| Acknowledgements | 第1-6页 |
| 中文摘要 | 第6-8页 |
| 英文摘要 | 第8-10页 |
| Table of Contents | 第10-12页 |
| List of Abbreviations | 第12-13页 |
| Lists of Tables and Figures | 第13-16页 |
| Chapter One INTRODUCTION | 第16-20页 |
| ·Object of the Study | 第16-18页 |
| ·Goals and Significances of the Study | 第18-19页 |
| ·Overview of the Thesis | 第19-20页 |
| Chapter Two LITERATURE REVIEW | 第20-31页 |
| ·Definitions of Key Terms | 第20-24页 |
| ·Hedges | 第20-21页 |
| ·Hedging | 第21-22页 |
| ·Negative comments | 第22-24页 |
| ·Related Stydies | 第24-30页 |
| ·Taxonomies of hedges | 第24-26页 |
| ·Hedging in academic writing | 第26-30页 |
| ·Hedging in L1 academic writing | 第27-28页 |
| ·Hedging in L2 academic writing | 第28-30页 |
| ·Summary | 第30-31页 |
| Chapter Three THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK | 第31-38页 |
| ·Two Types of Face | 第31-32页 |
| ·Face-threatening Acts(FTAs) | 第32-33页 |
| ·Strategies for Doing FTAs | 第33-36页 |
| ·Doing FTAs as Reflecting Pragmatic Competence | 第36-38页 |
| Chapter Four METHODOLOGY | 第38-46页 |
| ·Research Questions | 第38-39页 |
| ·Data Source | 第39页 |
| ·Instruments | 第39-40页 |
| ·Data Collection and Data Analysis | 第40-46页 |
| Chapter Five RESULTS AND DISCUSSION | 第46-64页 |
| ·Hedging Negative Comments in Expert Articles and MA Theses | 第46-54页 |
| ·Hedging negative comments in EA and MA | 第47-48页 |
| ·Frequency of negative comments in EA and MA | 第47-48页 |
| ·Strategies for doing different FTAs in EA and MA | 第48页 |
| ·Similarities and differences of hedging negative comments and strategies between EA and MA | 第48-54页 |
| ·Comparison of frequency of negative comments between EA and MA | 第48-51页 |
| ·Comparison of EAs' and MAs' strategies for doing different FTAs in hedged negative comments | 第51-52页 |
| ·Pragmatic failures in making negative comments in MA | 第52-54页 |
| ·Linguistic Forms of Hedging Negative Comments in EA and MA | 第54-60页 |
| ·Linguistic realization of strategies for doing different FTAs in EA and MA | 第54-57页 |
| ·Similarities and differences in linguistic forms of hedging negative comments between EA and MA | 第57-60页 |
| ·Causes for Differences between EA and MA in Hedging Negative Comments | 第60-62页 |
| ·Pragmalinguisitc causes | 第61页 |
| ·Sociopragmatic causes | 第61-62页 |
| ·Summary | 第62-64页 |
| Chapter Six CONCLUSION | 第64-67页 |
| ·Major Findings of the Study | 第64-65页 |
| ·Implications of the Study | 第65-66页 |
| ·Limitations of the Study and Suggestions for Future Research | 第66-67页 |
| References | 第67-72页 |
| Appendix Ⅰ:30 Expert Writers' Articles | 第72-74页 |
| Appendix Ⅱ:30 MA Theses | 第74-77页 |
