| Acknowledgements | 第1-5页 |
| Abstract (English) | 第5-6页 |
| Abstract (Chinese) | 第6-9页 |
| List of Tables | 第9-10页 |
| List of Abbreviations | 第10-11页 |
| Introduction | 第11-14页 |
| Chapter One Literature Review | 第14-27页 |
| ·Introduction | 第14页 |
| ·Definition of Hedging and Hedge and the Related Concepts | 第14-16页 |
| ·The Working Definition of Hedging in This Study | 第16页 |
| ·Taxonomies of Hedging | 第16-20页 |
| ·Functions of Hedging in Academic Writing | 第20-21页 |
| ·Functions of Content-Motivated Hedges | 第20-21页 |
| ·Functions of Reader-Motivated Hedges | 第21页 |
| ·Empirical Studies of Hedging in Academic Writing | 第21-26页 |
| ·Hedging in English as L1 Academic Writing | 第22-24页 |
| ·Hedging in English as L2 Academic Writing | 第24-26页 |
| ·Critical Evaluation of Previous Studies | 第26页 |
| ·Summary | 第26-27页 |
| Chapter Two Research Methodology | 第27-30页 |
| ·Introduction | 第27页 |
| ·Research Questions | 第27页 |
| ·The Corpora Used in This Study | 第27-28页 |
| ·Instruments and Statistical Procedures for Data Collection | 第28-30页 |
| Chapter Three Results and Discussion | 第30-51页 |
| ·Introduction | 第30页 |
| ·Overall Frequencies of Hedges Used in the Five Categories | 第30-32页 |
| ·Difference in Frequency in Each Hedging Category | 第32-44页 |
| ·Epistemic Verbs | 第33-35页 |
| ·Epistemic Adverbs | 第35-37页 |
| ·Modal Auxiliaries | 第37-40页 |
| ·Epistemic Adjectives | 第40-42页 |
| ·Epistemic Nouns | 第42-43页 |
| ·Summary | 第43-44页 |
| ·Possible Influencing Factors Affecting Chinese EFL Learners’Use of Hedges | 第44-50页 |
| ·Factors for the Underuse of Hedges in Frequency and in Types by Chinese EFL Learners | 第44-48页 |
| ·Factors for the Strong and Authoritative Tone in Chinese EFL Learners’Academic English Writings | 第48-49页 |
| ·Other Factors that Underlie Chinese EFL Learners’Use of Hedges | 第49-50页 |
| ·Summary | 第50-51页 |
| Conclusion | 第51-56页 |
| Bibliography | 第56-63页 |
| Appendix | 第63-74页 |
| Publications | 第74页 |
