to vouch for it |
Notice that the six do not sit on one scale. Presumably is not a weaker demonstrably — they are answers to different questions.
Eight adverbs, eight claims. Match each to the thing you would be committing yourself to.
Terms
Definitions
Six claims with their evidence stated. Choose the adverb that matches the basis you actually have.
Each item tells you exactly what you know and how you know it. Choose the adverb whose claim matches.
In two of the six, the plain word is correct — because naming a basis you do not have is worse than naming none at all.
Two matched groups were measured before and after under identical conditions, and the treated group improved by 22% against the control's 3%. Which adverb?
Three chains. Name the basis you actually have before you name the adverb.
Chain 1
What you have: a published dataset in which the stated regional total does not equal the sum of its four listed components.
Candidates: presumably / demonstrably
Step 1 — How do you know it, and could you produce the demonstration?
Step 2 — Therefore the expert writes: The published total is incorrect.
Chain 2
What you have: a company statement describing a supplier audit as independent, and no information about who carried it out.
Candidates: demonstrably / purportedly
Step 1 — Whose claim is this, and are you vouching for it?
Step 2 — Therefore the expert writes: The independent audit found no breaches.
Chain 3
What you have: one firm's staff turnover, which fell in the two years after it introduced flexible hours. No comparison group, and no other explanation ruled out.
Candidates: demonstrably / probably
Step 1 — What kind of basis is a before-and-after figure with nothing ruled out?
Step 2 — Therefore the expert writes: The change contributed to the fall in turnover.