Hedging is a type of language use which “protects” your claims. Using language with a suitable amount of caution can protect your claims from being easily dismissed. It also helps to indicate the level of certainty we have in relation to the evidence or support. (University College London Faculty of Education and Society, 2024)

In academic writing, claims should not be made with absolute certainty if there is any doubt. As there is almost always some doubt or nuance, most claims must be made using cautious (or 'hedging') language.

The table below provides some examples of language you could use when making knowledge claims:

Quantifiers	Appearance	Possibility	Frequency	Comparatively	Content	Evidence	Description in language
Some A fraction A minority/majority of A proportion of To some extent	Appears to Has the appearance of Is similar to Shares characteristics with Appears to be in line with	Might May Could Can Has the possibility of Has the potential to Is able to	Sometimes Rarely Tends to Has a tendency to	In a simpler way than... More simply than… When compared to…	In the context of… In certain situations… Within some households…	Based on… As indicated by… According to…	Can be described as Could be considered to be Is sometimes labelled Can be equated to The term is often used to mean The term is often used to refer to This may indicate that… This may suggest that…

Here are some phrases to avoid, and some alternatives you could use instead:

Avoid	Use
Without a doubt	It is almost certain that
Inevitably	It is extremely likely that
Everyone agrees	There is widespread agreement
The results prove	The results strongly suggest

You can find many more suggestions of words and phrases to help you express things cautiously on the Manchester Academic Phrasebank website. There's also an exercise on the Using English for Academic Purposes website.

Acknowledgement: Examples taken from University College London Faculty of Education and Society (2024) Argument, voice, structure. Available at: https://www.ucl.ac.uk/ioe/departments-and-centres/centres/academic-writing-centre/resources-academic-reading-and-writing/argument-voice-structure (Accessed 17 June 2024).