Strong Tone

Does anyone know what it means to use “a strong and authoritative tone” in a research paper?

The other answerers are definitely on the right track.

Use an active voice, not a passive voice (as csigeoffrey suggests). Don’t flip-flop in your positions. Avoid using words that suggest uncertainty, like ‘maybe’. This is also part of the reason why essays should absolutely *never* include the phrase “I think”.

(On rare occasions, it’s acceptable to include a phrase such as “in the opinion of the author”…but the only case I can think of where I read it and didn’t think it was wholly inappropriate was when an author was speculating about how appellate courts would regard a point of law. I still think there may have been better ways for him to frame his point.)

Conversely, something to remember is that “strong and authoritative” does not mean “oblivious or dismissive of opposing positions”. That’s one of the more delicate aspects of essay-writing, in that you don’t want to compromise the strength of your position by accepting the other side’s arguments, but you don’t want to compromise the apparent integrity of your position by ignoring the strengths of opposing arguments. As a consequence, the treatment of opposing positions is what will often make or break an essay.

The Wolfe Tones Big Strong Man