A Move-based Comparative Analysis Of Hedges In Conclusions Of Chinese And American MA Theses

Hedges are central features of academic discourse.They have the functions of mitigating assertiveness,reducing the responsibility of the speaker and so on.Conclusions serve to summarize and evaluate the whole findings,and the appropriate use of hedges in conclusion sections can help to make their research findings more acceptable.Numerous studies show that there is a direct link between linguistic features and rhetorical moves.Since different moves convey different communicative purposes,the use of hedges will vary from move to move.Thus the results may be not comprehensive if not dividing moves first.However,current studies which divide moves in conclusions to explore the use of hedges in conclusion sections of Chinese students’ theses are still insufficient.Therefore,using Yang & Allison’s move model for Conclusions and Hyland’ s(1996a)taxonomy of hedges as analytical frameworks,this study investigates the mapping of hedges onto moves in Conclusions of MA theses by adopting both quantitative and qualitative methods.Specifically,the study seeks to answer the following two questions:(1)What are the similarities and differences in the distribution of each type of hedges and their linguistic forms between the same move in conclusions of Chinese and American students’ MA theses?(2)What are the interpretations of these similarities and differences?Findings of this study indicate that there are both similarities and differences in the use of hedges in the same move in conclusions by Chinese students and American students.Generally speaking,in Move 1,Move 2 and Move 3,both Chinese students and American students use hedges.The overall number of hedges used by American students in Move 1,Move 2 and Move 3 is all larger than that by Chinese students.Every type of hedges is used by both Chinese students and American students in the three moves.However,the two groups of students have their own preferences for the types of hedges and their linguistic forms even in the same move.These similarities and differences can be justified by the functions of hedges and the common communicative purpose of the same genre — Conclusions,as well as the influences of English proficiency,first language transfer and cultural backgrounds.This study relates hedges to rhetorical moves.Theoretically,findings of this study may enrich researches into the use of hedges in academic writing,particularly in Conclusions of MA theses.Pedagogically,this study will provide some implications for English academic writing instructions as well as how Chinese students employ hedges appropriately in English conclusion writing.