matteroffactness

Matter-of-factness is a discourse quality characterized by presenting information in a straightforward, unembellished, and evidence-based manner. It emphasizes clarity, verifiability, and a neutral tone, aiming to minimize rhetorical flourish, personal sentiment, or speculative interpretation.

Key features include concise sentence structure, minimal evaluative language, and a focus on observable data or established facts. Statements are often framed to reduce persuasion through emotion or bias, while still allowing for logical argument or inference grounded in evidence. This style does not simply mean the absence of opinion; it reflects an intentional stance that foregrounds facts and their relation to claims.

In practice, matter-of-factness appears in journalism, scientific writing, technical documentation, and other fields that prize accuracy and reproducibility. It can also appear in literary or cinematic voice as a deliberate mode to create distance, enhance realism, or highlight contrast between stated facts and implicit meaning.

The term draws on the idiom matter of fact, which has long described ordinary, unadorned presentation. The noun form, matter-of-factness, is used in criticism and rhetoric to describe this particular stance or voice, and it is often discussed alongside related ideals such as objectivity, neutrality, and plain language.

Critiques note that, while valuable for clarity, matter-of-factness can feel cold or dismissive and may obscure context, ethics, or nuance. It is not universally appropriate, especially in discussions involving sensitive topics or moral evaluation, where additional interpretive framing may be required.