Exploring the Use of Hedges and Boosters in the Independent Study (IS) Manuscripts of Thai EFL University Students
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This study investigates the use of hedges and boosters in 20 Independent Study (IS) manuscripts written by English for International Communication (EIC) undergraduate students of a university. The analysis identifies and categorizes these linguistic elements, exploring their role in shaping students’ academic writing style. A total of 288 hedges and 53 boosters were found, with hedges appearing significantly more frequently, accounting for 2.24% per 1,000 words, compared to boosters at 0.41%. The most commonly used hedges included modal auxiliaries and verbs such as may, might, would, and seem, reflecting the students’ tendency to express uncertainty, caution, and approximation. In contrast, verb and adverb boosters like show, always, and clearly were used more sparingly, indicating a lower level of confidence in their assertions. The distribution of these elements varied across different sections of the manuscripts, with the Introduction containing the highest frequency of both hedges and boosters, while the Methodology section showed the least use. These findings suggest that students rely heavily on hedging strategies to create a more measured academic tone, indicating their awareness of the complexities of their topics. The study recommends targeted instruction and peer review to help Thai EFL students develop more rigorous and confident academic writing.
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