Hedging language — Ngôn ngữ thận trọng trong VSTEP

Hedging là kỹ thuật dùng ngôn ngữ thận trọng, tránh khẳng định tuyệt đối. Đây là đặc trưng quan trọng của văn phong academic, giúp tăng điểm VSTEP Writing.

1. Modal Verbs (Động từ tình thái)

Pollution may cause serious health problems.
This could lead to significant changes.
The results might suggest a different approach.
Technology can sometimes have negative effects.

2. Adverbs of Probability (Trạng từ khả năng)

This is probably the best solution.
The economy will likely recover next year.
It is arguably the most important factor.
Perhaps we should reconsider our approach.
Presumably, the costs will increase.

3. Tentative Verbs (Động từ thận trọng)

The data suggests that... (không nói "proves")
The evidence indicates that...
The study implies that...
It appears that the trend is increasing.
The results tend to support this theory.

4. Impersonal Structures (Cấu trúc khách quan)

It is widely believed that education is important.
It could be argued that technology has drawbacks.
There is some evidence to suggest that ...
It is generally accepted that ...
One could argue that ...

5. Qualifying Phrases (Cụm từ giới hạn)

To some extent, this is true.
In most cases, the benefits outweigh the risks.
To a certain degree, the policy has been effective.
In general, the results are positive.
On the whole, the evidence supports this view.

So sánh: Quá mạnh vs Thận trọng

Mẹo VSTEP: Trong Writing Task 2, dùng hedging khi trình bày quan điểm — "It could be argued that..." thay vì "I believe that..." Giám khảo đánh giá cao văn phong academic thận trọng.