Cheat sheet: Signals, Drills, Targets

A) Signal families to underline

• Stance verbs: argue, claim, contend, concede, dismiss, endorse.
• Loaded adjectives: flawed, compelling, premature, negligible, robust.
• Hedges, softeners that limit force: may, might, tends to, to some extent, appears to.
• Boosters, strength markers: clearly, indeed, undoubtedly, decisively.
• Contrast markers: however, yet, nevertheless, by contrast, while.
• Attribution cues: according to X, critics suggest, supporters maintain.

Benchmark tags: positive support, qualified support, neutral report, skeptical, critical, cautiously optimistic.

B) Ten micro drills

1. 60 second skim: Read a paragraph, circle hedges and boosters. Decide tone: cautious or confident.
2. Pivot hunt: Find however or yet, mark before and after. Which side carries the writer’s voice
3. Adjective test: Replace a loaded adjective with neutral. If meaning drops, the word signals attitude.
4. Attribution split: Underline others’ views in one colour, the writer’s stance in another.
5. Quote filter: If a sentence quotes a strong claim, check if the next line distances it with hedges.
6. Verb swap: Change argue to suggest or insist. Rate tone shift 0 to 2.
7. Negation trap: Flag hardly, scarcely, far from, not necessarily. These flip meaning.
8. List lens: If three points are listed, note whether the conclusion favors one side.
9. Title check: Compare title tone with final paragraph. If they differ, the conclusion sets true stance.
10. Ten second line test: In a single line, name the stance using one of the benchmark tags.

Measured targets: 80 percent correct stance calls on a 10 paragraph set by week two. Average 25 to 40 seconds per paragraph.

C) Worked examples

Example 1
Text: The trial results are promising, yet the sample size is insufficient, so any claims remain premature.
Readout: Positive noun promising + two limiting adjectives insufficient, premature + hedge remain.
Call: Cautiously optimistic attitude, cautious tone.

Example 2
Text: Advocates insist the scheme will work. However, independent audits reveal serious flaws.
Readout: Attribution to advocates, then contrast to audits with negative loaded noun flaws.
Call: Critical attitude, decisive tone.

D) Mini case, Dhaka candidate

Rifat kept misreading neutral passages. In a history article he chose supportive because it said the policy had many advantages. He missed the hedge cluster to some extent, remains unclear, limited data. After a week of drills, he underlined hedges first, then judged tone. In a mock he switched answers on two items when nevertheless flipped the direction. His accuracy rose from 6 of 10 to 9 of 10 stance questions.

E) Templates you can apply during exams

• Neutral report: According to X, Y occurred, no evaluative word from the writer.
• Qualified support: While A has limits, the evidence suggests B is feasible.
• Critical stance: Proponents overstate benefits, and the data fails to support their claim.
• Synthesis line: On balance, the approach works best when conditions C and D hold.

F) Mistakes to avoid

• Confusing quoted views with writer stance: According to critics introduces other voices. Look for the writer’s follow up line.
• Ignoring hedges: might, appears to, arguably, often signal reservation.
• Double negatives: not insignificant means fairly significant.
• Overweighting titles or abstracts: the conclusion paragraph usually states the true stance.
• Assuming sarcasm: rare in academic prose. Prefer a cautious call unless irony is obvious.

G) Edge cases

• Layered stance: Writer praises the goal but criticizes the method. Tag both, supportive goal, critical method.
• Concession-first style: Although widely used, the tool is unreliable. The although clause concedes, the main clause holds the stance.
• Data-only tone: If a passage lists figures with no evaluative lexis, tag neutral report.
• Understatement: Phrases like not ideal, less than perfect often imply strong criticism.

H) Rapid practice set you can build

Create a table with three columns: sentence, signals, stance label. Fill with 12 lines from newspapers or reports. Time yourself, 6 minutes total, then review with a teacher or peer. Aim to reduce average decision time by 5 seconds each week.

Mini glossary

• Attitude: the writer’s opinion toward the topic, supportive or critical.
• Tone: how the attitude sounds, cautious, neutral, decisive.
• Hedge: a softener that limits force, for example may, to some extent.
• Booster: a strength marker, for example clearly, indeed.
• Attribution: crediting a view to a source, for example according to X.
• Concession: admitting a point from the other side before giving your stance.

Actionable closing
Print the signal families and the ten drills. For seven days, mark hedges and contrast words before anything else, then label stance in one line. Build the three column table with 12 real sentences this week, and retest on Sunday. In your next essay or summary, write one synthesis line that names a condition, for example works best when funding is stable.