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AN ANALYSIS OF HEDGES

IN THE DISCUSSION SECTION

OF THE TEFLIN JOURNAL VOLUME 23 NUMBER 1

IN FEBRUARY 2012

By

MOH. MAMAN SAIFURROHMAN

NIM 200932068

DEPARTMENT OF ENGLISH EDUCATION

FACULTY OF TEACHER TRAINING AND EDUCATION

UNIVERSITY OF MURIA KUDUS

2013

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AN ANALYSIS OF HEDGES

IN THE DISCUSSION SECTION

OF THE TEFLIN JOURNAL VOLUME 23 NUMBER 1

IN FEBRUARY 2012

SKRIPSI

Presented to the University of Muria Kudus

in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for Completing

the Sarjana Program in English Education

By

MOH. MAMAN SAIFURROHMAN

NIM 200932068

DEPARTMENT OF ENGLISH EDUCATION

FACULTY OF TEACHER TRAINING AND EDUCATION

UNIVERSITY OF MURIA KUDUS

2013

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MOTTO AND DEDICATION

Motto:

You become what you believe. (Oprah Winfrey)

A person who never made a mistake never tried anything new.

(Albert Einstein)

Be myself and believe in God!

God is everything for my life and belief is a power to do everything.

Dedication:

This skripsi is dedicated to:

Allah SWT.

Our prophet Muhammad SAW.

His beloved parents (Mr. Abdul Rozaq and Mrs.

Sukini), brothers (Didin, Kowi, and Koyum), and

sister (Puji), thanks for your support and blessing.

His beloved aunty (Mrs. Rukati).

His all beloved lecturers, especially for Mrs. Fitri

Budi Suryani, S.S, M.Pd and Mrs. Diah Kurniati,

S.Pd, M.Pd, thanks for your guidance.

His all beloved friends.

Anyone who support him.

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ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

The writer would like to express his high gratitude to Allah SWT for

blessing and guidance, so the writer can finish his skripsi entitled “An Analysis of

Hedges in the Discussion Section of the TEFLIN Journal Volume 23 Number 1 in

February 2012”.

The writer wishes to express his deepest gratitude to those who are directly

or indirectly involved in completing this skripsi, they are:

1. Dr. Drs. Slamet Utomo, M.Pd, the Dean of Teacher Training and Education

Faculty of Muria Kudus University.

2. Diah Kurniati, S.Pd, M.Pd, the Head of English Education Department.

3. Fitri Budi Suryani, S.S, M.Pd as the first advisor, Diah Kurniati, S.Pd, M.Pd as

the second advisor, who have accurately guided him during the writing of

skripsi.

4. All of the lecturers who taught the writer during studying at the faculty as well

as possible.

5. His beloved parents (Mr. Abdul Rozaq and Mrs. Sukini), brothers (Didin,

Kowi, and Koyum), and sister (Puji) for giving prayer and spirit.

6. His aunty (Rukati) who has given support.

7. His all beloved friends.

8. Anyone who always encourages and prays him.

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The writer would like to express his sincerest gratitude to the readers for

some critics and suggestions. Hopefully this skripsi will be useful for everyone.

Kudus, July 31st 2013

Moh. Maman Saifurrohman

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ABSTRACT

Saifurrohman, Moh. Maman. 2013. The Analysis of Hedges in the Discussion

Section of the TEFLIN Journal Volume 23 Number 1 in February 2012.

Skripsi: English Education Department, Teacher Training and Education

Faculty, Muria Kudus University. Advisors: (1) Fitri Budi Suryani, S.S,

M.Pd, (2) Diah Kurniati, S.Pd, M.Pd

Keywords: Hedges, Academic Writing, Kinds of Hedges

There are some interactional elements of academic writing and one of them

is hedges. Hedges are basic feature of scientific communication and academic

writing of which can help a writer to appropriately express his scientific claims.

