On the Use of Hedges and Boosters in Different Sections of Research Articles Published in National and International Journals

Abstract

This study was conducted to investigate the frequency of the use of hedges and boosters in academic writings of both Farsi and English writers. To do  so, 200 articles from four qualified journals were selected to create four different corpora. The corpora were then analyzed for the presence of hedges and boosters completely, using Ant Conc analyzer free ware. Descriptive statistics and chi-square tests helped us to discuss the findings. The findings suggested that Iranian native writers made less use of hedges  in their writings compared to  English native writers, which means that nonnative writers are less conservative in claiming their results. The results of the chi square test showed that the difference between  Persian and English writers was significant. The pattern of using hedges and boosters in different parts of the articles is also different. The results and discussion sections of the articles had the highest frequency of the presence of hedges and boosters, and the methodology section had the least frequency.  The results of this study can help material developers for graduate and post graduate courses or course designers to focus more on the pragmatic part of language teaching. Nonnative writers want to publish their articles in prestigious journals in order to reach   academic identity, so the results of this study can help them to learn the pattern of writings in English. Language teachers can stress  this cross-cultural difference in their classes to increase the level of self-confidence of their students and help them to clarify their points while communicating, without becoming disappointed.