Hedging words and phrases

DO NOT USE WORDS AND PHRASES IN ACADEMIC WRITING THAT ARE TOO STRONGLY OPINIONATED.

When you are evaluating theories and discussing implications, lecturers expect that your argument should appear to be well-considered and reasonable. The language you use to make your claims should show that you can 'make way' for other points of view. If it is appropriate for you to be tentative (medium certainty) with your claims, you can use language techniques to 'soften' your claims to indicate the degree of certainty you want to express. This technique is called hedging.

Certainty barometer

 Avoid using unnecessary words

Wordy phrases	Using better English
1. it would appear that ...	1. apparently ...
2. with the exception of ...	2. except ...
3. in connection with ...	3. about ...
4. are found to be in agreement with ...	4. agree ...
5. a large majority of ...	5. most ...
6. in the event that ...	6. if ...
7. a disproportionate number ...	7. few ...
8. arrive at a decision ...	8. decide ...
9. for a further period of ten years ...	9. for another ten years ...
10. such is by no means the case ...	10. this is not so ...
11. in the field of education ...	11. in education ...
12. they are without legal representation whatsoever ...	12. they have no legal representation ...
13. in the case of the third question ...	13. in the third question ...
14. at the present time, overseas companies are ...	14. overseas companies are now ...
15. there is really somewhat of an obligation on behalf of the department of health ...	15. the Department of Health is obliged ...

Wordiness

DO NOT CLOG UP YOUR WRITING WITH WORDS THAT DON'T NEED TO BE THERE.

Unnecessary words confuse and frustrate the reader (marker). Using too many words is a common fault in student writing. Most students do battle with the word count (allowable words per essay), so when you're editing your writing be aware of the tendency to overuse words. You can cut out unnecessary words—without changing the meaning—to reduce your word count. The following table shows you a few common wordy phrases and their shorter replacements:

See Kim Blank's Wordiness, Wordiness, Wordiness List for more info.

 Avoid using brackets and dashes to add information

Brackets & dashes

AVOID USING BRACKETS & DASHES TO ADD INFORMATION

Brackets

In formal academic writing, brackets are used for in-text referencing systems (other than footnoting).

In informal writing, brackets are often used to enclose non-essential information. However, using brackets in formal academic writing to give information is generally NOT ENCOURAGED. It is better to use a pair of commas and say what you mean. For example:

Many students had difficulties with using information correctly in their writing (e.g. paraphrasing and summarising).

A MORE APPROPRIATE STYLE Many students had difficulties with using information correctly in their writing, for example, paraphrasing and summarising.

If you do use brackets, be careful that you use them correctly. You should not switch bracket styles ( ), [ ], { }, < > as most bracket styles have a usage convention. Round brackets ( ) are usually first choice for enclosing non-essential information unless you are asked to follow another convention. Be careful with your use of spaces and punctuation rules if you choose to use bracketed information—really, it is simpler not to use them!

Dashes

Dashes are used in a similar way to brackets. Most students use them incorrectly as the rules are complicated. Therefore, it is better to avoid using dashes in your formal writing unless you have a very good grasp of the rules.

 Do not use dot/bullet point lists unless you are instructed to