Hedging (cautious language) in Academic Writing

Hedging, also called cautious language or tentative language, is an important part of academic style. This video defines hedging, gives different types of hedging, compares hedging with boosting, and looks at examples of hedging in an authentic academic text.
▬ Contents of this video ▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬
00:00 Intro
00:41 Definition
02:15 Types of hedging
08:14 Boosting
09:54 Hedging in an authentic text
13:09 Summary
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Hedging is a way of softening the language by making the claims or conclusions less absolute. It can be achieved by using introductory verbs (e.g. tend to, assume, indicate, estimate, seem to, appear to be), modal verbs (may, can, could), adverbs (probably, possibly, seemingly), adjectives (probable, possible, likely, doubtful), nouns (probability, possibility, likelihood, assumption) and other phrases such as adverbs of frequency, if clauses.
For more information on this topic, see:
www.eapfoundation.com/writing...
If you like these videos, consider supporting my work on Patreon at:
/ eapfoundation .
You can get early access to videos as well as additional resources for English for Academic Purposes (EAP).
Other useful links:
www.eapfoundation.com/ (EAPFoundation.com website home page)
/ eapfoundation (LinkedIn)
/ eapfoundation (Facebook)

[@kem80kem42]

Such an amazing video. Great way of explanation. Very comprehensive in a short time.

[@Eapfoundation]

Thanks for the positive comment. I'm glad you liked it.

[@akariSara.]

I am about to start an assignment on genre analysis for my TESOL Master's degree and I needed a lexico feature to include. This has helped me sooooo much. Thank you.

[@Eapfoundation]

Cool. Masters in TESOL students isn't quite the audience I was expecting, but glad it helped.

[@nicolecr7399]

I just searched your website and it's totally helpful as this video. Thank you:)

[@Eapfoundation]

Glad you liked the video and the website. There is much more information on the site so definitely head over there if you if you want more ideas about improving academic English.

[@noreenhollywood3120]

Fantastic video, very easy to follow and understand. I just subscribed! Thank you!

[@Eapfoundation]

You're very welcome. I'm glad you enjoyed it. Welcome to the channel!

[@yeamum]

Thank you it is really helpful to enhance my academic writing!

[@Eapfoundation]

You're very welcome! I'm glad it helped.

[@angelaherrick8197]

Excellent video.

[@MohamedRamadan-nr1ef]

Thanks Sheldon!
This is definitely a useful video for academic writers.

[@Eapfoundation]

I'm glad you think so. I'll try to post more writing videos soon. If you haven't already, I recommend checking out the Academic Style video, which is related to this.
th-cam.com/video/n9d9EXWIkuI/w-d-xo.html

[@MohamedRamadan-nr1ef]

EAPFoundation.com I did. I also use your website to teach academic writing at the u of Manitoba.
All the best Sheldon!

[@selgoog8251]

...and for someone reading copy of "Crucial Conversations" ($1.99 @Goodwill, yeah!) & stopped here to learn what does "tentatively" really mean. Wink-wink!

[@bachirhabalet5618]

A very useful video!

[@bukolamonehin7482]

Thank you for the coherent explanation.

[@Eapfoundation]

You're welcome.

[@contentwriterlibyangirl342]

currently, I have finished the differentiation exam in the university MA, in addition , I passed it allhamdllellah , this video helped me prepare myself for the next phase

[@Eapfoundation]

Great. I'm glad it was of use.

[@theequalizerenglish4498]

Nice work my mentor!

[@Eapfoundation]

Glad you liked it.

[@ramdasgangurde2878]

Thank you sir

[@akuikipgen]

Sir,would you please make a video on topic of booster?🙏

[@doxmini1219]

Holy cow i love hedging!

[@Eapfoundation]

Ha ha. Glad to hear it. Hedging is interesting and so common in academic writing - and English in general, for that matter.

[@reehamughal7547]

Such an amazing video

[@Eapfoundation]

Thanks. I'm glad you liked it.

[@MrRinkubawa]

So helpful!!

