Hedging

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Hedging
Introduction
A feature of academic writing is the need to be cautious in ones statements in order to distinguish between facts and
claims. This feature is termed 'hedging'. Hedging can be defined as the use of linguistic devices to show hesitation or
uncertainty and to display politeness and indirectness. Hedging is absolutely crucial in good academic writing and
hedged words are said to account for 1 in every 100 words.
When writing for academic disciplines it is necessary not only to show that you are able to write in a formal, abstract
fashion, but also that you are able to show the extent to which you believe in, or are prepared to stand up for, what
you are reporting/claiming.
People use hedged language for several different purposes but perhaps the most fundamental are the following:
to minimise the possibility of another academic/teacher/lecturer/colleague/student opposing the claims you are
making
to enable you as a writer to be more precise when reporting results, e.g. you can show that something is not 100%
proven, but rather that it is indicated and subsequently assumed.
to enable you to execute a politeness strategy in which you are able to acknowledge that perhaps there may be flaws
in your claims
to conform to a now accepted practice writing style

Objectives
To raise your awareness of the value of hedging language in academic writing
To guide you through a series of activities designed to help you build a vocabulary of hedging expressions
To provide you with a supported framework in which you can practice using hedging expressions.

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Activity 1: Identifying a 'hedged' expression

There are many different ways in which language can be 'hedged'. These include using
modal verbs such as 'may' and 'might', using modal nouns such as 'probability' and
'assumption', using lexical verbs which denote a sense of caution i.e. 'assume' and 'indicate'
and by using expressions which show a sense of caution or vagueness, i.e. 'it can be argued
that' or 'it is likely to be the case that'.

Instruction
Decide which of the sentences below are considered to be academically competent.
That is, the ones which use a hedged expression to make a claim. Tick yes, if you
think the sentence could be effective in helping you to support your claims in an
academic essay and no if you think it would not be effective in helping you to support
your claims in an academic essay. You will find an example below to help you make
your first decision.
The 'management' of danger is also not the sort of language to appear within
policy documents that refer to GRT children, where it might be construed to
reflect systematic failures in schools. The hedge is in the words 'it might be
construed to reflect'.
The 'management' of danger is also not the sort of language to appear within
policy documents that refer to GRT children, which reflects systematic failures
in schools. This sentence does not use hedging language. It makes a strong claim and
makes no attempt to use cautious language. It is a very direct and very certain claim.
This could be seen as impolite and also academically naive.

Q1. Viewing a movie in which alcohol is portrayed appears to lead to higher total
alcohol consumption of young people while watching the movie.
yes
no

HIDE FEEDBACK
Yes - 'appears' is a verb used to express caution and is therefore a hedging word.

Q2. Furthermore, this proves that humans are wired to imitate.

yes
no

HIDE FEEDBACK
No. This sentence does not use a hedging expression.

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Activity 2: Familiarising yourself with hedged expressions

Being able to identify which sentences are using hedged expressions is the first step in
learning how to use hedged expressions yourself. Being able to identify the actual words
which infer caution is the next step. In the following exercise we will concentrate on
identifying the actual words which suggest you are being cautious in your claims.

Instruction
Decide which of the words and phrases in the sentences below express signs of
caution, vagueness or playing down of claims. Check the box next to the word which
shows caution and then check your answers with the feedback. There may be more
than one correct answer.

1. It is believed that alcohol related health problems are on the rise.

believed
related
rise

HIDE FEEDBACK
believed

2. Drinking to excess, or 'binge drinking' is often the cause of inappropriate behaviour

amongst teenagers.
Drinking
excess
often
inappropriate
amongst

HIDE FEEDBACK
often

3. It seems as though the experiment conducted simply confirms suspicions held by the
academic and medical professions.
seems
conducted
confirms
suspicion
held

HIDE FEEDBACK
seems

4. However, attrition was greatest among the heaviest drinking segment of the sample,
suggesting under-estimation in the findings, and although the study provided associational,
prospective evidence on alcohol advertising effects on youth drinking, it addressed
limitations of other research, particularly the unreliability of exposure measures based on
self-reporting (Synder and Slater, 2006).
However
suggesting
although

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Activity 3: Identifying different ways in which hedging can be

achieved
Sometimes, a hedge is expressed through a modal verb, but at other times, it is achieved
through using a noun. In the following exercise you can see the different ways in which
hedging can be achieved.

Instruction
Look at the list of words above the check boxes. Decide which type of word or phrase
this is. Check the most appropriate check box before checking your answer with the
feedback button.

1.
possible
probable
definite

modal verbs
lexical verbs
modal adjectives
adverbs
introductory phrase
nouns

HIDE FEEDBACK
modal adjectives

2.
may
might
can
could
should

modal verbs
lexical verbs
modal adjectives
adverbs
introductory phrase
nouns

HIDE FEEDBACK
modal verbs

3.
It can be argued that...
It can thus be concluded that...
One can assume that...

modal verbs
lexical verbs
modal adjectives

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Activity 4: Completing hedged expressions

In the following activity you will begin to construct hedged sentences.

Instruction
Complete the sentence by choosing the appropriate word from the list.

concluded / suggested / proven / estimated

1. It can be

that, for young adult males, the portrayal of

alcohol on a television screen might lead to increased alcohol consumption.

