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The present study examined research articles from eight academic disciplines to measure the frequencies and functions of hedges and boosters. The quantitative results showed that hedges exceeded boosters, with philosophy articles showing a significant use of hedges and boosters. The natural science papers were underrepresented in the number of hedg...
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Context 1
... reveals that tentative claims were made more than conclusive ones. Table 4 shows the most frequently occurring hedges and boosters in the corpus with may and would accounting for almost 12% of the hedging devices and will and truth 14% of the boosting devices in the corpus. Table 5 shows disciplinary differences in hedges and boosters, with philosophy containing almost 5.3 times as many hedges and boosters as electrical engineering. ...
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Citations
... Examples 44 and 45 illustrate these functions. Students used approximators and diminishers, such as usually, quite, to a certain extent, almost and roughly, which either indicated that the used verb expresses more than is strictly relevant (Quirk et al., 1985;Takimoto, 2015), as example 46 illustrates, or softened the assertiveness of representative speech acts, thus promoting a more cooperative and respectful tone in the debate (examples 47 and 48). The hedge kind of has an affective meaning because it mitigates facethreatening acts (Aijmer, 2002;Beeching, 2016). ...
Despite many empirical studies focusing on English as a second language (L2) learners’ use of different metadiscourse markers in general academic English contexts, a systematic analysis of co-existing discourse strategies of boosting and hedging that contribute substantially to the dynamic flow of conversation in English for specific purposes (ESP) contexts is still missing. Understanding how ESP learners use boosters and hedges in conversation might provide valuable insights into their pragmatic competence. Therefore, this study scrutinizes the functions of boosters and hedges employed by information technology (IT) students in classroom argumentative debates related in content to their discipline. Boosters and hedges were identified and analysed using Sketch Engine. A total of 34 IT students participated in 8 debates in the course English for IT at Brno University of Technology. The whole corpus of the transcribed debates includes 20,052 tokens and 17,016 words. The research results revealed that while boosters were used by IT students to enhance persuasive communication, express stance, and share professional knowledge within their discourse community, hedges were employed to acknowledge the potential gaps in their understanding of the ever-changing nature of IT and mitigate face-threatening acts performed when asserting and rebutting in the debates.
... These markers have been examined in diverse genres using various comparison criteria. Certain studies have investigated gender differences in the utilization of hedges and boosters [29], while others have focused on comparing meta-discourse marker usage across different academic disciplines [30,31]. Also, some studies have explored differences in the use of hedges and boosters across different cultures [32]. ...
... He then argues that writers in humanities/social sciences prefer hedging because they usually use personal judgments and interpretation in their writings; however, writers in fact-based fields (i.e., medical and engineering fields) prefer using more boosters. Contrary to Hyland (1998) and other similar previous research conducted in humanities/social sciences [31,82], our study with EFL medical students revealed a different pattern. The findings indicated that hedges were utilized more frequently (11.42%) compared to boosters (7.35%) challenging Hyland's (1998) assertion that fact-based fields like medicine generally favor the use of boosters over hedges. ...
Background
The perceived language barrier in English is said to hinder, and in certain instances, impede the global dissemination of knowledge, including medical information, to non-native English speakers within medical institutions. As English for medical purposes instructors, we contend that the issue persists in medical universities across various EFL contexts. Medical students face the challenge of presenting their research findings in English for international journals and conferences. Given this, the present research study aimed to compile a comprehensive catalog of high-frequency errors and examine them in recurring linguistic patterns commonly found in the writing of Iranian medical students.
Methods
In conducting the present study, we developed a learner corpus of 1,040 essays (339,040 words and 18,235 sentences in total). Through using the results obtained from Wordsmith Tools 8 and sifting the leaner corpus, we identified 11 high-frequency errors and five commonly used linguistic patterns.
Results
Only five out of 11 high-frequency errors account for 61% of the total number of errors. Results also showed that a majority of errors were of grammatical nature. In this regard, cohesion and cohesive devices (16%) were the most prevalent errors followed by omission/misusing of articles/determiners (14%). Additionally, results showed that discourse markers were extensively used in the corpus (22.07%), followed by hedges (11.42%).
