英语论文写作指导 (仅供参考)

英语论文写作课复习资料(仅供参考)Lecture 1 General introduction1. The basic concept of academic research paper writingThe concept: “Research ”---something new, something of significance, something that can promote scholarship, science and technology, productivity and human growth, for thebetterment of the well-being of mankind.2. Characteristics of academic paperA. Scientific--- based on scientific theories and objective data, and the problem is approachedwith a scientific attitude and methodology．The conclusion is backed up by reliableevidence, the analysis or exposition is logically sound.B. Scholarly --- more or less theoretical and concerned with academic matters．The subjectunder discussion or investigation and the conclusion to be drawn are academicallysignificant.C. Original --- a new perspective or method, develops new arguments or conclusions，or evenmakes a breakthrough in a certain field．The graduation paper is a special form of academic paper characterized by being scholarly，scientific and original to the greatest extent possible．3. The style of academic writingA. Formal because it is written in standard language and in formal style devoid ofcontractions，ellipses，slangy words，vulgarisms，etc.B. Substantial because it deals with academically important and serious issues and is ofsubstance and length．C. Well-documented because it rigidly follows the rules of citation and documentation with allborrowed ideas or facts fully acknowledged in the notes and bibliography．4. The requirements of an academic paper.1) A scientific attitude，a rigorous study style, a creative mind, and a great courage toexplore unknown academic areas, discovering or solving problems in the academic orscientific fields.2)Basic knowledge of academic research--- its nature, value, and significance，essentialfeatures, techniques and methods，etc．To learn more about the academic circle and thesociety by searching through all sorts of reference materials originating in academic andsocial studies.3) To know about scholarship, such as how to find subjects to investigate, how to collectand evaluate source materials, how to develop their own ideas.5. Components parts of an academic paper1) English title and Chinese title of your paper2) Abstract both in English and in Chinese and key words3) Key words in English and Chinese4) Contents5) Introduction6) Materials and methods used in the research (theories, tools, approaches, etc.)7) Facts and figures in the analysis, pros and cons in the argumentation or points ofview in the exposition;8) Research results or findings;9) Conclusion.6. The steps of paper writing1) Choosing a topic: a tentative topic, a preliminary thesis statement2) Making a thesis proposal:3) Data collection and evaluation: a working bibliography4) Thesis formulation (presentation or statement)5) Organization of ideas；6) Writing and revising of the paper；7) Finalizing of the paper．Research paper writing are more often with starts and stops，setbacks and reverses，even dead ends, especially in the preparatory stages. It is only after constant efforts，repeated modifications and alternations that you come to a satisfactory end and get everything finalized．7. Start working on your thesis:1) Be clear about your aims and intention: what to investigate or research into, what to writeabout.2). Choose a good topic: a tentative topic, narrowing your focus only on one of the issues, toan appropriate topic, considering your capability, limit of time, limit of references you can find.You may begin by inquiring into what is known to people on a certain subject；then by making comparisons or contrasts and passing judgment，you perceive loopholes, inaccuracies，errors or fallacies；by analyzing the correct and the incorrect，you draw conclusions of your own and develop some new ideas or views on the topic under discussion．3) Reading: d oing extensive and intensive reading, evaluating source materials and takingnotes of important and relevant information or points of view in your reading. Sorting out useful materials you have collected and developing your ideas.4) Writing an outline: p lan the paper with great care and draw a good outline, organizingyour thoughts for the writing of the paper with unity，coherence clarity and accuracy.5) Follow the writing conventions and paper format strictly: a ttach carefully and correctlymade notes and bibliography to the end of the paper, documenting properly the sources you have made use of．6) Guard against plagiarism: making of notes and bibliography.Lecture 2 How to choose a topicTo choose a topic is the first step of preparation for your research and research paper writing.You must decide on what to research into and what to write about，namely，to discover the subject for your research and choose the topic for your research paper．1. The two broad types:Research areas may be divided into two broad types：theoretical and practical．The theoretical type is theory-oriented.The practical is application-oriented．Theory and practice always walk hand in hand，and in fact they are usually combined in papers，which may be more theoretical or practical．2. Academic areas for the English majors of our universityThere are five areas for research and confine your topics to English-related areas and subjects as listed below：1) The Area of Language studies (linguistics)，including English morphology，syntax，semantics, etymology，rhetoric，stylistics，pragmatics，all branches of English linguistics and their comparisons with the Chinese counterparts；Pure language study of English on its structure and elements such as peculiarities，phonetics，grammar，vocabulary，discourse，comparisons of English dialects，Briticism，Americanism，Australianism, etc．2) Applied linguistics: English for Specific Purposes (ESP).Studies of ESP: TESL (Teaching English as a Second Language); TEFL(Teaching English as a Foreign Language)，and any special know-how or expertise concerning English in use．