HIDE FEEDBACK
The answer is: concluded.
The clue is in the clause 'the portrayal of alcohol on a television screen might lead to
increased alcohol consumption'. In this clause the writer is drawing a logical conclusion
and therefore hte word 'concluded' is the best fit.
The word 'suggested' would not work because the clause, 'the protrayal of alcohol on a
television screen might lead to increased alcohol consumption' is not a suggestion.
The word 'estimate is also unsuitablt because the clause 'the protrayal of alcohol on a
television screen might lead to increased alcohol consumption' is not a guess - guesses
suggest that there is no evidence.
The word proven is also unsuitable as this conclusion has not been scientifically proven.
The word 'might' demonstrates this.

will / may / must

2. ..., which

have been the case when they entered our

laboratory setting alone.

HIDE FEEDBACK
The answer is: may.
'Must' is unsuitable because an element of doubt needs to be expressed. 'Must' does not
demonstrate doubt.
'Will' is unsuitable because this is not set in the future.

definite / unlikely / normal

3. It is not

that the characters in the movies are generally

regarded as positive (McIntosh et al., 1999), which should add to the low level priming
effect of observing drinking behaviour.

HIDE FEEDBACK
The answer is: unlikely.
'Definite' is unsuitable because the word 'generally' shows that this isn't always 100%
true.
'Normal' is unsuitable because it does not make lexical sense.

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Activity 5: Completing hedged expressions #2

In this activity you will coplete hedged expressions using vocabulary you have looked at in
previous acativities. You will not be given a choice of words.

Instruction
Complete the expressions using a word of your own choice. Remember to use
'cautious' language and to 'hedge'.

The present results further

that the estimated effect of body

fatness on LVM depends largely on the particular combination of body-size and body-fatness
predictors chosen for the LVM models.

HIDE FEEDBACK
Answer: indicated
Other possibilities: implied

Although adults with higher BMI values

to be more obese, BMI

per se does not provide information on relative amounts of FFM and fat mass, nor does it
estimate the absolute value of body fat.

HIDE FEEDBACK
Answer: tend
Other possibilities: Although adults with higher BMI values have a tendency ...

It is

that after the placebo preload, participants became more

wary of the task, perhaps owing to the previous experience of having to inhibit responses
suddenly after the habit-forming in blocks 2 and 4.

HIDE FEEDBACK
Answer: possible
Other possibilities: plausible, probable

Thus, it

be

that in accordance

with Marinkovic et al.'s (2000) data, a moderate dose of alcohol has basic motor
disinhibiting effects.

HIDE FEEDBACK
Answer 1: can
Other possibilities: may, could, might
Answer 2: suggested
Other possibilities: assumed, propounded, proposed

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Activity 6: Hedging quiz

In this last interactive activity you will answer questions related to hedging. If you have
spent time working your way through the previous activities you should find the quiz poses
no obstacles for you.

Instruction
Click on the link, open the quiz and answer the questions. You will be prompted to
try again if you do not guess the answer correctly. You can try as many times as you
like to answer the questions.
Hedging quiz

R efer ences:
Anderson, P, de Bruijn, A, Angus, K, Gordon, R & Hastings, G. 2009. The impact of alcohol advertising and media
exposure on adolescent alcohol use: a systematic review of longitudinal studies. Alcohol & Alcoholism. 44/3.
229-243.
Engels, R.C.M.E., Hermans, R, van Baaren, R.B., Hollenstein, T & Bot, S.M. 2009. Alcohol portrayal on television
affects actual drinking behaviour. Alcohol & Alcoholism. 44/3. 244-249
Larsen H, Engels RCME, Granic I et al. (2009) An experimental study on imitation of alcohol consumption in
same-sex dyads. Alcohol (resubmission).
Marinkovic, K., Halgren, E., Klopp, J. et al. (2000). Alcohol effects on movement-related potentials: a measure of
impulsivity? Journal of Studies on Alcohol 61. 24 - 31
McIntosh WD, Smith SM, Bazzini DG et al. (1999) Alcohol in the movies: characteristics of drinkers and non-drinkers
in films from 1940 to 1989. Journal of Applied Social Psychology 29. 11919.
Myers, M & Bhopal, K. 2009 Gypsy, Roma and Traveller Children in Schools: Understandings of Community and
Safety. British Journal of Educational Studies 57/4. pp 417 - 434
Rose, A.K. & Duka, T. 2007. The influence of alcohol on basic motoric and cognitive disinhibition. Alcohol &
Alcoholism. 42/6. 544-551
Shah, Q. 2009. Impact resistance of a rectangular polycarbonate armour plate subjected to. International Journal of
Impact Engineering. 36. 1128 - 1235
Shifan, D., Harrist, R.B., Rosenthal, G.L.& Labarthe, D.R. 2009. Effects of body size and body fatness on left
ventricular mass in children and adolescents project heartbeat!. American Journal of Preventative Medicine. 37/1.
97 - 101
Snyder, L., Flemming Milici , F., Slater,M., Sun, H. & Strihakova, Y. (2006) Effects of Alcohol Advertising Exposure
on Drinking Among Youth. Archives of Paediatrics & Adolescent Medicine 60. 18 24
Jessica Cooper/ 2010/ Queen Mary University of London / Photograph used under a creative commons attributions
license courtesy of Caitlinator

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