|
|
|
|
Hedging
Aim: This page will help you to
improve your academic essay writing style by using hedging.
Introduction
When you discuss ideas or data in your written assignments, you should use
cautious rather than assertive language. This
means that you should avoid expressions such as:
| clearly |
obviously |
without a doubt |
certainly |
| undoubtedly |
definitely |
there is no doubt that |
absolutely |
You should also take care when using words like
always, never, every and
all.
The reason for this is because academic writing usually reports on research,
and in your research area there may be information that you have not found,
exceptions to the rules that you find, and the situation may change over time.
Therefore you need to use cautious language to avoid the possibility of people
saying that you are wrong. BE CAREFUL: in the academic world teachers are
looking for their students' mistakes, and researchers are looking for each
others' mistakes. Criticizing mistakes and correcting them is part of scientific
method, and is therefore common, and is regarded by researchers as a good thing
to do.
| No hedging |
Hedging |
|
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. |
The first section of the questionnaire asked the
subjects to indicate on a six-point scale how often they speak in
English in a range of non-academic situations. On the evidence of the
findings presented in Figure 1,
it would appear that tertiary students in Hong Kong generally
have little need to speak in English outside the classroom.
The evidence suggests
that undergraduates rarely communicate with their parents or
grandparents in English. This finding is perhaps not surprising as
census data indicate that
the overwhelming majority of people in Hong Kong speak Cantonese (Cheung
et al., 2003). In the intimate family domain, young people
understandably have little
need or desire to speak English, apart from special circumstances such
as preparing for English language examinations.The results indicate
that the situation in which tertiary students use English least is in
interactions with their grandparents. When interpreting this finding, it
is worth noting that recent
surveys have revealed that English is less widely known among
Hong Kong people in their sixties and seventies than those in the 40-60
and 20-40 age groups (Chan, 2004). This
largely stems from the
fact that the provision of English-medium secondary education was
limited in the 1940s and 1950s (Li, 2000). The majority of citizens in
the 60-70 age group are likely
to have received only a Chinese-medium primary education (So, 1992).
While the data in Figure 1
suggest that tertiary students
tend not to speak English
very frequently outside class, there are
apparently several
situations where spoken English has
some degree of importance
in the subjects?lives. As might be expected, the situation where the
subjects need to speak the language most is on overseas holidays. As
Cantonese is not widely
spoken outside China, it is perhaps understandable that students need to
communicate in English on trips to Europe, North America and other parts
of Asia.
As noted above, students rarely
talk to their immediate family members in English. However, it is
interesting that some of the subjects
apparently have some need
to communicate with their relatives in English.
One possible factor
behind the use of English in this situation is that their relatives live
in an English-speaking country. In the case of younger relatives (e.g.
cousins), it is possible
that they have no knowledge of Cantonese, while older relatives (e.g.
uncles, aunts) may feel
more comfortable using their adopted language.
|
Using this cautious language is called 'hedging'. A number of hedging
techniques are summarised below. They are the use of verbs,
modal verbs, adverbs,
adjectives, nouns, and
generalisation.
1. Verbs
The following 'hedging' verbs are often used in academic writing:
| suggest |
indicate |
estimate |
assume |
- The results indicate that the situation in which
tertiary students use English least is in interactions with their
grandparents.
The verbs appear and seem are used when a
writer wishes to 'distance' himself / herself from the findings (and therefore
avoid making a strong claim).
On the evidence of the findings presented in Figure 1, it would
appear that tertiary students in Hong Kong generally have little need
to speak in English outside the classroom.
Note that the writer also 'protects' himself / herself by using the phrase
on the evidence of. These expressions are used in a similar
way: according to, on the basis of,
based on.
2. Modal verbs
Another way of appearing 'confidently uncertain' is to use modal verbs such
as may, might, could and
can.
- In the case of younger relatives (e.g. cousins), it is possible that
they have no knowledge of Cantonese, while older relatives (e.g. uncles,
aunts) may feel more comfortable using their adopted
language.
3. Adverbs
The following adverbs are often used when a writer wishes to express caution.
| probably |
possibly |
perhaps |
maybe |
| apparently |
seemingly |
presumably |
conceivably |
- This finding is perhaps not surprising as census data
indicate that the overwhelming majority of people in Hong Kong speak
Cantonese (Cheung et al., 2003).
4. Adjectives
Another technique is to use an adjective.
| probable |
possible |
uncertain |
unlikely |
- One possible factor behind the use of English in this
situation is that their relatives live in an English-speaking country.
5. Nouns
The following nouns are often used in academic writing:
| probability |
possibility |
assumption |
evidence |
likelihood |
claim |
- The evidence suggests that undergraduates rarely
communicate with their parents or grandparents in English.
6. Generalisation
There are several ways in which you can qualify a generalisation.
(i) You can use the verb tend or the noun (have/be a)
tendency (to) .
While the data in Figure 1 suggest that tertiary students tend
not to speak English very frequently outside class, there are apparently several
situations where spoken English has some degree of importance in the subjects?
lives.
(ii) You can use an adverb such as:
| generally |
largely |
primarily |
for the most part |
| predominantly |
mainly |
usually |
to a great extent |
- This largely stems from the fact that the provision of
English-medium secondary education was limited in the 1940s and 1950s (Li,
2000).
(iii) You can use a qualifying expression such as most or
the majority of.
- The majority of citizens in the 60-70 age group are
likely to have received only a Chinese-medium primary education (So, 1992).
(iv) You can identify exceptions by using expressions such as apart
from, except for or with the exception of.
- In the intimate family domain, young people understandably have little
need or desire to speak English, apart from special
circumstances such as preparing for English language examinations.
Exercise
Study the following examples and decide whether they correctly hedged or not:
Last updated on: Friday, March 23, 2012Hits: 22698 visited
|
|
|
|
