Hedging 2

Sabanci University Writing Fall 2005
Hedging Language
Emma Jake
TASK 1 
Emma and Jake have different ways of writing and speaking. Emma is very
subjective and usually over-generalises but Jake is more objective when
looking at things. Who do you think wrote these statements?
All Turkish pop singers sing about love.

It is said that the earthquake was caused by the weather.
Generally, the holiday was great.
Eating fish and yoghurt will surely lead to stomachache.
Dogs often protect their owners.
English people always drink tea with milk.
Highly intelligent children tend to misbehave due to boredom.
Everyone knows how to read and write.
TASK 2 
What do you think about Emma’s sentences?
Are they really true?
How did Jake make his statements less over-general?
Why are his statements better?
 Choose the best answer A, B or C

Hedging Language is useful because it helps you to:
A sound more intelligent

B be more objective
C avoid telling the truth
Hedging Language 1
TASK 3 
The hedging language in the box can be used in speaking or writing and will help
you to avoid over-generalising. It is now recognised that an important feature of
academic writing is the concept of cautious language, often called "hedging" or
"vague language". In other words, it is necessary to make decisions about your
stance on a particular subject, or the strength of the claims you are making.
Read the table below. Which ones do you already know?
Language used in hedging:
e.g. seem, tend, look like, appear to be, think, believe,

1. Introductory indicate, suggest
verbs:
2. Certain lexical
verbs e.g. believe, assume, suggest
3. Certain modal e.g. will, must, would, may, might, could

verbs:
4. Adverbs of
frequency e.g. often, sometimes, usually, hardly ever
e.g. probably, possibly, perhaps, conceivably,
4. Modal adverbs
5. Modal adjectives e.g. probable, possible
6. Modal nouns e.g. assumption, possibility, probability
e.g. It could be the case that …

7. That clauses e.g. It might be suggested that …
e.g. Research suggests/indicates that …
e.g. It is possible that…
8. To-clause + e.g. It may be possible to obtain …

adjective e.g. It is important to develop …
e.g. It is useful to study …
9. e.g. Most / Many / Some / Several …

Quantifiers
Hedging Language 2
TASK 4 
Change these sentences of Emma’s using hedging language in parenthesis and
take out any over-general language
1. All people are afraid of snakes. (many)

_____________________________________________________
2. I will definitely pass the exam. (probably)
_____________________________________________________
3. Children always prefer sweets to fruit. (generally)
_____________________________________________________
4. Old people find using computers difficult. (tend to)
_____________________________________________________
5. In the future, e-books will be widely available. (might)
_____________________________________________________
6. The driver was surely drunk. (it is possible that)
_____________________________________________________
7. If you smoke, you will have health problems. (are more likely to)
_____________________________________________________
10. Nowadays, people are more interested in global politics. (seem to be)
TASK 5 
The sentences are taken from the paragraphs about student stress and
psychological well-being.
1. Families and teachers always force the students to study more. (usually)
____________________________________________________
2. Parental pressure is an important reason for students’ stress. (modal)
____________________________________________________
3. Especially in Turkey, parents want their children to have popular jobs. (many)
____________________________________________________
4. 40% of young people in Turkey are not satisfied with the education they have.
(Research suggests that…)
____________________________________________________
5. People who have close relationships have are more successful than other
people. (be believed to …)
____________________________________________________
Hedging Language 3
Also check this website:
http://www.ceu.hu/writing/sfaccess.html
Features of academic writing

Hedging
EXAMPLES
Compare the following:
1. It may be said that the commitment to some of the social and economic
concepts was less strong than it is now.
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.
The lives they chose 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.
Weismann proved that animals become old because, if they did not,
there could be no successive replacement of individuals and hence no
evolution.
4. Yet often it cannot have been the case that a recalcitrant trustee
remained in possession of the property entrusted to him.
Yet a recalcitrant trustee did not remain in possession of the property
entrusted to him.
5. Recent work on the religious demography of Northern Ireland indicates
a separating out of protestant and catholic, with the catholic population
drifting westwards and vice versa.
Recent work on the religious demography of Northern Ireland shows a
separating out of protestant and catholic, with the catholic population
drifting westwards and vice versa.
6. By analogy, it may be possible to walk from one point in hilly country to
another by a path which is always level or uphill, and yet a straight line
between the points would cross a valley.
By analogy, one can walk from one point in hilly country to another by a
Hedging Language 4
path which is always level or uphill, and yet a straight line between the
points would cross a valley.
7. There are certainly cases where this would seem to have been the only
possible method of transmission.
There are cases where this would have been the only possible method
of transmission.
8. Nowadays the urinary symptoms seem to be of a lesser order.
Nowadays the urinary symptoms are of a lesser order.
Try the following exercises: 1. Hedging

Exercises
Exercise 1
Identify the hedging expressions in the following sentences.
1. There is no difficulty in explaining how a structure such as an eye or a
feather contributes to survival and reproduction; the difficulty is in
thinking of a series of steps by which it could have arisen.
2. For example, it is possible to see that in January this person weighed
60.8 kg for eight days,
3. For example, it may be necessary for the spider to leave the branch on
which it is standing, climb up the stem, and walk out along another
branch.
4. Escherichia coli, when found in conjunction with urethritis, often
indicate infection higher in the uro-genital tract.
5. There is experimental work to show that a week or ten days may not be
long enough and a fortnight to three weeks is probably the best
theoretical period.
6. Conceivably, different forms, changing at different rates and showing
contrasting combinations of characteristics, were present in different
areas.
7. One possibility is that generalized latent inhibition is likely to be
weaker than that produced by pre-exposure to the CS itself and thus is
more likely to be susceptible to the effect of the long interval.
8. For our present purpose, it is useful to distinguish two kinds of
chemical reaction, according to whether the reaction releases energy or
requires it.
9. It appears to establish three categories: the first contains wordings
generally agreed to be acceptable, the second wordings which appear to
have been at some time problematic but are now acceptable, and the
third wordings which remain inadmissible.
Press this button to check your answers:
Hedging Language 5
Phrases used when Hedging
to a large extent seem(s) to demonstrate largely

that
there is some may/can/might
generally
evidence that
at least (5 reasons) often it appears
possible/possibly point to probably
suggest(s) in some (many/most) cases there seems to be
likely It would seem difficult to Arguably
accept that
...would seem to In general I agree with It is generally
indicate that... X...although.... assumed that
I would not go so far It is difficult (to X does not really
as to say ... accept/see/believe) that... (say/prove) his point
in some ways quite somewhat
suggests rather it would seem logical that to an extent
tentatively
It seems equally It appears likely that there is some
likely that suggestive work
may be interpreted It is arguable
http://home.ku.edu.tr/~doregan/Writing/Hedging.html
Hedging Language 6

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Sabanci University Writing Fall 2005

All Turkish pop singers sing about love.

 Choose the best answer A, B or C

A sound more intelligent

Language used in hedging:

e.g. seem, tend, look like, appear to be, think, believe,

3. Certain modal e.g. will, must, would, may, might, could

5. Modal adjectives e.g. probable, possible

6. Modal nouns e.g. assumption, possibility, probability

e.g. It could be the case that …

8. To-clause + e.g. It may be possible to obtain …

9. e.g. Most / Many / Some / Several …

1. All people are afraid of snakes. (many)

Also check this website:

Features of academic writing

Try the following exercises: 1. Hedging

Press this button to check your answers:

Phrases used when Hedging

to a large extent seem(s) to demonstrate largely

may be interpreted It is arguable

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