UnitTwoHowtoBeaGraduateStudent.ppt

How to Be a Good Graduate Student,Marie desjardins,Outline,(Before beginning a graduate program) Part 1 : It takes strong motivation and focus to make through graduate school. (para.1) Part 2: It helps to familiarize oneself with a specific academic area and understand the difference between graduate school and undergraduate studies. (Para 2-3) (After embarking on the program) Part 3: Reading academic journals selectively and taking proper notes is one of the major tasks of graduate students. (Para 4 8) Part 4: Managing to overcome mental pressure and breaking big projects into smaller pieces are useful tactics. (Para 9 -11) Part 5: Ensuring originality in doing research involves communication and collaboration with good researchers in the field. (Para 12 13) Part 6: Writing the thesis to the end takes important strategies and positive attitudes. (Para 14 16),Part I Para 1,It takes strong motivation and focus to make through graduate school. Question: What is your motivation for your graduate program, doing academic research or simply delaying your job hunt?,translation,You have to really want to be there to make it through. If you really want to accomplish your work, you have to be highly motivated and focused.,Part II Para 2-3,It helps to familiarize oneself with a specific academic area and understand the difference between graduate school and undergraduate studies. 2.1 Read current academic journals and conference proceedings in a specific area. 2.2 Participate an ongoing project under the guidance of a faculty member. 2.3 Realize the difference between graduate school and undergraduate studies and pin down your thesis topic.,Preferable/preferably,If you say that one thing is preferable to another, you mean that it is more desirable or suitable. 更好的；更可取的；更合适的 i.e. A big earthquake a long way off is preferable to a smaller one nearby. 远处发生大地震总比在附近发生小地震好。 Do something creative or take exercise, preferably in the fresh air. 做一些有创意的事情或者运动一下，最好是在空气新鲜的户外进行。,Conference proceedings,conference proceedings are published to inform a wider audience of the material presented at the conference, contain hot new research that may not have made it into a book or journal, but has been presented at a conference, and thus extremely useful for learning of cutting-edge developments in a particular field.学术会议论文集,TAs,Teaching assistants助教,Question:,Based on your own experience, what do you think are the most important differences between undergraduate studies and graduate school?,Major problems,the unclear idea about the scope of topic which results in either too broad or too narrow topic. Insufficient or sometimes no consultation and discussion with the professor or adviser.,How to choose a good thesis topic,1. Choose a topic which answers a specific question “Racism on American television” instead of “Racism in United States”. 2. Choose a topic on which you can present a fresh argument 3. Choose a topic which you find appealing,structure,Once you do find a topic, you can expect two or more years until completion, with very few landmarks or milestones in sight.,Part III Para 4 8,Reading academic journals selectively and taking proper notes is one of the major tasks of graduate students.,Grammar: non-predicate verbs非谓语动词,Being a good researcher involves more than “merely” coming up with brilliant ideas and implementing them. Gerund 动名词 它是由动词原形 + ing 构成，同现在分词 形式一样，在句中可作主语，宾语，表语和定语。 Talking like that is not polite. 那样谈话不礼貌。 2) 动名词作表语 Seeing is believing. 眼见为实。,Grammar: non-predicate verbs非谓语动词,The infinitive 不定式 To get there by bike will take us half an hour. To be a good researcher involves more than “merely” to come up with brilliant ideas and implementing them.,非谓语动词作主语,1.Being de good researcher involves more than “merely“ coing up with brilliant ideas and implementing them. 2. Keeping a journal of your research activities and ideas is very useful. 3. Breaking down any project into smaller pieces is always a good tactic when things seem unmanageable.,The research process,Most researcher spend the majority of their reading papers. Staring blankly into space and, of course, having brilliant ideas and implementing them. Being a good researcher also involves a lot of reading, discussing with others , writing and also thinking.,Keep a journal,Youll notice that the bits of random thoughts start to come together and form a pattern, often evolving into a research project or even a thesis topic.,Reading principles,1. Reading technical papers. 2. reading cutting-edge papers. 前沿性研究论文 3. read selectively,Catch up,If you catch up on friends who you have not seen for some time or on their lives, you talk to them and find out what has happened in their lives since you last talked together.了解近况;叙旧 The ladies spent some time catching up on each others health and families. 女士们花了点时间叙旧，聊了聊彼此的健康和家庭状况。,Read up on,If you read up on a subject, you read a lot about it so that you become informed about it.