An analysis of the 219 Rn (ground state) 215 Po * (402 keV) 215 Po (ground state) angular correlation and the corresponding linear polarization angular distribution shows that the 402 keV excited state is highly aligned in substates. A similar analysis for the 211 Bi (ground state) 207 Tl * (351 keV) 207 Tl (ground state) ! angular correlation and a linear polarization measurement at 90°shows that, in contrast, the 351 keV excited state is highly aligned in ! substates. The results enable hypotheses to be advanced about the shapes of nuclei in these excited states.