idk about all generations, or all high schools and colleges in all places

but I know that, when I was in school, you basically HAD to get comfy with using semi-dishonest weasel words (especially those relating to the questions of “where did this idea come from?” and “how sure are we that it’s true?”) in your writing, in order to do well in your classes.

this is because the rules for writing an essay were more-or-less as follows:

1. read the assigned texts. draw a conclusion from them
2. write what you learned and what your own conclusion is, and use examples to support what you concluded
3. you may NOT say that the conclusion is your own opinion. there is a strict rule against ever mentioning yourself in an essay. it makes you look unprofessional and un-objective
4. HOWEVER. if you say your conclusion is a fact instead of your opinion… then you will get points marked off for that, since it is an incorrect portrayal of the information.
5. therefore you must learn the ways of stating an opinion while suggesting, but not outright stating, that it is a proven fact
6. words like: “it is apparent…” “it can be concluded that…” and so on. these words make the reader feel as if the statement is an objective truth, but technically do not SAY so
7. you won’t be taught that it’s these words which make the difference– or how and why they are misleading. you just stumble onto them, if you’re lucky and a bit clever, and they improve your grades, and so you carry that into your life as a learned skill.

and I’m not sure just how this may have affected the way successful people talk and write in today’s world. but… I don’t think it’s good.