| Abstract in English | 第4-6页 |
| Abstract in Chinese | 第6-12页 |
| Chapter One Introduction | 第12-17页 |
| 1.1 Background of the Study | 第12-13页 |
| 1.2 Objectives of the Study | 第13-14页 |
| 1.3 Significance of the Study | 第14-15页 |
| 1.4 Organization of the Thesis | 第15-17页 |
| Chapter Two Literature Review | 第17-44页 |
| 2.1 Definition of Hedges | 第17-19页 |
| 2.2 Classification of Hedges | 第19-25页 |
| 2.2.1 The Grammatical Classification | 第19-20页 |
| 2.2.2 The Semantic Classification | 第20-21页 |
| 2.2.3 The Pragmatic Classification | 第21-25页 |
| 2.3 Pragmatic Functions of Hedges | 第25-28页 |
| 2.4 The Nature of Scientific Research Articles | 第28-29页 |
| 2.5 Theoretical Studies on Hedges | 第29-31页 |
| 2.6 Empirical Studies on Hedges | 第31-40页 |
| 2.6.1 Studies of Hedges in Spoken Discourse | 第31-32页 |
| 2.6.2 Studies of Hedges in Written Discourse | 第32-40页 |
| 2.7 Summary | 第40-44页 |
| Chapter Three Research Methodology | 第44-51页 |
| 3.0 Corpus Construction | 第44-45页 |
| 3.1 The Sources of Corpus for This Study | 第45-46页 |
| 3.2 Data Processing | 第46-49页 |
| 3.2.1 Selection of Hedges | 第46-48页 |
| 3.2.2 Identification of Hedges | 第48页 |
| 3.2.3 Procedures of Data Analysis | 第48-49页 |
| 3.3 Methods of Analysis | 第49-51页 |
| Chapter Four Results and Discussion | 第51-77页 |
| 4.1 Distribution of Hedges in the Discussion Sections of Linguistics andBiology RAs | 第51页 |
| 4.2 Distribution of Each Category of Hedges in the Discussion Sections ofLinguistics and Biology RAs | 第51-67页 |
| 4.2.1 Modal Verbs | 第54-59页 |
| 4.2.2 Lexical Verbs | 第59-61页 |
| 4.2.3 Adverbs | 第61-63页 |
| 4.2.4 Adjectives | 第63-66页 |
| 4.2.5 Nouns | 第66-67页 |
| 4.3 Similarities and Differences in the Use of Hedges | 第67-71页 |
| 4.3.1 Similarities | 第68-70页 |
| 4.3.2 Differences | 第70-71页 |
| 4.4 Distribution of Hedges in the Discussion Sections of Linguistics RAs ofMale and Female Writers | 第71页 |
| 4.5 Distribution of Each Category of Hedges in the Discussion Sections ofLinguistics RAs of Male and Female Writers | 第71-73页 |
| 4.6 Similarities and Differences in the Use of Hedges | 第73-76页 |
| 4.7 Possible Reasons for the Differences in the Use of Hedges | 第76-77页 |
| Chapter Five Conclusion | 第77-82页 |
| 5.1 Major Findings | 第77-78页 |
| 5.2 Implications of the Study | 第78-80页 |
| 5.3 Limitations and Suggestions for Future Research | 第80-82页 |
| References | 第82-87页 |
| Appendices | 第87-95页 |
| Acknowledgements | 第95页 |
