Language for hedging	

Examples from page 24

It seems that there is a steady movement towards urban areas.
It would appear that…

…there is still some debate as to which is the world’s largest capital.
…there is still some discussion as to…

…it is commonly accepted that Athens is the European capital which suffers from…
…it is widely recognized that…

It’s unclear as to whether this information is based on popular opinion or on statistical data…
It is not known whether…

Sources would appear to suggest that the Syrians are right.
Sources seem to suggest that…

There is absolutely no question about which of the world’s capital cities is the highest.
There is no doubt whatsoever about…

Most people believe this.
People disagree about this.
There is some evidence.
You can’t argue against this.
We don’t know.

More examples

•	Smoking is bad for you.
•	There is life on other planets.
•	Which is a better place to live, Hong Kong or Singapore?
•	Drinking tea is good for you.
•	The quality of life is improving.
•	People are happier now than they were in the past.
•	Having a social life is good for you.

Answers	

It seems that there is a steady movement towards urban areas.
It would appear that…	There is some evidence.
	
…there is still some debate as to which is the world’s largest capital.
…there is still some discussion as to…	People disagree about this.
	
…it is commonly accepted that Athens is the European capital which suffers from…
…it is widely recognized that…	Most people believe this.
	
It’s unclear as to whether this information is based on popular opinion or on statistical data…
It is not known whether…	We don’t know.
	
Sources would appear to suggest that the Syrians are right.
Sources seem to suggest that…	There is some evidence.
	
There is absolutely no question about which of the world’s capital cities is the highest.
There is no doubt whatsoever about…	You can’t argue against this.

These are possible answers; other phrases with the same meaning could also be used. 

Smoking is bad for you.	You can’t argue against this. 	There is absolutely no question that smoking is bad for you.	
There is life on other planets.	
We don’t know.
	It’s not known whether there is life on other planets.	
Which is a better place to live, Hong Kong or Singapore?	
People disagree about this.
	There is some debate as to whether Hong Kong or Singapore is a better place to live.	
Drinking tea is good for you.	
There is some evidence.
	It would seem that drinking tea is good for you.	
The quality of life is improving.	
People disagree about this.
	There is some discussion as to whether the quality of life is improving.	
People are happier now than they were in the past.	
People disagree about this.
	There is some debate as to whether people are happier now than they were in the past.	
Having a social life is good for you.	Most people believe this.
	It is widely recognized that having a social life is good for you.