熟知;专攻;对了如指掌 Ive read up on the dangers of all these drugs. 我对所有这些药物的危险性了如指掌。,Seminal papers:,a paper which presents an influential idea and has inspired other works on the same subject 影响深远的文献,How to read?,Scan: hen you scan written material, you look through it quickly in order to find important or interesting information.浏览 Skip: If you skip or skip over a part of something you are reading or a story you are telling, you miss it out or pass over it quickly and move on to something else遗漏;略过 Skim: If you skim a piece of writing, you read through it quickly.略读;浏览,get a feel,得到一个感觉 Examples: Do get a feel for what second interviews are like. 要对复试能有一个感觉。 Get a feel for their language by looking at their surroundings. 通过观察孩子们所处的环境来感受他们的语言。,Nitty-gritty of sth.,The essence or most important part of sth.,As You Read Ask the Following Questions.,1. What is the research question in the study? 2. Does the researcher focus on the wrong group/subjects? 3. Does the research leave some group/something Out? 4. What is the methodology used and is it faulty? 5. Are the findings faulty? 6. Can I pursue the authors recommendation for future research? What are the limitations of the study?,After reading,Keep an electronic file of what youve read.,File away,归档 Examples: Ill ask the secretary to file these letters away. 我让秘书把这些信件归档。 Please file away this report. 请把这份报告归档。,Part IV Para 9 -11,Managing to overcome mental pressure and breaking big projects into smaller pieces are useful tactics.,Words and expressions,A sympathetic ear: a listener who is willing to listen to ones thoughts and offer advice Extracurricular activities课外活动 At regular intervals 定期,Bounce off,试探（某人对某一新设想和意见），大发议论 Examples: We wanted to bounce some ideas off of you about the wedding ceremony. 我们想和你们商量一下婚礼的事情. Comedy writers are usually in pairs so they can bounce ideas off each other. 喜剧作家通常会结对写作,这样他们而已就对方的点子相互交流激发灵感.,Part V Para 12 13,Ensuring originality in doing research involves communication and collaboration with good researchers in the field.,Words and expressions,you must be aware of ongoing research in your field. .studying current research Cutting-edge research前沿研究,Part VI Para 14 16,Writing the thesis to the end takes important strategies and positive attitudes.,When to write,Dont sit down and try to start writing the entire thesis from beginning to end. If you think about it too much, youre going to paralyze yourself. The sooner you can start getting words on the page, the better. you start to get more confidence: Oh, I can do this assignment.,granularity,the quality of being composed of relatively large particles间隔尺寸，粒度 synonym： coarseness，graininess,Words and expressions,Rough cut: 粗切削，粗剪(电影) draft Bulleted points: points listed in numbers,Framework of a research paper,1. Title 标题 1. Abstract摘要 2. Introduction 引言 literature review 3. Methodology 方法 4. Results 研究结果 5. Discussion 讨论 6. Conclusion 结论,introduction,What is the problem? Purpose of the present study. Why is it important? What have other people done? What is the central idea of my approach? How is the rest of the thesis organized?,Literature review Theoretical framework Definitions of the terms Relevant empirical studies What are their merits and weaknesses?,Writing the paper,Write your body paragraphs Starting by writing the main points (focusing on supporting your thesis) allows you to slightly change and manipulate your ideas and commentary. 1.Support every statement you make with evidence. 2. Supply ample explanations for your research. 3. Avoid using many long, direct quotes. 4. Use clear segues into adjacent points in your paper. Make sure that each of your body paragraphs flows nicely into the one after it.,Writing the paper,Write the conclusion Start by briefly restating the thesis statement, then remind the reader of the points you covered over the course of the paper. Slowly zoom out of the topic as you write, ending on a broad note by emphasizing the larger implication of your findings.,Writing the paper,Write the introduction. The introduction is, in many respects, the conclusion written in reverse: start by generally introducing the larger topic, then orient the reader in the area youve focused on, and finally, supply the thesis statement. Avoid repeating exact phrases that you already used in the conclusion.,Words and expressions,In the final push: in the final effort to advance最后冲关阶段 Youll be done: you will accomplish it,nominalization,英语中常用名词表示动作或行为过程，汉语则多用动词。 词类转换,translation,1. She is always acting as a peacemaker in her family. 他总是帮着调解家庭矛盾。 2. Careful comparison of both will show you the difference. 仔细比较一下，就会发现两者的不同之处。,translation,我妹妹歌唱得比我好。 My younger sister is a better singer than me. 他既能抽烟，又能喝酒。 He is a heavy drinker and a chain smoker. 务必少说空话，多做工作。 There must be less empty talk and more work.,translation,车上所有座位全被年轻体壮的人占了，看到老人站在面前，他们丝毫也无动于衷。 On the bus all the seats