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Advanced Skill: Hedging
Hedging is where we avoid making generalisations or definitive statements.
Hedging Examples
Have a look at these sentences. Below each sentence is its hedged version.
Elderly people like going for walks in their free time. = Many elderly people like going for walks
in their free time.
Studying abroad is good for your career = Studying abroad can be good for your career.
Rich people are less happy. = Rich people are often less happy.
Girls don’t like sports. = Some people believe that girls don’t like sports.
Why is hedging important?
Something that higher-level English speakers do naturally.
It’s good practice for academic writing.
In IELTS you get asked a lot of strange questions which test your ability to show critical
thinking and explain exceptions. For example, “What do old people like to do in their free
time?” and “Is it good to let young people play video games?”
Hedging with modal verbs
We often use modal verbs: can, could, may or might to hedge our statements.
Elderly people may/ might prefer relaxing at home instead of travelling to new places.
Eating fast food can/could/may/might lead to health problems.
Watching YouTube videos can be a waste of time.
Hedging with introductory phrases
We can add certain introductory phrases to our statements to make them sound less certain
and absolute.
It is often assumed that girls don’t like sports.
It is generally agreed that fast food makes you fat.
I believe that young people spend too much time on YouTube.
Some people consider recycling household waste to be too time consuming.
Hedging with adverbs
To hedge our statements, we should avoid using adverbs like “always” and “never”. Instead we
can use:
probably, possibly, generally, generally speaking
usually, frequently, often, occasionally, hardly ever, rarely
Examples:
Teenagers usually/ frequently/ often complain about homework.
In my country, old people often/ occasionally go for walks after dinner.
British food is often/frequently considered to be disgusting.
Children hardly ever/ rarely help their parents around the house.
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Hedging verbs
We often use “tend to”, “seem to” and “appear to” to hedge our language.
British people tend to complain regularly.
Young people seem to enjoy chatting on the phone more than elderly people.
Poor people appear to be less willing to invest in education.
Using quantifiers
Another useful way to hedge our language is to use quantifiers.
The majority of people from my country choose to go on holiday to hot countries.
Many of the teenagers that I know spend a lot of money on clothes.
In certain situations, people get angry at airports.
Quiz: Choose the word to best hedge the sentence
1. _______ teenagers are rude to their parents. (Many | All)
2. ______________ going for a walk after dinner is considered good for your health. (It is clear
that | In some countries,)
3. __________ living abroad is beneficial for your career. (Everyone knows | It is believed that)
4. People in North America ____________ earn more money. (tend to | clearly)
5. ___________, people in North America eat more fast food. (To my knowledge | It is a fact)
6. The survey ____________ that boys enjoy doing sports more than girls. (proves | suggests)
7. ____________, young people spend more time exercising. (Clearly | Generally)
8. Playing an instrument ______ make you smarter. (will | could)
9. __________ students want to go abroad for university. (All | Some)
10. Living abroad ______ expensive. (can be | is)
Answers:
1.Many 2. In some countries 3. It is believed that 4. tend to 5. To my knowledge 6. suggests 7.
Generally 8. could 9. Some 10. can be
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