Hype Annotation Guidelines as used in submission to EACL 2026
Hype or not? Formalizing Automatic Promotional Language Detection in Biomedical Research
Bojan Batalo, Erica K. Shimomoto, Dipesh Satav, Neil Millar
These guidelines help annotators decide whether an adjective, in a given context, is being used promotionally or not. The following sections provide:
- An overview of the general annotation criteria,
- Explanations of the criteria, and
- Links to adjective-specific guidance for NOVELTY and RIGOUR
1. Overview of annotation criteria
| Order | Decision | Type | Effect |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Value-judgement | Gatekeeping | If NO → NOT HYPE (stop) |
| 2 | Hyperbolic | Strong override | If YES → HYPE (stop) |
| 3 | Gratuitous | Hype-trigger | If YES → HYPE |
| 4 | Amplified | Hype-trigger | If YES → HYPE |
| 5 | Coordinated | Hype-trigger | If YES → HYPE |
| 6 | Broader context | Tie-breaker | When ambiguous: if context strengthens promotional force → HYPE; if it limits promotional force (grounds given and/or hedged/relative framing) → NOT HYPE |
Decision flow (priority logic)
Value-judgement?
├── NO → NOT HYPE
└── YES
│
▼
Hyperbolic?
├── YES → HYPE
└── NO
│
▼
Gratuitous?
├── YES → HYPE
└── NO
│
▼
Amplified?
├── YES → HYPE
└── NO
│
▼
Coordinated (stacked with other hype candidates)?
├── YES → HYPE
└── NO
│
▼
Broader context (when ambiguous):
Does the nearby context overall strengthen or limit the promotional force?
├── Strengthens (other hype / amplification) → HYPE
└── Limits (grounds or hedging/relative) → NOT HYPE
2. Explanation of the criteria
Each step below corresponds to the steps in the table above. Follow them in order.
Step 1. Value-judgement
Question: Does the adjective imply a positive value judgement?
YES → Continue to Step 2.
- Most adjectives will imply a value judgement. This includes priority claims:
- Our study will be the first to …
NO → NOT HYPE
- Typically acronyms, technical/domain-specific meaning, or literal uses:
- To aid these efforts, Creative Scientist, Inc. (CSI) …
- In the first aim we test the hypothesis …
Step 2. Hyperbolic
Question: Is the adjective hyperbolic or exaggerated?
YES → HYPE
- A relatively closed / unambiguous class (often pre-determinable):
- revolutionary; unprecedented; unparalleled; groundbreaking
NO → Continue to Step 3.
Step 3. Gratuitous
Question: Is the adjective gratuitous, adding little to the propositional content?
YES → HYPE
- If removed, the propositional content and structural integrity of the sentence remain basically unchanged (often attributive use):
- To address this, we developed 2 innovative technologies.
- Delivering SGR interventions via text messaging is an innovative (one) way to increase the reach of this cessation intervention …
- Redundant / tautological use (e.g., “novel” adds little beyond the surrounding wording):
- discovered a novel gene
NO → Continue to Step 4.
- If removed, the propositional content of the sentence would be substantially altered:
- This is a high risk and high impact project that uses a novel approach to aggressively treat local-regional disease.
- Justification is provided for the claim (often predicative use):
- The proposed study is innovative because no previous research has identified how MBC …
Step 4. Amplified
Question: Is the strength of the adjective amplified (made stronger through modifiers or framing)?
YES → HYPE
- Modifier amplification:
- truly novel; highly innovative; completely unique; etc.
NO → Continue to Step 5.
Step 5. Coordinated
Question: Is the adjective coordinated with other hype candidates (adjective stacking)?
YES → HYPE
- Coordinated/stacked evaluatives:
- innovative and creative leader
- …creative, collaborative, and culturally diverse translational scientists.
NO → Continue to Step 6.
Step 6. Broader context
Use when ambiguous.
Question: Does the surrounding sentence/nearby text overall strengthen or limit the promotional force?
- Strengthens: other potential hype terms or overt amplification nearby
- Limits: grounds are given (justification/operationalization), or relative/hedged framing restricts the claim (e.g., more X, lack of X, need for X, may be X)
Decision:
- If context strengthens overall → HYPE
- If context limits overall → NOT HYPE
Examples:
- This transformative work will be the first study to achieve this level of … (HYPE)
- The faculty has an outstanding track record of creative and high-profile research, superb mentoring, and robust research funding, and thus attracts outstanding trainees. (HYPE)
- Thus, there is a need for more careful study … (NOT HYPE)
- The lack of accurate tools for clinical diagnosis … (NOT HYPE)
- It is accurate to within a few percent … (NOT HYPE)
3. Adjective specific guidance
For guidance on specific adjectives, see the category and adjective pages below.