Conclusions
The outcomes of this study are expected to assist English for medical purposes instructors in designing focused lesson plans and classroom activities. Ultimately, these efforts might contribute to enhancing medical education in non-English speaking universities.
... It is worth highlighting that for certain authors professional communication in academic writing relies mainly on markers of discourse for expressing doubt and certainty (e.g., Hyland 2000Hyland , 2005Hyland & Tse 2004;Stab, 2017), combining the use of what Hyland (2000) conceptualises as hedges (might/perhaps/about/possibly) with boosters (in fact/definitely/it is clear that), in an attempt to gain acceptance from the audience. Accordingly, the literature on academic writing confirms the use of both of them is necessary to produce a convincing argument (e.g., Cox & Hill 2011;Takimoto 2015;Hryniuk 2018). Although the knowledge shared by a discourse community can help the understanding of a research writing, it will be the writer's ability to anticipate ideas and values of the readers what will determine the election of certain markers and therefore the construction of a coherent academic discourse (Dontcheva-Navratilova 2007). ...
In a scientific context of growing interdependence at a global level, digital genres for public communication of science in the Internet are gaining scholarly attention. Yet, although these genres have been mainly examined through their rhetorical organisation and their main discourse features, research on the latter is to date limited. To fill this gap, this study focuses on the functions of linguistic markers of discourse structure in texts exemplars of science crowdfunding online. Overall results show that constructing a semantically coherent discourse is fundamental to achieve the main communicative purposes of this genre, namely to inform about science while requesting the public’s donations for carrying out a project. Results also show that linguistic markers of discourse structure are widely used for establishing contrast among ideas and concepts, and by this means build the argument and persuade the reader that it is important to finance the project. They also help the construction of a coherent academic discourse in every rhetorical section (Overview, Lab Notes, Discussion), exhibiting variation across them according to their communicative functions.
... However, Rashidi and Alihosseini (2012) pointed out that there was no significant difference in the use of metadiscourse markers between sociology and engineering, challenging the common view of disciplinary differences. Takimoto's (2015) research showed that hedges generally exceeded boosters in multiple disciplines, reflecting their importance in academic writing and being constrained by disciplinary norms and rhetorical styles. ...
English, as the most widely used language in academic publications, poses great challenges for novice EFL researchers not only in the language competence, but also in constructing authorial identity in academic writing because the codes for the construction of writer identity is implicit. This paper reviews the research on identity construction in academic writing among EFL writers published in key applied linguistics journals between 2000 and 2024, and summarizes the current research status of writer identity construction in academic writing and delves into the characteristics and influencing factors of identity construction. Through in-depth analysis of the theoretical framework and the characteristics of the EFL writers, we have selected representative papers, including empirical studies, theoretical discussions, and case studies, to ensure the comprehensiveness and accuracy of this review.The study found that the construction of writer identity in academic writing is a complex and multifaceted process. It is not only influenced by the English language proficiency of the writer but also by a combination of factors such as individual experiences, academic background, and sociocultural factors. These factors collectively shape the writer’s identity and recognition by others in the academic community, thereby affecting their status and influence in the academic field. This paper aims to provide valuable references and inspirations for future research on academic writing and writer identity construction.
... Varttala (2001), for example, also revealed different lexical patterns of hedges used in economics, medicine and technology research articles. Disciplinary differences in the use of lexical patterns of hedges were also emphasized by Takimoto (2015), who investigated these devices in humanities, social and natural sciences. His study identified more cases of cognition verbs, probability adjectives and adverbs and assertive nouns in humanities RA, and more instances of reporting verbs, adverbs and adjectives of degree and frequency in natural sciences. ...
