Hedging & modality
Can, could, might and may
Broadly speaking, can, could, might and may are used in academic style in the same way as they are used in general English, but one or two usages which are more frequent in academic style are worth noting. Academic English often needs to state possibilities rather than facts, and academics frequently hypothesise and draw tentative conclusions.
Can is often used to make fairly confident but not absolute assertions, in contrast with could, might or may (see below):
These new insights into the multiple meaning of family can help us understand the experience of transnational migration.
(asserting a claim of what is normal, i.e. almost equivalent to ‘these new insights... help us understand... ', but framed as ‘usually/normally' rather than ‘always')
Could and might are used for more tentative assertions:
One could say that our concept of selfhood is radically contaminated by the mind-set of ‘this is mine', ‘I am this'.
[consultant (A) tutoring a student doctor]
A: Right, Very good. What do you think might have happened since he left hospital that caused this ulcer to break down yet again?
B: He could have either occluded his graft.
A: Yes.
B: Or the area could have become infected.
A: Okay. Now is there any clinical evidence that he might have occluded his graft?[on the behaviour of young birds]
Thus, one might conclude that the predisposition to respond to pattern or flicker only affects the further developments of a preference in that it might help to guide the young bird towards objects having these characteristics.
A particular use of may, which is very common in academic texts, is to describe things which are likely to occur or which normally do occur. In this usage it is a formal equivalent of can:
Parallel vertical pipes, several centimetres long and 1-2 mm thick, are common in much of the unit, but especially in the middle part, where there may be several in each cm horizontal section.
[on mental health and mental retardation]
The anger experience may culminate in a variety of behavioural reactions, including aggression or withdrawal.
May is also widely used in a more general way in academic texts to make a proposition more tentative. May is less tentative than could or might:
This change may also have been in progress in other counties.
[CFS = chronic fatigue syndrome]
Overall, one may conclude that the present study has shown that patients with CFS have psychomotor impairments, problems maintaining attention, and are visually sensitive.
Must
Must is used to make confident predictions or conclusions:
Such changes must be due to changes in motivational organization of social behaviour.
Must is also used in boosted directives to the reader/listener to pay attention to particular points:
We must remember, however, that migrants may not need information about more than one destination.
(compare the weaker: We should remember, however,...)It is useful to try to apply these general stages when considering any piece of worked stone. As always, they are meant to help us understand the processes and as such are merely an intellectual framework. Therefore, one must not apply them too rigidly.
Will
Will is used to make confident predictions or to assert known or accepted facts:
Represented as a value between zero and one, X will approach unity in perfectly flat and open terrain, whereas locations with obstructions such as buildings and trees will cause X to become proportionally less (Oke, 1992).
[pathology lecture]
Right, Red blood cells leaving the capillaries and then entering the tissues. They will break down there and haemoglobin will be released and the tissue will turn black and eventually will go.
Would
Would is frequently used to hedge assertions which someone might challenge and to make argumentative claims less direct when used with speech-act verbs such as advocate, argue, assume, claim, propose, suggest:
Given this, we would argue that the lowa sample has provided a unique opportunity to examine a number of important questions regarding schizophrenia, including the issue of mortality.
Theoretically, one would assume that this increased bacterial mass would synthesize more enzymes.
[lecture on the teaching of language and literature]
And students think that by reading a text, getting the information of it, they have understood it. They are, I would suggest, full of the understanding of one level: the referential meaning.
Would is also frequently used with appear and seem:
It would seem that in this domain, as in so many others, the north was more favoured than the south.
(compare the more assertive: it seems that in this domain...)
Should and ought to
Should allows the writer/speaker to describe desired or ideal situations. It is less strong than must:
However, to assess different advantages and disadvantages in other circumstances, the chosen method should be examined critically before use.
( compare the stronger:... the chosen method must be examined...)
Ought to is occasionally used in this way in academic style, but is much less frequent than should:
Our use of the term ‘stable' ought to be defined here.
Should is used to hedge conclusions and predictions, but it expresses confidence in the probability that a situation will occur in a particular way:
The overall agreement of the results should allow us to accept them with some confidence.
(compare the more direct:... the results allow us to accept...)[English literature lecture]
Okay, you should be able to see the connections already and hopefully you can see what Anderson is saying in this extract.