Taking Out Insurance on Statements : Hedging in Women's and Men's Research Articles

Abstract: This thesis presents the view that women use hedges more often than men and for different reasons and seeks to determine to what extent and during what circumstances this phenomenon occurs. A quantitative and qualitative design was selected for this study. That is, quantitative in the sense that, hedges were counted in two articles by a male and female writer. The articles were about perceptions of lifestyle habits that put children of Mexican descent at risk for obesity. Qualitative in the sense that only a certain amount of hedges was accounted for. The findings are supported with additional material in the form of books and articles about gender, and hedging in academic writing. The results did not match the initial hypothesis and as a result men use hedges more often than women do. The most plausible explanation for this has to do with hedging in scientific writing as opposed to gender related issues. Perceptions about female and male language use may not correspond to preordained expectations. Larger studies are needed to confirm these preliminary findings.