Both Eric and Vicky are university students in Hong Kong. When Eric writes academic essays in English he is often very direct and certain about his opinions. Vicky, however, writes in a different way. She is more cautious about what she says and more objective. Who do you think wrote the following sentences, Eric or Vicky? Make your choice from the drop-down menu under each sentence.

Eric	Vicky

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Who do you think is the better writer of academic English, Eric or Vicky?

Eric writes - Hong Kong university students get part-time jobs as a way to finance their higher education. Imagine you are new to Hong Kong and you have read Eric’s article. One day you meet a student studying at Hong Kong University and you ask her what part-time work she does. The student is surprised by your question, because she doesn’t have a part-time job and wonders why you assume she does.

The sentence that Eric has written is a generalisation. It implies that all students at Hong Kong University have part-time work, but you know this is simply not true or accurate.  

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What is wrong with the truthfulness or accuracy of Eric’s other three sentences? Why are they not acceptable in an academic piece of writing? Write what you think in the box below each sentence and then check your answers.

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Can you see that being so certain about what you say makes you appear all knowledgeable and therefore superior and arrogant? This is not how academics write and this is not how they want to appear.

Academic writing is often about searching for the truth, particularly scientific writing, and therefore it is sometimes believed that academic writing is factual. But being too certain about your claims from the results of your research is risky. For example, it was once considered fact that the sun revolved around the Earth, that human beings were born as blank slates with no character traits and that margarine was much healthier than butter. Over time each of these has been proven wrong. Therefore, it is much safer, more professional and more honest academically to be cautious and much less assertive when making claims. What words does Vicky use to show that she is being cautious? Another word we can use instead of cautious is ‘tentative’. Highlight the tentative language that Vicky uses.

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Using language to appear cautious, less arrogant, and more precise in reporting results is called ‘hedging’. Now see if you can categorise these hedging devices by dragging and dropping them into the correct places in the table below.

Several approximators are also adverbs.

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Now try to improve Eric’s writing by incorporating hedging devices into his sentences below. You can use some of the language that Vicky has used or you may want to try other words you know. Type your new sentences into the boxes and then check your answers.


Now go onto Part Two – The Language of Hedging – where you will learn about more ways to hedge in academic writing.

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