Este artículo explora la cobertura como una estrategia de cortesía utilizada para parecer humilde en el discurso académico. Se estudia la cobertura como la principal estrategia utilizada para mostrar cortesía en la prosa académica. Los estudios han explorado la cobertura desde diferentes perspectivas. Sin embargo, hay pocos estudios que se centren en los patrones léxicos de cobertura en el discurso académico. Con este fin, hemos construido un corpus integrado por 412 resúmenes que acompañan a artículos de investigación, todos ellos en la disciplina de la lingüística, la jurisprudencia, la ingeniería y la medicina. El marco teórico es el concepto de la cobertura propuesto por Myer (1989). La taxonomía propuesta por Vartalla (2001) se utilizó para analizar las herramientas de la cobertura léxica. El análisis cuantitativo indicó que la distribución de patrones léxicos usados para mostrar cortesía difería en cuatro disciplinas
... Varttala (2001), for example, also revealed different lexical patterns of hedges used in economics, medicine and technology research articles. Disciplinary differences in the use of lexical patterns of hedges were also emphasized by Takimoto (2015), who investigated these devices in humanities, social and natural sciences. His study identified more cases of cognition verbs, probability adjectives and adverbs and assertive nouns in humanities RA, and more instances of reporting verbs, adverbs and adjectives of degree and frequency in natural sciences. ...
Este artículo explora la cobertura como una estrategia de cortesía utilizada para parecer humilde en el discurso académico. Se estudia la cobertura como la principal estrategia utilizada para mostrar cortesía en la prosa académica. Los estudios han explorado la cobertura desde diferentes perspectivas. Sin embargo, hay pocos estudios que se centren en los patrones léxicos de cobertura en el discurso académico. Con este fin, hemos construido un corpus integrado por 412 resúmenes que acompañan a artículos de investigación, todos ellos en la disciplina de la lingüística, la jurisprudencia, la ingeniería y la medicina. El marco teórico es el concepto de la cobertura propuesto por Myer (1989). La taxonomía propuesta por Vartalla (2001) se utilizó para analizar las herramientas de la cobertura léxica. El análisis cuantitativo indicó que la distribución de patrones léxicos usados para mostrar cortesía difería en cuatro disciplinas.
... J Adv Med Educ Prof. July 2024; Vol 12No 3 213 ...
... Metadiscourse has established itself as a useful research tool widely applied in studies of discursive practices such as Twitter posts (Russell, 2011), advertisements (Fuertes-Olivera et al., 2001), job postings (Fu, 2012), company reports (Hyland, 1998), pollitical statements (Marín-Arrese, 2021), research articles (Donadio & Passariello, 2022;Hu & Cao, 2011;Goltaji & Hooshmand, 2021;Takimoto, 2015;Zou & Hyland, 2019), election manifestos (Ho & Crosthwaite, 2018). Dafouz-Milne (2008), for example, made an attempt to explore metadiscourse features used in persuading readers and identified stance categories that predominate in the British and Spanish newspapers. ...
... Despite the wealth of studies on boosting as an element of persuasive discourse, it has been predominantly explored on corpora of academic texts (Donadio & Passariello, 2022;Hu & Cao, 2011;Goltaji & Hooshmand, 2021;Takimoto, 2015;Vázquez & Giner, 2009;Zou & Hyland, 2019). There has been an upsurge of interest in boosting and other metadiscourse categories in a variety of academic genres, including research articles, dissertations, and book reviews. ...
The closing argument in criminal trials allows for unique metadiscourse analysis opportunities. Yet despite these opportunities, it seems to be an understudied linguistic genre which requires more research into its interactional features. This article aims to explore the types, frequencies and functions of boosters as metadiscourse resources employed by defense attorneys to enter a plea of not guilty. In particular, the article describes how attorneys exploit boosters to produce convincing arguments and control the power relationship with an audience. The findings are based on a metadiscourse analysis of 21 closing arguments derived from the famous-trials.com website. As regards the choice of boosting resources to be searched in the corpus, the present study adopted Hyland and Zou’s (2021) taxonomy of boosters. It was revealed that defense attorneys made extensive use of boosters to exert an influence on the outcome of a criminal prosecution against their clients. The results have implications for our understanding of closing argument as a persuasive interactional legal genre and for teaching legal writing to law students. Hopefully, this study will spire lawyers to take advantage of boosters and other metadiscourse resources in their attempt to achieve persuasive goals in trials by jury.
