Modal verbs are one of the first language means we learn when studying the English language. However, as we craft an academic text, we have to ask ourselves if modal verbs and other means of modality are as common and appropriate in the academic style as they are in everyday communication. 

What do you think is the most common fear, regardless of gender, age, or country? Fear of public speaking is a strong contender: according to various sources, it affects up to 77% of the world's population. This is probably why the “Public Speaking Crash Course”, developed by Zhenya Bakin specially for HSE researchers, has remained popular with AWC visitors for several years.

As children, we used the mnemonic "Richard of York Gave Battle in Vain" to memorize the sequence of colors in a rainbow. This clever trick led us to believe that there are only seven colors. However, the truth is more nuanced. The number of colors in a rainbow is not fixed; it depends on how we define colors and varies across cultures and traditions from as few as three to infinity. The question is, where do we draw the line and which shades do we include or exclude? It all comes down to how we craft our definitions.