Hedging

LAN101
Hedging
• an important feature of academic writing is the
concept of cautious language, often called
"hedging“ 
• Hedging words and phrases are the things we
write and say in order to soften our words, to
make them less direct, and to limit or qualify
claims and statements we make.
Purpose
People use hedged language for the most
fundamental reasons as follows:
• to minimize the possibility of another academic
opposing the claims that are being made
• to conform to the currently accepted style of
academic writing
• to enable the author to devise a politeness
strategy where they are able to acknowledge that
there may be flaws in their claims
Following are a few words and phrases that can be
used to achieve this.
• Introductory verbs – seem, tend, look like,
appear to be, think, believe, doubt, be sure,
indicate, suggest
• Certain lexical verbs – believe, assume, suggest
• Modal Adverbs – possibly, perhaps, conceivably
• That clauses – It could be the case that…, it
might be suggested that…, there is every hope
that…
Examples of hedge words and phrases
Hedging is achieved in many different ways, including:

Modal verbs
• Such as:
• can
• could
• may
• might
• should
• would
• For example:
• Hedged: It could be that human expansion of the greenhouse effect is the cause
of global warming.
• Not hedged: Human expansion of the greenhouse effect is the cause of global
warming)
Modal adjectives

• possible
• probable
• likely
• unlikely
• For example:
• Hedged: The study's results are likely due to
chance.
• Not hedged: The study's results are due to
chance.
Adverbs

• conceivably
• perhaps
• possibly
• probably
• usually
• For example:
• We could conceivably finish the design outline
by Friday.
Nouns
• assumption
• likelihood
• possibility
• probability
• For example:
• There is a strong possibility, therefore, that we
will have another economic recession within the
next five years.
Lexical verbs
• assume
• believe
• indicate
• interpret
• seem
• suggest
• For example:
• I suggest that we wait another week.
• Scientists believe there will soon be a cure for this
disease.
Here are some examples of hedging in use
in academic writing
• Another possible area for further research could be...
• One possible implication of this is that...
• The evidence from this research suggests that...
• The data collected from this study appears to support the assumption
that...
• The combined data from these studies appears to indicate there may
be a link...
• It seems likely that these results are due to...
• A possible explanation for this discrepancy might be...
• There are various possible explanations for this...
• It is almost certain these changes can be attributed to...
• There is a strong possibility that X would be enhanced by...
• Current research appears to suggest that...