The Hidden Meanings of Some Hedge Words [1]

It's always wise to state your conclusions as emphatically as you can support them. When you're unsure, dont' hedge; just state your level of uncertainty and the reasons behind it as straightwordly as possible. However, hedging has its place, especially when you need to cover porblems in effort or logic. With many people, many hedge words and phrases have taken on a new meaning. For example, consider this list compiled by an unknown author as a guide for interpreting reports.

It has long been known that. . . .

I haven't bothered to look up the original reference.

Of great theoretical and practical importance . . . .

It's interesting to me.

Nine of the samples were chosen for detailed study. . . .

The results from other samples didn't make sense, so I ignored them.

Typical results are shown. . . .

The best results are shown.

These results will be presented at a later date. . . .

I might get around to this sometime.

An exhausitve review of the literature shows that. . . .

I found a 1996 paper that says. . . .

It is believed that. . . .

I think that . . . .

It is generally believed that . . . .

A couple of people think that . . . .

It is clear that much additional work is required before a complete understanding of this work will be achieved.

I don't understand it.

Thanks due to Joyce Corban for assistance with the experiment and to Jerry Hutchins for valuable discussions.

Coban did the work and Hutchins told me what it meant.

[1] R.Moore,Writing to Learn Science, Fort Worth: HBJ, 1997, p. 190.