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part of the German scene to this day.

This summary 

more or less encapsulates the thesis advanced by Glynn in his

new and wide-ranging history of arms races and arms control.

as a (general) rule

broadly speaking

generally speaking

in a sense

in a way

in most cases/in the

majority of cases

in principle

in some senses

in some respects/in

many respects

more or less

roughly speaking

apparently

arguably

broadly

evidently

frequently

generally

likely

normally

partially

probably

roughly 

seemingly

surely

typically

usually

282 | Grammar and academic English

Cambridge Grammar of English

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Hedging and impersonal constructions

146d

Propositions may be hedged by the use of impersonal it-constructions with

passive voice which enable the writer/speaker to avoid the more direct

commitment to a proposition which a first person I/we + active voice 

may create:

It is suggested that the analytic procedures illustrated in this paper be applied

to more widely-used oral testing instruments in order to evaluate their utility in

eliciting conversational interaction.

(compare the more direct and personal: I suggest that …)

Such impersonal it-constructions may also be used simply to hedge a proposition

by attributing it to other, unnamed experts:

It is claimed, or tacitly assumed, in narrative studies that temporality should be

explored in narrative texts where it functions as a dominant principle of

organization.

A range of impersonal it-expressions are common in academic texts to attribute

propositions to unnamed people. These include:

It is generally agreed that one of the most influential reports published during

the war was the Beveridge Report, published in 1942, which mapped out the

future welfare state.

Literature,

it is claimed, seeks to recapture and reconstruct tradition.

The use of a raised subject as an alternative to anticipatory it, similarly, enables

the writer/speaker to make a less direct commitment to a proposition. Common

passive expressions of this type include:

The value placed on children

is believed to have changed from pre-industrial

societies to the present time.

Operating practices 

are said to have been a major obstacle to improvement.