APPL111 Hedging and Voice - PDF

APPL111 - English for Academic & Professional Purposes Hedging Features of Academic Writing —Identify each sentence as written in the active or passive voice. 1.Follow this street for about seven miles. 2.The map shows the shortest route. 3.The cake was baked by my favorite aunt. 4.Wait unt...

APPL111 - English for Academic & Professional Purposes Hedging Features of Academic Writing —Identify each sentence as written in the active or passive voice. 1.Follow this street for about seven miles. 2.The map shows the shortest route. 3.The cake was baked by my favorite aunt. 4.Wait until the sun goes down. 5.I have given you all the money I have. 1.Active 2.Active 3.Passiv e 4.Active 5.Active  Hedging Objectives: At the end of the session, the students are expected to: 1.define hedging language; 2.identify words or phrases used as hedging language; 3.discuss the importance of hedging in academic writing; and, 4.rewrite sentences using hedging language for a formal and objective tone.  Hedging Objectives: Overview: 1.Definition of Hedging At the end of the session, the students are expected to: 2.Examples of Hedging 1.define hedging language; 3.Activity 2.identify words or phrases used as hedging language; 3.discuss the importance of hedging in academic writing; and, 4.rewrite sentences using hedging language for a formal and objective tone. You believe there is an error that a teacher committed in computing for your grades. How do you say it? Hedgi ng Hedging Academic writers often use cautious or tentative language, known as ‘hedging’ to make claims that reflect the evidence available at the time of writing. Example s seem, tend, look like, It may be possible to appear to be, obtain. think, believe, doubt, be sure, indicate, suggest  What effect is created by the following examples? The President’s decision may create conflict among government agencies. Avila (2016) appears not to have included in the report the adverse effects of the treatment. The President’s decision will create conflict among government agencies. Avila (2016) did not include in the report the adverse effects of the treatment. What effect is created by the example? Children living in poverty do poorly in school. Children living in poverty tend to do poorly in school. LANGUAGE USED IN HEDGING Why and When to Hedge? Hedging is a technique writers use to express uncertainty or caution. It’s like saying, “I’m fairly confident, but I might not be completely correct.” This approach helps authors anticipate readers’ opposition and present their arguments without sounding overly assertive.  Examples of Hedging Techniques Tip: Choose the technique that best suits your writing style and the context of your work.  Being Modest About Your Findings 1 Writers employ various strategies to hedge their statements. The techniques ensure cautious statements are made instead of bold, arrogant claims. 2 Toning Down Strong Claims Strong claims are made with strong verbs like “prove,” “equals,” “establishes,” “confirms,” “verifies,” “demonstrates,” and “certifies.” Let’s look at a comparison of strong claims compared to softened (hedged) claims.  Criticizing Others Work 3 As academics, we often review other authors’ writing to evaluate its quality, limitations, gaps, and validity of findings and conclusions. This criticism is critical to academic writing because it helps advance knowledge by identifying areas that need improvement or further study. Hedging contributes to healthy criticism. 4 Leaving Room for Other Interpretations In addition to constructive criticism, where we point out issues in another researcher’s findings, we can discuss the work through a different interpretation.  Anticipating Possible Objections 5 Academic researchers and writers continually risk being proven wrong and facing opposition. Hedging involves anticipating potential criticism of our work and using techniques to reduce writing too assertively and confidently. You want to write precisely and honestly but with caution. Let’s look at a bold claim that might draw opposition. Question When you write your research paper, which part(s) of the paper will hedging have a crucial role? Risks of Over-Hedging While hedging is a great technique to protect against the risk of opposition to our research, overusing hedging can be another problem. You should only hedge when you find yourself making bold claims that can be interpreted differently or argued against by the reader. Don’t use hedging immediately following a strong assertion that you intended to be strong. Also, avoid using too many hedging words that the reader will find confusing. Let’s hedge! 1.Drought is the biggest danger in many developing countries. 2.People are much more aggressive when they are drunk. 3.Smaller companies are doing better than larger ones. 4.Mature students do not manage their time better than younger students. 5.Physical exercise reduces the symptoms of depression. Possible Answers: 1.Drought appears to be the biggest danger in many developing countries. 2.People tend to be much more aggressive when they are drunk. 3.Smaller companies seem to be doing better than larger ones. 4.Mature students do not necessarily manage their time better than younger students. 5.Physical exercise apparently reduces the symptoms of depression. Possible Answers: 1.Drought appears to be the biggest danger in many developing countries. 2.People tend to be much more aggressive when they are drunk. 3.Smaller companies seem to be doing better than larger ones. 4.Mature students do not necessarily manage their time better than younger students. 5.Physical exercise apparently reduces the symptoms of depression.  