Hedges and Boosters in the Abstract Sections of Master Thesis at Yarmouk University

Abstract

The aim of this study is to investigate the employment of hedges and boosters in thesis abstracts in linguistics written in English by M.A. students at Yarmouk University. To achieve this objective, the abstract sections of 30 M.A. theses submitted to the English Language Department at Yarmouk University in the timeframe 2018-2020 were selected. Following Hyland’s model (2005), data were analyzed quantitatively to count the frequency of hedges and boosters and qualitatively to find out the function of these markers within M.A. thesis abstracts. The findings reveal that hedges are predominant in these abstracts as a means of minimizing the risk of opposition, as a way of being polite, and as a way of presenting results cautiously. The findings also reveal that boosters are also employed to assert research originality and stress certainty. This study emphasizes the importance of hedges and boosters to create more effective and well-structured thesis abstracts.