LinguaVerse

Hedging and Vague Language

Learn to use cautious and non-committal language, which is important in academic and diplomatic contexts.

The Art of Hedging

Learn phrases to express uncertainty and soften claims.

The Art of Hedging

In academic and formal writing, it's often important to be cautious with your claims. This is called "hedging." It shows you understand that things are not always 100% certain.

Hedging Tool	Examples
Modal Verbs	may, might, could, can
Adverbs	possibly, perhaps, probably, likely, apparently
Verbs	seem, appear, tend, suggest, indicate

Strong claim: This proves that the theory is wrong.
Hedged claim: This may suggest that the theory is incomplete.

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Hedging Quiz

Choose the most appropriately hedged sentence for a formal context.

Which sentence is best for an academic paper?

This research proves the theory is wrong.This research may suggest the theory is incomplete.The theory is definitely wrong because of this research.I think the theory is wrong.

Choose the most cautious phrasing:

The experiment failed.The experiment seems to have produced unexpected results.The experiment was a total disaster.The experiment did not work at all.

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