CONTENTS

ABSTRACT

中文摘要

Chapter One  INTRODUCTION-1

1.1 Background of the Study-1

1.2 Necessity for the Study-1

1.3 Objective of the Study-2

1.4 Structure of the Thesis-2

Chapter Two  LITERATURE REVIEW-4

2.1 The Definition of Hedges-4

2.2 The Classification of Hedges-5

Chapter Three  METHODOLOGY-7

3.1 Research Questions-7

3.2 Data Collection-7

3.3 Procedure-8

Chapter Four  RESULTS AND DISCUSSION-10

4.1 Results-10

4.2 Discussion-11

4.2.1 The function of adaptors in English medical article-11

4.2.2 The function of rounders in English medical article-13

4.2.3 The function of plausibility shields in English medical article-14

4.2.4 The function of attribution shields in English medical article-16

4.3 Summary-17

Chapter Five  CONCLUSION-19

5.1 Major Research Findings-19

5.2 Implications of the Study-19

5.3 Limitations of the Study and Suggestions for Future Research-20

REFERENCES-22