[@Eapfoundation]

Glad you think so.

[@anara7709]

thank you!😁

[@Eapfoundation]

You're welcome 😊

[@trainerrazanal-ayoubi3393]

Thanks a million

[@Eapfoundation]

You're welcome. Glad you liked it.

[@_dapini7624]

very helpful

[@Eapfoundation]

Glad to hear that

[@dodobobo616]

Excuses me can you tell me what about the use of semi auxiliary verbs not semi auxiliary models. And what is meant by semi auxiliary verbs and how they are used for hedging??with respect

[@Eapfoundation]

I haven't used these exact phrases before, as I think studying hedging using this terminology might be confusing. Anyway, semi auxiliary verbs for hedging would include the following:
- seem to
- appear to
- tend to
- be likely to
- be unlikely to
These all go before the main verb and are therefore distinct from other hedging verbs (e.g. 'estimate', 'doubt', 'believe') or hedging adjectives (e.g. 'doubtful', 'uncertain') which would be followed by clauses e.g. with 'that', 'whether' or 'how'.
As semi modal verbs, they can change in tense, unlike modals, e.g. 'It seems to indicate...' and 'This seemed to show...'.
There are other semi modals, but these are not used for hedging, e.g. 'get to', 'happen to', 'be going to' and 'be supposed to'.
Semi modals are not the same. The most common semi modals are 'dare', 'need', 'used to' and 'ought to', which are not used for hedging.
To sum up, some semi auxiliary verbs are used for hedging, but not all. In terms hedging, i.e. being cautious, semi auxiliary verbs function in the same way as other verbs (or adjectives) except that they are followed by the main verb rather than a clause. The most common semi modal verbs ('need' etc.) are not used for hedging.
Hope that helps.
I found the following pages useful (the first one is from the EAPFoundation.com website).
www.eapfoundation.com/writing/skills/hedging/
www.ucl.ac.uk/internet-grammar/verbs/semi.htm

[@dodobobo616]

Please dear Mr. Can I ask you some questions about the same topic?if yes please how can I contact with you? Because I'm not a native speaker .

[@Eapfoundation]

@@dodobobo616 Sure. You can email me at [e-mail]

[@sherifRizq]

I believe that, we feel, are not these good introductory phrases, they seem more like personal opinions, can we use passive forms instead, first person is not encouraged in academic writing,

[@Eapfoundation]

Hi Sherif. It depends very much on the subject, and also the teacher. Many language/EAP teachers are very strict about this. However, subject teachers may be less concerned. Using first person is more common in some subjects such as business, and there is a growing trend to use active rather than passive voice (though subjects such as science tend to use passive more). The best advice is to look at examples of writing from the subject you are studying and see if they use personal phrases such as the ones you mention. If in doubt, check with your teacher, and follow their advice.

[@shivm_brahmn_majra]

👍

[@djkeronx139]

Is anybody else confused? Let me know.

[@Jeth_Prota]

ty for learning pls shoutout bc i know right now (ikrn) ur awesome pls shoutout and this is understandable

[@Eapfoundation]

Hi, thanks for the positive response.

[@nosaibasaleh2671]

WoW !! I love how you explained hedging 👌🏼it’s an amazing way for us as students to understand especially that you mentioned the details
I checked the website as will and it’s 100% useful 🤩🤩🤩I just want to say thanks for all of your efforts to help us !!🥰
I’m going to start my second year of studying English language and literature at University and you know how writing skills is important ✅
my goal now is to improve my academic writing and no doubt that your website will help me to achieve that
Thanks🤍

[@nosaibasaleh2671]

That exactly what I was looking for 👌🏼👀!
And definitely I’m going to watch all of your videos 🤩📚
I’m here to learn and support🙋🏻‍♀️, keep going 👏🏼🤍🤍

[@Eapfoundation]

Hi Nosaiba, sorry for not replying before. Glad you found the website, definitely more content there than on TH-cam - but I'm working on it! Good luck with your university study.