Hedging Language

1.

Hedging
Language
Asynchronous task
Grammar
Week 6 Lesson 5

2.

Introduction
• In academic writing you need to make it clear when
you are expressing a claim or opinion as opposed to a
fact. The best way of doing this is to distance yourself
to some extent from the claim by 'hedging' (i.e. using
less direct language in order to make your views more
measured and cautious).

3.

Hedging verbs

4.

Test yourself
• Rewrite these sentence s as hedged statements, using the words in brackets and
making any other changes necessary.
• 1. It has been stated that 25% of homeless adults suffer from some
form of mental illness,(estimated)
• 2.Drought is the major problem in some parts of Sub-Saharan Africa, (appears)
• 3.Wasps with a greater number of black spots on their heads are more
aggressive, according to research, (tend)
1.It has been estimated that 25% of homeless adults
suffer from some form of mental illness.
2.Drought appears to be the major problem in some
parts of Sub-Saharan Africa.
3.Wasps with a greater number of black spots on
their heads tend to be more aggressive,accordingto
research.

5.

Hedging adverbs
• The adverbs in this section can all be used to reduce the certainty
of your statement or make your meaning less extreme.
• Here is a selection of adverbs that you can use to express a
degree of doubt.
• apparently = it appears that, it is apparent that
• approximately = not completely accurate; also roughly
• arguably = it could be argued that
• reasonably = fairly, to some extent
• relatively = fairly, when compared to other similar
• things or situations
• reportedly = it is reported that
• supposedly = it is supposed that, people suppose
• that, it is generally believed that
• typically = normally, usually
• not necessarily = not always

6.

Test yourself
Circle the most appropriate option. In two sentences, two options are
appropriate.
1.The transition from prison life to ordinary society is fairly/quite/relatively
a difficult one.
2.Third-year undergraduate courses typically/fairly/usually cover less
ground in greater depth than the first two years.
3. Groundnut oil is similar in character but approximately/quite/rather more
expensive than grapeseed oil.

7.

Slightly, fairly, quite, rather
• These adverbs are typically used to make adjectives weaker. Slightly is the weakest. Rather is the
least weak, and normally expresses surprise or a negative opinion. Slightly and rather can be used
with comparative adjectives and adverbs, unlike fairly and quite. Note that quite comes before a/an.
American and Canadian footballs may look the same, but the sizes are slightly different.
It is, however, rather more difficult to understand why, on an objective level, some convicted
murderers are kept far longer in prison than others. (rather +corfiparative adjective, not
fairly more difficult or quite more difficult)
The two leaders had a rather tense meeting, (negative opinion)

8.

Sometimes, normally,
usually, etc.
• Adverbs of frequency can be useful in making a
statement more cautious.
• A specification for a new post is usually written by
the new employee's line manager.

9.

Using that clauses
• You can use several types of impersonal that clause to distance yourself
from an argument or point of view. Note that the phrases below are only
'semi-fixed’ in that you can, for example, change a verb such as suggest
to show or indicate.
• Using It ... (sometimes called the 'empty’ or 'preparatory' subject) allows
you to avoid phrases such as I would argue that... Here are some
examples of ways to open your sentences.
It has been argued that the reunification of the
two Koreas would eventually be of benefit to
both.
The evidence suggests that low prices and
convenience continue to drive the food industry
in the main.
Most people agree that there are certain
freedoms that all democracies should possess.

10.

Expressing probability
• Using the language of probability rather than certainty allows you to be
cautious about the past, present,and future.

11.

Hedging expressions
• There are a number of fixed expressions that you can use to hedge a statement.
Many of them are prepositional phrases. They include the following:
• on balance
• as a rule/in principle
• to some extent/up to a point
• in some/many respects
• in a/one sense
• for all practical purposes
• more or less
Examples:
There are for all practical purposes only two solutions in situations where individuals fear that their mental
health is at risk:either they must adapt to the situation, or they must remove themselves from it.
In many respects football should be regarded as abusiness rather than a sport, at least as far as the major
clubs are concerned.

12.

Now, go to your assignments in MS Teams. Check
your knowledge by taking the quiz that your
instructor assigned