EAP Hedging Language in Academic Writing 1 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: What is the primary purpose of hedging language in academic writing?
- To make claims sound more authoritative and definitive
- To express caution and acknowledge the limits of certainty in claims (Correct answer)
- To avoid using modal verbs and passive constructions
- To replace evidence with personal opinion
Correct answer: To express caution and acknowledge the limits of certainty in claims
Hedging allows writers to present claims tentatively, showing awareness that findings may be limited or subject to qualification.
Question 2: Which of the following sentences contains a hedging device?
- The experiment failed because of operator error.
- Climate change is destroying all coastal cities.
- The data appear to indicate a correlation between the two variables. (Correct answer)
- Students never benefit from collaborative learning.
Correct answer: The data appear to indicate a correlation between the two variables.
'Appear to indicate' is a compound hedge that expresses uncertainty about the relationship observed in the data.
Question 3: Which modal verb expresses the STRONGEST degree of certainty in academic writing?
- might
- could
- may
- must (Correct answer)
Correct answer: must
'Must' conveys logical necessity and the highest degree of certainty among these modal verbs.
Question 4: In academic writing, the phrase 'it seems that' is best classified as which type of hedging device?
- Approximator
- Epistemic modal verb
- Introductory phrase hedge (Correct answer)
- Frequency adverb
Correct answer: Introductory phrase hedge
Introductory phrase hedges like 'it seems that,' 'it appears that,' and 'it is possible that' frame the entire following clause with tentativeness.
Question 5: Which sentence avoids over-hedging while still maintaining appropriate academic caution?
- The results might possibly seem to perhaps suggest a potential trend.
- The results suggest a significant upward trend in participant scores. (Correct answer)
- The results definitely and clearly prove our hypothesis is correct.
- The results are interesting and we think they could be important.
Correct answer: The results suggest a significant upward trend in participant scores.
Using a single clear hedge ('suggest') and a precise qualifier ('significant') strikes the right balance between caution and clarity.
Question 6: What is a 'booster' in academic writing, and how does it relate to hedging?
- A booster is a synonym for a hedge, both reducing certainty
- A booster increases the strength of a claim, the opposite of hedging (Correct answer)
- A booster is a punctuation device used to emphasize quotations
- A booster replaces hedges when writing literature reviews
Correct answer: A booster increases the strength of a claim, the opposite of hedging
Boosters (e.g., 'clearly,' 'undoubtedly,' 'it is obvious that') increase the writer's commitment to a claim, contrasting with hedges that reduce certainty.
Question 7: Why is hedging especially important when writing about research conducted by others?
- Because it allows the writer to avoid citing sources
- Because it signals that the writer does not trust the research
- Because it distinguishes the writer's own views from reported findings and maintains objectivity (Correct answer)
- Because journal editors require at least five hedges per paragraph
Correct answer: Because it distinguishes the writer's own views from reported findings and maintains objectivity
Hedging when reporting others' work clarifies the writer's epistemic stance and separates reported information from the writer's own conclusions.
EAP Hedging Language in Academic Writing 1
What is the primary purpose of hedging language in academic writing?