The purposes of this study are to analyze high-frequency hedges in dissertations and provide basic data for Korean education for academic purposes. For these purposes, the investigator analyzed ‘-(으)ㄹ 수 있 다, -(으)ㄹ 것이다, and -(으)로 보이다’ in terms of frequency, distribution by the structure, and forms of combination in 50 dissertations for a master’s degree. The findings were as follows: first, ‘-(으)ㄹ 수 있다, -(으)ㄹ 것이다, and -(으)로 보이다’ were used total 3,880 times across all the dissertations. Of them, ‘-(으)ㄹ 수 있다’ were used 2,496 times, recording an overwhelmingly higher frequency than the others. Secondly, the study analyzed the frequency of hedges by the part in dissertations and found that hedges were most used in “Findings”(56.6%). Finally, there were standardized forms frequently combined with each hedge. ‘-(으)ㄹ 수 있다,’ for instance, was frequently used in the forms of ‘-(이)라고 할 수 있다/다고 할 수 있다,’ ‘-(으)ㅁ을 알 수 있다,’ and ‘-다는 것을 알 수 있다.’

I. 서론
 II. 이론적 배경 및 선행연구
  1. 헤지 표현의 정의 및 분류
  2. 학위논문에서 헤지 표현의 기능과 고빈도 헤지 표현
 III. 연구 방법
  1. 분석자료
  2. 분석 절차
  3. 분석 기준
  4. 평정자 간 신뢰도 측정
 IV. 연구 결과 및 논의
  1. 학위논문의 헤지 표현 출현 빈도와 구조별 분포
  2. 학위논문의 헤지 표현 결합 형태 분석
 V. 결론 및 제언
 참고문헌

• 박미영(이화여자대학교) | Park Mi-Young
• 이미혜(이화여자대학교) | Lee Mihye 교신저자