Hedges can be considered as the interactive elements which serve as a bridge

between the propositional information in the text and the writer‟s factual

interpretation. There are 7 expressions of the kinds of hedges as stated by Salager-

Meyer (1997:109-111). Journal is included as academic writing that has objective

to inform than entertain. So, hedges have important role in making journal.

The objectives of this research are to identify the kinds of hedges used in the

Discussion section of the TEFLIN Journal Volume 23 Number 1 in February 2012

and to describe the interpretations of hedges used in the Discussion section of the

TEFLIN Journal Volume 23 Number 1 in February 2012.

The design of this research is qualitative research and uses a content

analysis as the form of qualitative data analysis. The data of this research are

words, phrases or clauses of hedges found in the Discussion section of the

TEFLIN Journal Volume 23 Number 1 in February 2012. The data source of this

research are the Discussion section of the TEFLIN Journal Volume 23 Number 1

in February 2012 that consists of 3 articles. The data source are collected by

downloading from the site: http://journal.teflin.org.

The result of this research shows that there 7 expressions of the kinds of

hedges. They are modal auxiliary verbs (25%), modal lexical verbs (14%),

adjectival, adverbial, and nominal modal phrases (23%), approximators of degree,

quantity, frequency, and time (23%), introductory phrases (5%), if clauses (2%),

and compound hedges (8%). Further, after by doing interpretation, I can sum up

that the interpretation of each kind of hedges which are found in the Discussion

section of the TEFLIN Journal Volume 23 Number 1 in February 2012 that

consists of 3 articles are different each other. However, after by doing calculation

of 3 articles, the dominant hedges types are modal auxiliary verbs as much as

25%. It can be interpreted that the writers of the TEFLIN Journal Volume 23

Number 1 in February 2012 prefer to use modal auxiliary verbs in making claims

for the significance of arguments of their article which are written in the

Discussion section. By using hedges devices of modal auxiliary verbs, they

convey their claims with ideas of doubt or possibility because modal auxiliary

verbs are not used to talk about things that definitely exist or events that definitely

happened.

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I consider that hedges are very important in academic writing. Hopefully,

English lecturers can teach their students how to identify and use hedges devices

effectively and properly in academic writing, such as skripsi, essay, journal, etc.

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ABSTRAKSI

Saifurrohman, Moh. Maman. 2013. Analisis Hedges di Bagian Diskusi Jurnal

TEFLIN Volume 23 Nomor 1 pada Bulan Februari 2012. Skripsi:

Jurusan Pendidikan Bahasa Inggris, Fakultas Keguruan dan Ilmu

Pengetahuan, Universitas Muria Kudus. Pembimbing: (1) Fitri Budi

Suryani, S.S, M.Pd, (2) Diah Kurniati, S.Pd, M.Pd

Kata kunci: Hedges, Penulisan Ilmiah, Jenis-Jenis Hedges

Ada beberapa elemen interaksional penulisan ilmiah dan salah satunya

adalah hedges. Hedges adalah fitur dasar komunikasi dan penulisan ilmiah yang

dapat membantu penulis untuk mengekspresikan klaim secara tepat. Hedges

sangat penting peranannya dalam penulisan ilmiah. Hedges dapat dianggap

sebagai elemen interaktif yang berfungsi sebagai jembatan antara informasi

proposisional dalam teks dan faktual interpretasi penulis. Ada 7 ekspresi dari

hedges seperti yang dinyatakan oleh Salager-Meyer (1997:109-111). Jurnal

termasuk sebagai penulisan ilmiah yang memiliki tujuan untuk menginformasikan

daripada menghibur. Jadi, hedges memiliki peran penting dalam membuat jurnal.

Tujuan dari penelitian ini adalah untuk mengidentifikasi jenis-jenis hedges

yang digunakan dalam bagian Diskusi Jurnal TEFLIN Volume 23 Nomor 1 pada

Bulan Februari 2012 dan menggambarkan interpretasi dari hedges yang

digunakan dalam bagian Diskusi Jurnal TEFLIN Volume 23 Nomor 1 pada Bulan

Februari 2012.

