1. Use　first　person　pronoun　as　subject: 
I,　We 
2. Use　verbs　with　first　person　subject: 
advocate,　believe,　feel,　know,　mean,　think,　understand 
3. Use　personalized　expressions: 
it　seems　to　me,　it　appears,　from　my　point　of　view,　in　my　view,　in　my　opinion 
4. Use　attitudinal　signals　such　as: 
assuredly,　certainly,　definitely,　indisputably,　undeniably,　undoubtedly,　unquestionably 
clearly,　obviously,　plainly 
fortunately,　unfortunately,　unhappily 
significantly 
rightly,　wrongly 
5. Use　verbs　like　should,　must,　ought　to 
Ways　of　’hedging’　or　avoiding　commitment 
Avoid　using　first　person　pronouns 
6. Use　impersonal　subjects,　such　as　it 
7. Use　passive　voice　so　as　to　avoid　specifying　an　agent　or　’doer’　such　as: 
It　can　be　imagined　that　... 
Large　numbers　of　foreign　students　have　been　admitted　... 
8. Use　verbs　(often　with　an　impersonal　subject)　such　as: 
hear,　guess,　imagine,　suggest,　suppose 
signals　such　as: 
apparently,　arguably,　hypothetically,　ideally,　possibly,　seemingly,　superficially　hopefully,　strangely,　unexpectedly,　regrettably 
9. Use　verbs　such　as: 
could,　would,　may,　might