| Acknowledgements | 第1-4页 |
| Abstract | 第4-8页 |
| Chapter 1 Introduction | 第8-12页 |
| ·Significance of this research | 第8-10页 |
| ·Data selection | 第10-11页 |
| ·Methodology | 第11-12页 |
| Chapter 2 Literature Review | 第12-22页 |
| ·The research developments in hedge and hedging | 第12-17页 |
| ·The taxonomies of hedge or hedging | 第17-22页 |
| Chapter 3 Functions of Hedging in Communication | 第22-28页 |
| ·The textual functions of hedging | 第22-23页 |
| ·The interpersonal functions of hedging | 第23页 |
| ·Hedging as a politeness strategy | 第23-25页 |
| ·Hedging as a strategy of self-protection | 第25页 |
| ·Hedging as a strategy to appeal to the audience | 第25-28页 |
| Chapter 4 Hedging Devices in Economic Articles | 第28-50页 |
| ·Frequencies and distribution of hedges in economic articles | 第29-30页 |
| ·Lexical hedges | 第30-47页 |
| ·Modal verbs | 第30-41页 |
| ·Epistemic lexical verbs | 第41-44页 |
| ·Epistemic adjectives | 第44-45页 |
| ·Epistemic adverbs | 第45-46页 |
| ·Epistemic nouns | 第46-47页 |
| ·Hedging numerical data | 第47-50页 |
| Chapter 5 Differences in Hedging between Native and Non-native English Speakers | 第50-62页 |
| ·A Comparative Study between Chinese and native English speakers | 第50-53页 |
| ·Influencing variables | 第53-57页 |
| ·Implications for English Teaching and ESP students | 第57-62页 |
| Chapter 6 Conclusions | 第62-64页 |
| ·Summary of the thesis | 第62页 |
| ·Limitations and suggestion for future research | 第62-64页 |
| Bibliography | 第64-67页 |
| Appendix | 第67页 |
