This study sought to identify the common hedging and boosting devices used in Bachelor of Science in Hospitality Industry Management research papers which are considered as one of the major requirements of the students. Kaplan's contrastive rhetoric (1997) informed the discussion on how novice writers from five different disciplines show commitment and detachment to their proposed ideas. This is revealed in their use of hedging and boosting devices. Sciences and the arts have always been seen as opposite poles in its academic orientation. Arts is characterized by subjectivity, while Science is known for its rigid adherence to objectivity. Specifically, this study tried to determine the most commonly used hedges and boosters by the student writers of the college; which part of their paper contains more/less hedges and boosters; and which type of Mojica's Hedging devices is mostly used. Student writers prefer the use of common modals, adverbs, and distancing phrases which may vary from citing authority to using impersonal third person and unnamed agents, in expressing their detachment to a claim. Likewise, students favor the use of common modals and adverbs in expressing their claims with commitment. They believe that citing authorities in their claims or in support to their claims especially in the introduction of research papers would make their paper more substantive.
Hedges, Boosters, Research Papers
