THE INCREDIBLE HYPERBOLE!!!

In reference to rhetoric, "hyperbole" is a general term denoting any quality of exaggeration. One way in which writers needlessly stoop to hyperbole is in the use of the exclamation point. Exclamatory sentences rarely have a place in academic writing. Seasoned academic prose writers will have learned how to use an exclamation with rhetorically appropriate dramatic effect. Unskilled writers, however, use the exclamation to melodramatic effect--a cheap ploy to arouse the emotional involvement of the reader.

However, hyperbole is most often found in figurative descriptions (e.g., "To discover that he could actually cook was nothing short of a divine revelation"), figurative comparisons (e.g., "a headache like a million ice picks chipping away at her head"), and common clichès (e.g., "Last night it rained cats and dogs"). Descriptive and narrative writing sometimes depends on hyperbole every now and again to convey a sense of character in the narrator--which sometimes can cause the narrator to be unreliable.

In academic writing, however, hyperbole should be avoided for several good reasons. Firstly, hyperbole frequently takes the form of a clichè, which is a problem in its own right because it dodges the responsibility of precise language and can exclude readers not familiar with the cultural context of the expression. Secondly, hyperbole belies an absence of objectivity in one's tone. Although academic prose is rarely objective in content, it nonetheless strives to be objective in its voice. Hyperboles express a false sense of excitement or an exaggerated sense of intensity. Thirdly, hyperboles risk redundancy in some cases. Consider, for example, the following: "The human journey from conception to birth is an amazing voyage of life itself." How many of the descriptors and metaphors in this sentence are necessary to connote that, when one takes into consideration the human gestation period, one will likely find it interesting? Fourthly, and perhaps most importantly, hyperbole makes the writer incredible--literally. (I use both words here in their literal meaning, too). The flagrant abandonment of an objective voice with the use of hyperbole makes the writer suspect in so far as she cannot be trusted to be making reasonable and reliable claims. As a result, her credibility is damaged.

The onus is upon the writer of academic prose, then, to avoid hyperbole in favor of accurate, precise and reasonable language. This perhaps sounds as though it will lead to flat, soulless prose. However, creativity and style may yet prevail in the writer's turning of a phrase if the intention is to elicit a measured emotional response rather than a highly excited one; ultimately, the rhetorical effect of this will be to augment the intellectual response.

AN INCOMPLETE LIST OF COMMON HYPERBOLES
DESCRIPTORS (Adverbs and Adjectives)	PHRASES and EXPRESSIONS (Note: Among these are clichès as well.)
absolute(ly)	ad nauseam
actually	against all odds
amazing(ly)	all the time
awesome	barrage of questions, a
breathtaking	bewildering array of, a
completely	beyond a shadow of a doubt
constant(ly)	beyond belief
countless	beyond
endless(ly)	could not fathom it
exact(ly)	couldn't care less
extra-	did everything I could
flawless(ly)	each and every time
forever	earth-shattering
frighteningly	endless supply of, an
great(ly)	entirely too good
highly	everything they can (could)
honestly	freaking out
horrific	give a hundred and ten percent
huge	going crazy
immeasurably	greatly overrated
immediately	hysterically funny
incredibly	in actual reality
indescribable	in an instant
infinitely (infinitesimally)	in his (her; their) entire life
literally	in the entire world
meaningless	inconceivable truth, the
nearly	just about
outrageous(ly)	leaving no stone unturned
overwhelming(ly)	myriad of, a
perpetual(ly)	needless to say
precisely	no time to spare (to lose)
really	no way, shape or form
routinely	not in a million years
so	off the scale (map)
spectacular	only time, the
superb(ly)	plied with
total(ly)	search the world over
tremendous(ly)	since the beginning of time
truly	staggering number of
ultimate	thousand times over
ultra-	till the ends of the Earth
unbelievable	tons of (style; money; experience; etc.)
unquestionably	undeniable truth of the matter, the
utter(ly)	under no circumstances
very	without a doubt
virtually	without exception

© 2005 Karl J. Sherlock