Nowadays，language teaching and learning is becoming an independent discipline with its own theory and practice, including:a. To study psychological mechanisms of language teaching and learning;b. To study the methods of teachers’ teaching and students’ learning of the English language;c. To compare the acquisition of the mother tongue with that of a foreign language，discuss theimprovement and application of modem teaching approaches and facilities，or even make comments on and evaluate text-books in use，etc．If you want to be more theoretical，you can try any branch of linguistics and its application to language teaching and learning and the second language acquisition．3）Area of literary studies，including :British，American，Australian，Canadian．South-African literature，comparisons between them，and their comparisons with Chinese literature；To apply literary theories and critical methodology to the study of writers and works，literary trends and schools，literary periods，literary criticism, etc．4）The area of translation and practice，including theories and mechanics，written translation and oral interpretation；In the area of translation，you can research into:a. The origin and growth of translation practice and theory;b. Different theoretical schools and their doctrines on translation;c. Standards and criteria for the quality of translation;d. Methods and techniques for doing translation of various kinds;e. Teaching of translation as a basic language skill，etc．5) The area of cross-culture studies:Comparisons of religions，philosophies，educations(?)，habits and customs of different countries and races，as well as means of intercultural communication．3.To choose topics1) First step to discover a subject in one area:a. You may use your personal experiences，for example，attending a lecture or a course；reading anewspaper，a journal，a book or a novel；watching a movie，a TV program and so on．b.You may also talk with others，your fellow students，your friends，and your teachers in particular，to get enlightenment．c. The most important thing for you to do is to get help from source materials，such as a table of contents，a book’s index，an encyclopedia article，headlines in periodical indexes，etc．After you have discovered the subject that suits you，you should further find a specific topic under the chosen subject.2) Three standards．a. Interesting to you.An interesting topic will give you great impetus for the successful fulfillment of your research．b. Significant or worthwhile.Your topic should have obvious or potential theoretical or practical value．c. Workable or manageable.An appropriate topic should be neither too broad，or too narrow．3) Difficulties in choosing a good topic:a. Not fully aware of what is really significant or valuableb. Difficult to subdivide the general subject he has discovered into topics of manageable sizeand complexity．c.The problems of a broad topic:The topic is too general, one on which it is hard to focus your study or to finish a paper of the required length within the stipulated time.The references available may be too many for you to finish reading within the allotted time．Too broad a topic should be narrowed down to a workable size．d. The problems of a narrow topic:a. The topic is too specific，hard to enlarge upon or develop your arguments about．b. It is usually trivial or insignificant．c.You can hardly find enough source materials or references to help in your research．Such atopic should be broadened accordingly．Therefore, choosing a good topic for research and research paper writing could be much more difficult than expected．The difficulty usually is not that the researcher is ignorant of what holds interest for him, but hard to have clear ideas.4) Judgments of the significance or value:Your awareness of the significance or value of the topic to be chosen largely depends on:a. What aspects of your topic have or have not been explored；b. What are the findings，old and new；c. What are controversies therein;d. What are the loopholes, inaccuracies, errors, fallacies.5）The appropriateness of the topic:a. The length of the paper as required, for example, your graduation paper required about4,000 words；b. The amount of time you can afford；c. The availability of information you need for the research；Taking these factors into account，you decide whether your topic is too broad，or too narrow.3.To adjust your topic1) Narrow down an abroad topic:If your initial topic is too broad，you can narrow it down by m oving step by step from a broad to a narrow and still a narrow topic until you get the suitable one：2) Broaden a narrow topicIf your topic happens to be too narrow，you can also seek help from the periodical indexes and your adviser，or broaden it step by step by reversing the narrowing process as illustrated above．In short, when choosing a topic, you have to consider the significance of your research, your audience or readers, your writing situation, the availability of source materials, and other relevant conditions, which all contribute to the success of your research and research paper writing.Remember to consult your tutor or supervisor for advice.Lecture 3 Preliminary Bibliography1．Making a thesis proposal1) Preliminary bibliography：1) find the references available.2) reading source materials；3) previous achievements of the subject your choose；2) To discuss with your tutor1）The topic→The titles of academic articles (a tentative title)2）The anticipated result (hypothesis)3) Write a proposal:a. What is the subject you have discovered?b. Why do you take interest in this subject?c. What methods do you intend to adopt?d. How are the source materials you have read or mean to read related to the subject?e. What is the relationship between the previous achievements of others and your anticipatedresults?f. What practical and／or theoretical value do you think your research might have?g. What are the limitations of your methods and materials，and the difficulties you maypossibly encounter?h. How do you plan to overcome these difficulties?The proposal gives the plan and the procedures you mean to follow, the background of the research, and discusses the anticipated results of your research in relation to the previous achievements of others and their potential value in theory and practice，as well as possible limitations of your research and difficulties you might meet with．2. Choosing methods and approaches.(注: 一定根据研究内容和题目确定研究方法。