a comparative study of hedges in the introduction and discussion sections of m.a tefl and translation theses of non-native students of tabriz azad university

Writing is not just a text to provide information about a phenomenon or explain an external reality, but rather writers use it as a means of social negotiation to create a friendly relationship with their readers to have the intended impact on them. interactional metadiscourse devices make it possible for writers to communicate with readers, and stance markers as the writer-oriented features of interaction make it possible for writers to express their authority, opinions, commitments, involvements, and tentativeness in a text. this study was an attempt to explore hedges as a type of stance markers in the introduction and discussion sections of 20 m.a theses (10 from tefl and 10 from translation theses) of non-native students of tabriz azad university. collecting and categorizing data were based on the first dimension of the interactional part of metadiscourse in hyland’s (2005) interpersonal modal which includes ‘hedges’, ‘boosters’, ‘attitude markers’, and ‘self-mentions’. the design of this study was qualitative descriptive in nature. however, a quantitative approach was also employed to achieve the process of counting and investigating the frequency of occurrence of hedges. the statistical analysis of the findings was based on the chi-square test. the findings indicate that hedges were frequently utilized in both groups. the results also reveal that although there are some similarities, there are significant differences not only in the number of hedges but also in the type and number of their details or features between the two groups. the findings of this study can be beneficial for the development of pedagogical purposes.