3.3 Formality

Academic writing follows certain rules of formality which non-native writers should not violate without very good reasons.

Contracted verb forms
These are the representations in writing of verb forms normal in speech; a letter in the verb has been omitted, as indicated by an apostrophe. These contractions should be avoided in academic writing.

wrong:
This is a problem of linear algebra which won`t be discussed here.
correct:
This is a problem of linear algebra which will not be discussed here.

Ii is true that nowadays contracted verb forms can be found in scientific publications as they are increasingly regarded as a way of producing informality, thus creating communication with the audience. However, as a general principle, contractions are still not acceptable in technical-scientific papers and should be written out in full.

Use of the first person pronoun
It is normal practice to avoid using the personal pronoun “I” in scientific articles. Instead, “we” or “the team” are preferred. Some kind of switching between the different forms may nevertheless be appropriate in order to make the reader more involved in the argumentation. The switch from “we” or impersonal forms to “I” may help to establish the sometimes more desirable informal relationship with the reader.

3.4 Hedging

What is hedging?
Hedging means not making blunt, absolute or categorical statements; it means avoiding over-generalisations; it means toning down the positiveness of your statements to allow for others to disagree with them.

Why is hedging important in scientific writing?
Authors of scientific articles generally write in an impersonal style in order to sound more objective and convincing. They also want to avoid showing their personal attitude to their subject or an over-strong commitment to a particular conclusion, so hedging what they say is a way of accomplishing this. It thus involves not expressing the truth of a claim too strongly. Too direct and straightforward argumentation may give the impression of over-confidence and this could puzzle some readers, particularly British or Asian ones who may consider it offensive.

What techniques can I use for hedging?
In order to avoid overgeneralising (especially in experimental descriptions) or to avoid being too critical or direct, there are a number of hedging phrases and other techniques that can be used to help establish better communication and rapport with the reader. These hedging devices are found quite frequently in introductions and conclusions.

􀂃 Use of first person pronouns
It is best for writers to avoid describing their findings in the first person I / me / my, since normally these pronouns would only be used by famous and important researchers or representatives of schools. In general, structures with we / us / our are preferred. This also has a rhetorical function: it implies the inclusion of the author as a co-member of a group. Thus if you want to state whether you are able to present positive, successful results or not, you can say: We do not yet know ….

􀂃 Using tentative verb forms
Statements that are too direct or over-positive can be softened as in these examples:

Over-positive statement:
The investigations of the present work contribute to the model and filter components of LES…
We propose a methodological approach…
The use of equivalence factors for ecotoxic effect should be rejected …
Different variants of the disposal structures must be transferred in computer-aided modes…

Hedged statement:
The investigations of the present work are intended as a contribution to the model and filter components of LES…
We would therefore propose…
It is better for the use of equivalence factors for ecotoxic effect to be avoided…
It is recommended that different variants of the disposal structures be transferred in computer-aided modes…

Particularly useful verbs for hedging are seem to … / appear to … / tend to …, as in these phrases:
Our data seem / appear to
demonstrate that …
indicate that …
suggest that …
imply that …
Our data do not appear to confirm that …
Our data tend to support the hypothesis that …

􀂃 Using modal verbs
Many modal verbs indicate tentativeness or a lack of certainty and can therefore be used to soften what you want to say. Particularly useful modal verbs for this are can / could / may / might / would.

Direct sentence
It will be of interest to compose …
These findings suggest the following interpretation…
X is due to Y
Our data are expected to show …
From these results we conclude …
This assumption also explains why …
The present model is particularly useful ..
Finally, the insecurities of the evaluation have to be discussed.

Hedged sentence
It might be of interest to compose…
These findings would / might / could suggest the following interpretation…
X might / could be due to Y…
Our data would be expected to show…
From these results we may conclude…
This assumption may also help to explain why …
The present model should be particularly useful…
As a final step, the insecurities of the evaluation will need to be discussed.