| Acknowledgements | 第1-5页 |
| ABSTRACT | 第5-6页 |
| 摘要 | 第6-9页 |
| CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION | 第9-12页 |
| ·MOTIVATION FOR THE STUDY | 第9-10页 |
| ·OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY | 第10-11页 |
| ·RESEARCH METHOD | 第11页 |
| ·LAYOUT OF THE PRESENT THESIS | 第11-12页 |
| CHAPTER 2 LITERATURE REVIEW | 第12-19页 |
| ·EVOLUTION OF THE NOTION OF HEDGES | 第12-14页 |
| ·HEDGING RESEARCH IN PRAGMATICS | 第14-16页 |
| ·DEFINITION AND CLASSIFICATION OF HEDGES | 第16-19页 |
| ·Definition of hedges | 第16-17页 |
| ·Classification of hedges | 第17-19页 |
| CHAPTER 3 A BRIEF INTRODUCTION TO THE ADAPTATION THEORY | 第19-25页 |
| ·PHILOSOPHICAL ORIGIN OF THE ADAPTATION THEORY | 第19-20页 |
| ·THE VARIABILITY, NEGOTIABILITY AND ADAPTABILITY OF LANGUAGE | 第20-21页 |
| ·FOUR ANGLES OF THE INVESTIGATION OF THE ADAPTATION THEORY | 第21-25页 |
| CHAPTER 4 ADAPTATION APPROACH TO HEDGES IN ACADEMIC WRITINGS | 第25-49页 |
| ·CHARACTERISTICS OF ACADEMIC WRITINGS | 第25-28页 |
| ·Complexity | 第25-26页 |
| ·Formality | 第26页 |
| ·Objectivity | 第26页 |
| ·Explicitness | 第26-27页 |
| ·Hedging | 第27-28页 |
| ·Responsibility | 第28页 |
| ·HEDGES IN ACADEMIC WRITINGS | 第28-30页 |
| ·ADAPTATION APPROACH TO HEDGES IN ACADEMIC WRITINGS | 第30-49页 |
| ·Hedges in academic writings –linguistic choices | 第30-32页 |
| ·Choices of linguistic strategy in academic writings –hedging | 第30-31页 |
| ·Choices of hedges made by the writer and the reader | 第31-32页 |
| ·Choices of vocabulary -hedging terms | 第32页 |
| ·Hedges in academic writings –adaptation | 第32-40页 |
| ·Adaptation to the mental world | 第33-40页 |
| ·Adaptation to the writer’s mental world | 第34-38页 |
| ·Adaptation to the readers’mental world | 第38-40页 |
| ·Adaptation to the social world | 第40-43页 |
| ·Adaptation to the conventions of the academic community | 第40-42页 |
| ·Adaptation to the social positions of the writer and the reader | 第42-43页 |
| ·Adaptation to the physical world | 第43-49页 |
| ·Adaptation to the physical world in content | 第43-46页 |
| ·Adaptation to the physical world in form | 第46-49页 |
| CHAPTER 5 CONCLUSION | 第49-51页 |
| ·SUMMARY OF THE STUDY | 第49-50页 |
| ·IMPLICATIONS | 第50页 |
| ·FURTHER STUDY | 第50-51页 |
| REFERENCES | 第51-56页 |
| APPENDIX | 第56-57页 |
