The Use of Lexical Hedges in Academic Writing

Currently, in the Iraqi context, it is observed that using linguistic devices is not an obvious consideration for many Iraqi English writers. Although the significance of these devices such as hedging which is the focus of this study in writing is beyond argument. In this sense, this study examined the types and frequency of lexical hedges employed by Iraqi writers in the introduction section of academic research articles in two different fields of study. To do so, a corpus of forty research articles published in two national journals were randomly selected. The procedure of the analysis and interpretation includes calculating the raw frequency of the hedging identifications and types in the introduction sections. The results show that hedges allow researchers to establish an early niche for their research. Also, the results indicate that there are significant differences between both groups in using hedging devices in writing the Introduction. The total number of hedging devices reveals that science writers employed hedging devices in writing the introductions more than humanities writers do. This indicates that science writers are more cautious in rejecting and/ or confirming ideas of others work. The present findings can be employed in teaching writing that is to show the importance of focusing on rhetorical structures rather than only on grammar. It also recommended that more national studies need to fill the desire of paying more attention to the other rhetorical devices that are important in academic writing to allow Iraqi research in all fields of knowledge to spread out internationally.