Abstract :
Hedges as Politeness Strategy in EFL Students Book Review Oral Presentation Desti Fitriyani 19111030 Understanding the types and the pragmatic functions of using hedges in academic conversation was essential for English as Foreign Language (hereafter EFL) students since English has a remarkable culture of hedging. This study aimed to analyze the types and the pragmatic functions of hedges applied by EFL students in the EFL students' book review oral presentation. This study applied qualitative method. The data in this research were taken from EFL students presentation videos that were conducted via Zoom Application. This study used Prince theory (1982) to analyze types of hedges applied by EFL students in EFL students presentation. In addition, to analyze the pragmatic function of hedges used in EFL students presentation, politeness theory by Brown & Levinson was also applied in this study. The results of this study found that there are two types of hedges used in the EFL oral book review presentation, which categorized into 4 categories, namely (1) adaptors, (2) plausibility shield, (3) attribution shields, and (4) rounders, which serve to show the value of politeness to audience or interlocutor and avoid the possibility of conflict over errors in the information submitted so as to reduce the level of accuracy of the information conveyed. Referring to the results, this study implies that learning about the use of hedges to suit the situation is necessary for EFL students.