Level 1 — Foundation · Clauses & the First Paragraph
Task 17: Writing a Properly Hedged Claim
Write the same claim at three different strengths — flat fact, cautious possibility, and heavily hedged — choosing the modal or hedging phrase that matches exactly how confident the evidence allows you to be.
Learning Objectives
By the end of this task, you should be able to:
- Write a flat, unhedged factual claim
- Write the same claim hedged with a modal (may, could, might) to signal possibility rather than certainty
- Write the same claim hedged further with a phrase like 'may be associated with' or 'tends to'
Introduction
Lesson 17 taught you to read "may," "tends to," and "is associated with" as signals of exactly how confident an author is. Writing your own hedged claim means making that confidence level a deliberate choice, not something that just happens to the sentence.
The Rule, for Writing
Core Concept
Start from a flat claim (X causes Y), then add exactly one layer of caution at a time. A modal like may or could turns certainty into possibility. A phrase like is associated with or tends to weakens causation into correlation or tendency. Stack both together for a claim as cautious as the evidence genuinely allows — never hedge more than the evidence requires, and never hedge less.
Example
Flat: Overtime reduces productivity. Hedged with a modal: Overtime may reduce productivity. Hedged further: Overtime may be associated with reduced productivity over time. Each version claims something slightly different — and slightly weaker — than the one before it.
Your Turn
Your Turn
Choose one idea: late deliveries damage customer trust. Write it three ways — once as a flat, unhedged claim; once hedged with a single modal (may/might/could); and once hedged further using a phrase like "is associated with" or "tends to."
Vocabulary in Context
trustnounneutral
firm belief in the reliability of someone or something (বিশ্বাস)
Often with build trust, trust in, lose trust
“Reliable delivery builds trust between the terminal and its customers.”
associatedadjectiveformal
linked or connected with something, without necessarily causing it (সম্পর্কিত)
Often with be associated with, closely associated, risks associated with
“Higher storage charges are associated with longer dwell times.”
Model Answer
Show a model answer
Flat: Late deliveries damage customer trust. Hedged with a modal: Late deliveries may damage customer trust. Hedged further: Late deliveries may be associated with a gradual decline in customer trust.
Self-Check
Self-Check
- Does your flat sentence contain no hedge word at all?
- Does your modal sentence use "may," "might," or "could" correctly, in front of the base verb?
- Does your final sentence genuinely sound more cautious than the first two, not just longer?
- Did you write all three sentences directly in English, without translating from Bangla first?
Next: Writing 18 — Building a Nominalized Sentence: compressing two plain sentences into one dense, formal sentence built around a noun like "implementation" or "reduction."