Hedging Objectives: Overview: 1.Definition of Hedging At the end of the session, the students are expected to: 2.Examples of Hedging 1.define hedging language; 3.Importance of Hedging 2.identify words or phrases used as 4.Activity hedging language; 3.describe voice in academic writing; 4.discuss the importance of hedging in academic writing; and, 5.rewrite sentences using hedging language for a formal and objective tone. Time to Why do we need to observe objectivity in academic writing? What is the relevance of using hedging language and appropriate voice in academic writing? What values are shaped in being more cautious in writing?  Hedging and Objectives: Voice Overview: 1.Definition of Hedging At the end of the session, the students 2.Examples of Hedging are expected to: 1.define hedging language; 3.Definition and 2.identify words or phrases used as Examples of Voice hedging language; 4.Importance of Hedging 3.describe voice in academic writing; and Voice 4.discuss the importance of hedging 5.Activity and voice in academic writing; and, 5.rewrite sentences using hedging language for a formal and objective tone. Voic e Voice In English, voice is concerned with emphasis. It is indicated by changing the form of the verb. Active Voice emphasizes the doer or subject of the action. The government has promised to monitor the housing market situation closely. Active Voice The government has promised to monitor the housing market situation closely. Active voice – has promised (emphasizing the doer: the government) Passive Voice emphasizes the action. Close monitoring of the housing market has been promised by the government. Passive Voice Close monitoring of the housing market has been promised by the government. Passive voice – has been promised (emphasizing the action: close monitoring)  Active and Passive Voice Rules for Conversion of Rule #1 Identify the (S+V+O) Subject, Verb and Object in the active sentence to convert to passive voice. Example: He drives car. (Subject – He, verb – Drives, object – Car) Please Note: Only verbs which have an object can be made into the passive. These are called ‘transitive’ verbs. Intransitive verbs do not have an object. Example: The student sneezed. = No passive form  Rule #2 Interchange the object and subject with each other, i.e., object of the active sentence become the subject of the passive sentence. Example: Active voice: She knits sweater. (Subject – She, Verb – Knits, Object – Sweater) Passive Voice: The sweater is knitted by her. (Object sweater is interchanged with the subject She). Rule #3 Change the base verb in the active sentence into the past participle i.e., third form verb in a passive sentence i.e., preceded by (by, with, to, etc). Base verbs are never used in passive voice sentences. Rule #3 Example: Active voice: She prepares dinner. Rule #3 Example: Passive voice: The dinner is prepared by her. Rule #3 Example: Active voice: She knows him. Rule #3 Example: Passive voice: He is known to her. Rule #3 Example: Active voice: Juice fills the jar. Rule #3 Example: Passive voice: The jar is filled with juice. Rule #4 While conversion of Active voice sentence to Passive voice sentence, the pronoun used in the sentence also changes in the following manner. Rule #5 Use the suitable helping or auxiliary verb (is/am/are/was, etc.). The rules for using auxiliary verbs in passive voice sentences are different for each tense.  Look out for these errors: 1.when using modal verbs with main verbs in the active voice e.g. can cause; will cause (NOT can causes, can causing, will causes, will causing)  Look out for these errors: 2. when using verbs in the passive voice e.g. is calculated, has been calculated (NOT is calculate, has been calculate) WHEN TO USE PASSIVE VOICE  Most academic writing should be in the active voice. However, there are times when it is useful to use the passive: 1.When you want to emphasize the thing or person acted on 2.When the performer of the action is unknown or not important WHEN TO AVOID PASSIVE VOICE 1.Use of the active voice tends to make your writing clearer, stronger and more direct. 2.Passives can be used to mask gaps in your knowledge, by avoiding crediting a person or thing with an action. As a result, writing can be vague, and arguments can be imprecise or weak. e.g. It is claimed that 73% students prefer to study with music on in the background. (Who claimed this? Which study?) 3.Overuse of the passive can make a passage ‘wordy’ and hard to read. Let’s try! Change to Passive Voice: The teacher will grade the papers according to the criteria stated in the syllabus. Change to Active Voice: Samples were collected from six municipalities in Camarines Sur by the research team. Change to Passive Voice: (Answer) The papers will be graded by the teacher according to the criteria stated in the syllabus. Change to Active Voice: (Answer) The research team collected samples from six municipalities in Camarines Sur.  Hedging and Objectives: Voice Overview: 1.Definition of Hedging At the end of the session, the students are expected to: 2.Examples of Hedging 1.define hedging language; 3.Definition and 2.identify words or phrases used as Examples of Voice hedging language; 4.Importance of Hedging 3.describe voice in academic and Voice writing; 4.discuss the importance of 5.Activity hedging and voice in academic writing; and, 5.rewrite sentences using hedging language for a formal and  APPL111 - English for Academic & Professional Purposes Assignment Review the lesson on Features Next: of Academic Writing. Nominalization  Reference Ateneo de Naga Press. s Fajardo, M. (2016). English for academic and professional purposes. Murray, & Rockowitz, A.C. (n.d.). Grammar and mechanics: Active and passive voice. Hunter College. https://www.hunter.cuny.edu/rwc/repository/files/grammar-and mechanics/verb-system/Active-and-Passive-Voice.pdf Read, S.H. (2019). Academic writing for international students. Red Globe Press. Valdez, P. (2016). English for academic & professional purposes. The Phoenix Publishing House, Inc. Wattam, F. (2018). Hedging. IELTS Exam Training Courses. https://members.ieltsetc.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/ 05/Advanced-Hedging-Final.pdf