ENG333 Week 8

1. Which of the two sentences below use
cautious language?
1. Water shortages trigger conflict between
nations.
2. Water shortages may trigger conflict between
nations.

2. Hedging

3. Learning Outcome
1. Use hedging or cautious language in research paper
writing

4. Hedging
 Because research and theories are being developed and updated all
the time, writers tend to use cautious or tentative language.
 This is sometimes called “Hedging”
 The language used in academic writing should reflect the amount of
strength of evidence to support a topic or claim.
Which sentence is an example of “hedging”?
1. The data in Figure 1 suggest that tertiary students tend not to speak
English very frequently outside class .
2. It is obvious that students never speak English outside class.
Which sentence is an example of “hedging”?
1. The data in Figure 1 suggest that tertiary students tend not to
speak English very frequently outside class .
2. It is obvious that students never speak English outside class.

5. 1. The fire was probably caused by a fault in the engine
temperature gauge.
2. The fire could have been caused by a fault in the engine
temperature gauge.
 The use of the word ‘probably’ in the sentence above indicates
that the evidence is fairly strong.
 In the second sentence, the more tentative word ‘could’ was
selected, indicating that the evidence is weak.
 Paying due attention to accuracy helps to avoid, or at least
reduce, criticism of your work. Viewed from this perspective,
hedging has a persuasive function.

6. Four reasons to hedge
Hedging….
1. reduces the risk of opposition.
2. is more precise in reporting results.
3. shows the writer as humble rather than arrogant
or all-knowing.
4. shows awareness of academic writing style in
English.

7. Using cautious language / Hedging
 When you discuss ideas or data in your written assignments, you
should use cautious rather than assertive language. This means
that you should avoid adverbs such as:
clearly obviously
without a
doubt
certainly
undoubtedly definitely
there is no
doubt that
absolutely
(result / evidence) is / shows that / says that / proves
Or verbs like

8. Cautious language
Language that is not cautious
 There is no doubt that Jennings’ (2010) research shows that smoking
tobacco causes lung cancer.
 Smith’s (2011) evidence proves that greenhouse gases definitely have
an effect on the climate.
Cautious language
 Jennings’ (2010) research would appear to show that smoking
tobacco may cause lung cancer.
 Smith’s (2011) evidence suggests that greenhouse gases may have an
effect on the climate.

9. 9
Language used in hedging
Type Examples
Introductory verbs: doubt, be sure, indicate, think, believe,
suggest, seem, tend, look like, appear to be
Certain modal verbs: will, must, would, may, might, could
Certain lexical verbs: suggest, believe, assume

10. 10
Cont… Language used in hedging
Modal adjectives: certain, definite, clear, probable, possible
Adverbs of frequency: often, sometimes, usually
Modal adverbs: certainly, definitely, clearly, probably,
possibly, perhaps, conceivably,

11. 11
Cont…Language used in hedging
Modal nouns assumption, possibility, probability
That clauses It could be the case that .
It might be suggested that .
There is every hope that .
To-clause + adjective It may be possible to obtain .
It is important to develop .
It is useful to study .
Source: http://www.uefap.com/writing/feature/hedge.htm

12. 12
Hedging language: Looking at it
again
A wide range of words and phrases can be used in hedging:
 Modal auxiliary verbs: can, could, may, might, should, would
 Other modal verbs: appear, look, seem, tend
 Probability adjectives: likely, possible, probable, unlikely
 Probability adverbs: perhaps, possibly, probably, presumably
 Frequency adverbs: generally, occasionally, often, seldom,
usually
www.ncl.ac.uk › ... › Learning resources › Academic language & style

13. Practice 1: Identify the hedges
1. It may be said that the commitment to
some of the social and economic
concepts was less strong than it is now.
2. The lives they chose may seem overly
ascetic and self-denying to most
women today.
3. Weismann suggested that animals
become old because, if they did not,
there could be no successive
replacement of individuals and hence
no evolution.
1. The commitment to some of the social and
economic concepts was less strong than it
is now.
2. The lives they chose are overly ascetic and
self-denying to most women today.
3. Weismann proved that animals become old
because, if they did not, there could be no
successive replacement of individuals and
hence no evolution.
(Consider the difference meaning?)
13
1. It may be said that the commitment to
some of the social and economic
concepts was less strong than it is now.
2. The lives they chose may seem overly
ascetic and self-denying to most
women today.
3. Weismann suggested that animals
become old because, if they did not,
there could be no successive
replacement of individuals and hence
no evolution.

14. Exercise 1: Highlight cautious language in the below
paragraph on Alcohol Use among College Students

15. Exercise 2: Look
the paragraph
below (from the
same article).
Cross out the
words/parts that
are not hedged
enough (not
written cautiously
enough). Improve
the sentences.

16. Apply hedging in the following sentences
1. There is no doubt that forests are the most important thing in the
world.
2. Research clearly proves that it is much better for your health to
drink red wine than beer.
3. Organic food obviously tastes better.
4. Marijuana is definitely not a beneficial choice in our lives.
5. As we all know, plastic surgery always has many negative side
effects.

17. Sample Answers:
1. Forests seem to be the most important things in the world.
2. Research suggests that it is much better for your health to
drink red wine than beer.
3. Organic food generally tastes better.
4. Marijuana appears not a beneficial choice in our lives.
5. Plastic surgery usually has many negative side effects.

18. Week 8 Assignment
Rewrite these sentences using hedging language.
1. Playing violent video games causes more aggression, bullying, and fighting
2. Mars is the focus of much scientific study and the foremost planet for human colonization.
3. News reports can never be trusted because of media bias, journalist interpretation and agenda setting.
4. The main concerns for the future generations are global food supplies and population growth. Both of these
have to be addressed by international leaders within the next five years
5. Most people think that Climate Change is caused by human activities.
6. The key factor of divorce is gender hierarchy and gender inequality.
7. The impact of the UK’s ageing population will lead to increased welfare costs. Consequently, this will result
in higher taxes and an increased retirement age for younger people.
8. Everybody agrees that the main cause of the financial crash was subprime mortgage lending.

19. Rewrite the paragraph below using
hedging language
 Let’s now talk about the data in Figure 1. First and foremost, it’s crystal clear that students
don’t have many opportunities to speak English outside the classroom. You can tell this
because all the means are under 3.00. Clearly, PolyU students don’t have any need to
speak to parents, etc. in English. This is undoubtedly because their family members are
Cantonese speakers. Obviously, there’s no point in speaking English when everyone can
speak Cantonese. As you can see, PolyU students never speak to their grandparents in
English. This is not surprising because, as we all know, old people in Hong Kong can’t
speak English. That’s because the education system wasn’t very good in the past. You
can see, though, that there are a few situations (overseas holidays and so on) where
students do get a golden opportunity to use their English, even though this is not really
very often. In a nutshell, then, the data in Figure 1 prove that PolyU students don’t speak
English much outside the classroom.

20. Follow-up assignment
 Now write a paragraph you might want to use (or have
already used) in your own literature review, making sure
your language is cautious.
 Peer-check

21. Practice