| ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS | 第1-5页 |
| 摘要 | 第5-7页 |
| ABSTRACT | 第7-9页 |
| Table of Contents | 第9-12页 |
| List of Tables | 第12-13页 |
| List of Abbreviations | 第13-14页 |
| CHAPTER ONE INTRODUCTION | 第14-17页 |
| ·Research background | 第14页 |
| ·Research significance | 第14-15页 |
| ·Research objectives | 第15页 |
| ·Organization of the thesis | 第15-17页 |
| CHAPTER TWO LITERATURE REVIEW | 第17-26页 |
| ·Definition and features of cover letters | 第17-18页 |
| ·Definitions and features of hedges | 第18-19页 |
| ·Studies of hedges abroad | 第19-20页 |
| ·Study of hedges at home | 第20-21页 |
| ·Classifications of hedges | 第21-23页 |
| ·Semantic classification of hedges | 第21-22页 |
| ·Grammatical classification of hedges | 第22页 |
| ·Pragmatic classification of hedges | 第22-23页 |
| ·The pragmatic theories related to the present study | 第23-25页 |
| ·Cooperative principles | 第23-24页 |
| ·Politeness principles | 第24-25页 |
| ·Summary | 第25-26页 |
| CHAPTER THREE RESEARCH DESIGN | 第26-29页 |
| ·Research questions | 第26页 |
| ·Material source and data selection | 第26-27页 |
| ·Research methodology and procedures | 第27页 |
| ·The criteria of hedges for this research | 第27-28页 |
| ·Working definition of hedges | 第27页 |
| ·Working classification of hedges | 第27-28页 |
| ·Summary | 第28-29页 |
| CHAPTER FOUR RESULTS PRESENTATION AND DISCUSSION | 第29-54页 |
| ·Linguistic realization of hedges in ECL by ENS and ECL by Chinese EFL learners | 第29-34页 |
| ·Approximators in ECL by ENS and ECL by Chinese EFL learners | 第29-31页 |
| ·Shields in ECL by ENS and ECL by Chinese EFL learners | 第31-34页 |
| ·Features of hedges in ECL by ENS and ECL by Chinese EFL learners | 第34-37页 |
| ·Frequencies of occurrence of hedges and analysis procedure in ECL by ENS and ECL by Chinese EFL learners | 第34-36页 |
| ·Similarities and differences in ECL by ENS and ECL by Chinese EFL learners | 第36-37页 |
| ·Pragmatic study of hedges based on CP and PP in ECL by ENS and ECL by Chinese EFL learners | 第37-52页 |
| ·Hedges and Co-operative principle in ECL by ENS and ECL by Chinese EFL learners | 第37-44页 |
| ·Politeness principle and hedges in ECL by ENS and ECL by Chinese EFL learners | 第44-48页 |
| ·Pragmatic functions of hedges in ECL by ENS and ECL by Chinese EFL learners | 第48-52页 |
| ·Possible causes for the differences | 第52-53页 |
| ·Relative poor language competence | 第52页 |
| ·Low awareness of hedges and CP and PP | 第52-53页 |
| ·Subjective thinking and objective thinking | 第53页 |
| ·Summary | 第53-54页 |
| CHAPTER FIVE CONCLUSION | 第54-58页 |
| ·Major findings of the present study | 第54-55页 |
| ·Implications of the present research | 第55-56页 |
| ·Limitations of the present research | 第56页 |
| ·Prospect for further research | 第56-57页 |
| ·Summary | 第57-58页 |
| BIBLIOGRAPHY | 第58-60页 |
| APPENDIX | 第60-62页 |
| 攻读学位期间发表的学术论文目录 | 第62-63页 |
