Gender and the Use of Hedges in Doctoral Theses Writing: Evidence from a Ghanaian University
Shirley Eli Banini 
, Ramos Asafo-Adjei & Ernest Kwesi Klu
Issue: Vol.6 No.7 Article 17 pp.1160 – 1172
DOI: https://doi.org/10.38159/ehass.20256717 | Published online 20th June, 2025
© 2025 The Author(s). This is an open access article under the CCBY license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).
This academic writing-based study turns its attention to analysing the gender-based use of hedges in doctoral theses written in the Humanities at the University of Ghana. The study aimed to answer the research question: What are the gender-based uses of hedges in the doctoral theses at the University of Ghana? Using the simple case study design, the Literature Review (LR) chapters of forty (40) theses written by doctoral students over five academic years were purposively selected from the College of Humanities were analysed using Ken Hyland’s (2005) hedging device categorisations. The analyses reveal the utilisation of different types of hedges, namely: modal auxiliary verbs, adverbials, adjectives and approximators. Males used more modal auxiliary verbs than females. A similar trend was registered for approximators, adverbials, introductory verbs, adjectives and probability adjectives. It was concluded that there are gender differences in the number of hedging devices used by males, compared to their female counterparts. It is recommended that lecturers handling English language, Academic Literacy (Communication Skills) and Research Methodology should train students more on applying hedges to achieve more impactful writing. This study contributes to scholarship by highlighting the gendered use of hedges within the Ghanaian higher education space – a basis for enhanced andragogical approaches in language research and supervision.
Keywords: Academic writing, Discourse analysis, Gender, Hedging, Humanities
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Shirley Eli Banini is currently a Lecturer at the Communication Studies Department of the University of Professional Studies, Accra (UPSA). She holds a PhD in English (ELT) from the University of Venda, South Africa. Her areas of interest are: Academic Literacy, Academic Support, Bi/Multicultural Education and Multilingualism.
Ramos Asafo-Adjei holds a PhD in English Language Teaching (ELT) from the University of Venda, South Africa and is an Associate Professor at Communication and Media Studies Section, Centre for Languages and Liberal Studies of the Takoradi Technical University, Ghana. He researches predominantly in areas such as: English Language Assessment and Evaluation, Discourse Analysis, Pragmatics, Academic Literacy, Language and Social media.
Ernest Kwesi Klu is a Professor of Educational Linguistics and English Language. He is a product of the University of Ibadan and the Rand Afrikaans University. He has lectured at the University of Namibia, Medical University of Southern Africa and currently at the University of Venda. He has published extensively in his fields of specialization. He has also supervised numerous post-graduate students. He has served as HoD and also Vice Dean. He has collaborated with colleagues in Africa and Europe. He is currently at the forefront of honing the research and supervision skills of emerging academics.
Banini, Shirley Eli, Ramos Asafo-Adjei, and Ernest Kwesi Klu. “Gender and the Use of Hedges in Doctoral Theses Writing: Evidence from a Ghanaian University,” E-Journal of Humanities, Arts and Social Sciences 6, no.7 (2025): 1160 – 1172. https://doi.org/10.38159/ehass.20256717
© 2025 The Author(s). Published and Maintained by Noyam Journals. This is an open access article under the CCBY license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).