Desain penelitian ini adalah penelitian kualitatif dan menggunakan analisis

isi sebagai bentuk analisis data kualitatif. Data penelitian ini adalah kata, frase,

atau klausa hedges yang ditemukan di bagian Diskusi Jurnal TEFLIN Volume 23

Nomor 1 pada Bulan Februari 2012. Sumber data penelitian ini adalah bagian

Diskusi Jurnal TEFLIN Volume 23 Nomor 1 pada Bulan Februari 2012 yang

terdiri dari 3 artikel. Sumber data diambil dengan mengunduh dari situs:

http://journal.teflin.org.

Hasil penelitian ini menunjukkan bahwa ada 7 ekspresi dari jenis-jenis

hedges. Jenis-jenis hedges tersebut adalah modal auxiliary verbs (25%), modal

lexical verbs (14%), adjectival, adverbial, and nominal modal phrases (23%),

approximators of degree, quantity, frequency, and time (23% ), introductory

phrases (5%), if clauses (2%), dan compound hedges (8%). Lebih lanjut, setelah

melakukan interpretasi, saya menyimpulkan bahwa interpretasi di tiap jenis-jenis

hedges yang ditemukan di bagian Diskusi Jurnal TEFLIN Volume 23 Nomor 1

pada Bulan Februari 2012 yang terdiri dari 3 artikel adalah berbeda satu sama

lain. Namun, setelah melakukan perhitungan, jenis-jenis hedges yang dominan

adalah modal auxiliary verbs sebanyak 25%. Ini bisa diinterpretasikan bahwa para

penulis Jurnal TEFLIN Volume 23 Nomor 1 pada Bulan Februari 2012 lebih suka

menggunakan modal auxiliary verbs dalam membuat klaim untuk argumen dari

artikel yang ditulis di bagian Diskusi. Dengan menggunakan modal auxiliary

verbs, mereka menyampaikan klaim dengan ide-ide keraguan atau kemungkinan

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karena modal auxiliary verbs tidak digunakan untuk membicarakan hal-hal yang

pasti ada atau peristiwa yang pasti terjadi.

Saya beranggapan bahwa hedges sangat penting dalam penulisan ilmiah.

Dengan penuh harapan, para pengajar bisa mengajarkan kepada murid-murid

mereka bagaimana mengidentifikasi dan menggunakan hedges secara efektif dan

benar dalam penulisan akademik, seperti skripsi, esai, jurnal, dan lain-lain.

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

COVER ................................................................................................... i

LOGO ...................................................................................................... ii

TITLE ..................................................................................................... iii

MOTTO AND DEDICATION . ............................................................. iv

ADVISORS’ APPROVAL .................................................................... v

EXAMINERS’ APPROVAL ................................................................. vi

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT ..................................................................... vii

ABSTRACT ............................................................................................ ix

ABSTRAKSI ........................................................................................... xi

TABLE OF CONTENTS ....................................................................... xiii

LIST OF TABLES ................................................................................. xvi

LIST OF APPENDICES ....................................................................... xvii

CHAPTER I INTRODUCTION

1.1 Background of the Research .............................................................. 1

1.2 Statement of the Problem .................................................................. 5

1.3 Objective of the Research .................................................................. 5

1.4 Significance of the Research .............................................................. 5

1.5 Scope of the Research ........................................................................ 6

1.6 Operational Definition ....................................................................... 7

CHAPTER II REVIEW TO RELATED LITERATURE

2.1 Hedges ................................................................................................ 8

2.1.1 Definition of Hedges ....................................................................... 8

2.1.2 Kinds of Hedges ............................................................................. 10

2.2 Journal ................................................................................................ 14

2.2.1 Types of Journal .............................................................................. 14

2.2.2 Parts of Journal ............................................................................... 15

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2.2.3 Discussion Section .......................................................................... 16