... The results of their investigation reveal that articles authored by L1 native writers have a greater frequency of boosters and hedges and that there are sheer differences in the usage of boosters and hedges between L1 native and non-native writers. After investigating eight different academic disciplines, Takimoto (2015) finds that disciplinary norms influence writers' use of boosters and hedges. Takimoto (2015) further views that authors on Philosophy use both boosters and hedges more frequently than those of other disciplines in humanities, social sciences and natural sciences. ...
... After investigating eight different academic disciplines, Takimoto (2015) finds that disciplinary norms influence writers' use of boosters and hedges. Takimoto (2015) further views that authors on Philosophy use both boosters and hedges more frequently than those of other disciplines in humanities, social sciences and natural sciences. Some researchers explored the use of boosters and hedges in research articles authored by nonnative authors. ...
This study aims to explore the role of boosters and hedges as pragmatic-linguistic devices in newspaper articles on climate change. This study analyzes the language used in newspaper articles concerning climate change and focuses on linguistic devices such as boosters and hedges. To examine the selected texts, this research uses 'Positive Discourse Analysis' and 'Metadiscourse Analysis.' Hyland's (1998; 2017) metadiscourse framework has been used to analyze boosters and hedges in the selected texts on climate change. Those phrases with implicit or explicit boosters and hedges have been focused on viewing the role of these linguistic devices. The findings reveal that hedges express caution and skepticism whereas, boosters intensify the statements on climate change and serve as devices for creating certainty, emphasizing responsibility, and enhancing authenticity. Boosters and hedges also influence information on climate change. 'Positive Discourse Analysis' of the selected texts reveals these articles highlight the severity and urgency of climate change and contribute to awareness of hopeful solutions. The findings of this research are expected to benefit the concerned policymakers, journalists, students of linguistics and the audience of the newspapers.
... Hedges are commonly used in academic discourse to convey epistemic modality since writers tend to be cautious while acknowledging the limits of the conclusion to be drawn from their data; therefore, proper hedging use in an article constitutes an important criterion for the selection and review process (Yang, 2013). Researchers have also studied hedges, commonly by focusing on comparative studies that include research between native and non-native speakers of English (Hu & Cao, 2011;Takimoto, 2015;Vassileva, 2001;Vold, 2006;Yang, 2013;Y€ uksel & Kavanoz, 2015) and other languages such as Spanish and English (Martı´n-Martı´n, 2008;Mur-Duen˜as, 2021) and have analyzed the use of hedging devices in various sections of articles and across disciplines (Varttala, 2001). Hedging research into disciplinary and cultural differences should be given more attention particularly for pedagogical purposes. ...
This study aimed to determine non-native speakers of English academics’ knowledge and awareness of conventions and norms of academic writing (AW), to develop an online professional development model addressing all disciplines, and to evaluate the effect of this model on their AW performances with their views on the model. The study was based on the mixed methods evaluation design. The participants were nine academics in educational and social sciences at a state university in Turkey. An online professional development model encompassing eight themes related to AW was developed. Data were collected through pre- and post-tutorial semi-structured interviews and writing tasks. Textual and content analyses were used for the qualitative data, and the Wilcoxon Signed Rank Test was performed for quantitative analysis. The results showed that before the tutoring, the participants acknowledged various difficulties regarding AW conventions and norms. The data after the online asynchronous tutoring showed that explicit instruction increased the participants’ knowledge and awareness, and the proposed model contributed to their writing performances, and promoted their AW skills. However, participants’ hedging use was found limited to modal verbs use. Paraphrasing tasks also showed significant differences between before and after tutoring writing tasks. Participants highlighted the importance of long-term implementational writing instruction.