2.2.4 TEFLIN Journal .............................................................................. 17

2.3 Review of Previous Research ............................................................. 17

2.4 Theoretical Framework ...................................................................... 19

CHAPTER III METHOD OF THE RESEARCH

3.1 Design of the Research ....................................................................... 20

3.2 Data and Data Source ........................................................................ 21

3.3 Data Collecting .................................................................................. 21

3.4 Data Analysis ..................................................................................... 22

CHAPTER IV FINDING OF THE RESEARCH

4.1 The Kinds of Hedges Found in the Discussion Section of the TEFLIN

Journal Volume 23 Number 1 in February 2012 .............................. 25

4.2 The Interpretation of the Kinds of Hedges Found in the Discussion

Section of the TEFLIN Journal Volume 23 Number 1 in February

2012 ................................................................................................... 55

CHAPTER V DISCUSSION

5.1 The Kinds of Hedges Used in the Discussion Section of the TEFLIN

Journal Volume 23 Number 1 in February 2012 .............................. 58

5.1.1 Modal Auxiliary Verbs ................................................................... 59

5.1.2 Modal Lexical Verbs ....................................................................... 60

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5.1.3 Adjectival, Adverbial, and Nominal Modal Phrases ....................... 61

5.1.4 Approximators of Degree, Quantity, Frequency, and Time ............ 62

5.1.5 Introductory Phrases ....................................................................... 64

5.1.6 If Clauses ......................................................................................... 65

5.1.7 Compound Hedges .......................................................................... 65

5.2 The Interpretation of the Kinds of Hedges Used in the Discussion

Section of the TEFLIN Journal Volume 23 Number 1 in February

2012 ................................................................................................... 67

5.2.1 The Discussion Section of the TEFLIN Journal Volume 23

Number 1 in February 2012 in the First Article ............................... 67

5.2.2 The Discussion Section of the TEFLIN Journal Volume 23

Number 1 in February 2012 in the Second Article ........................... 68

5.2.3 The Discussion Section of the TEFLIN Journal Volume 23

Number 1 in February 2012 in the Third Article .............................. 69

CHAPTER VI CONCLUSION AND SUGGESTION

6.1 Conclusion ......................................................................................... 71

6.2 Suggestion .......................................................................................... 72

REFERENCES ....................................................................................... 74

APPENDICES ........................................................................................ 78

STATEMENT ......................................................................................... 103

CURRICULUM VITAE ........................................................................ 104

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LIST OF TABLES

Table Page

2.2.1 Comparison of E-Journal (Online) and Print Journal ............................ 15

3.1 The Kinds of Hedges in the First Article .................................................. 23

4.1.1 The Kinds of Hedges in the First Article ............................................... 26

4.1.2 The Kinds of Hedges in the Second Article ........................................... 39

4.1.3 The Kinds of Hedges in the Third Article .............................................. 46

4.1.4 The Calculation of the Kinds of Hedges Found in the Discussion

Section of the TEFLIN Journal Volume 23 Number 1 in February

2012 ....................................................................................................... 54

4.2 The Result of Analysis of the Kinds of Hedges in the Discussion

Section of the TEFLIN Journal Volume 23 Number 1 in February

2012 .......................................................................................................... 55

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LIST OF APPENDICES

Appendix Page

1. Curriculum Vitae: A Discourse of Celebration with Narcissistic

Allusions by Yazid Basthomi ................................................................. 79

2. On the Choice Address Forms: Intimate Address Forms as in-Group

Identity Markers of Black South Africans in „Invictus‟ Movie

by Prihantoro ......................................................................................... 87

3. Developing Instructional Materials on English Oral Communication

for Nursing Schools by Sismiati and Mohammad Adnan Latief ............. 98