Writing the Outline of the Research Paper.doc

Writing the Outline of the Research Paper 1. What is an outline? An outline is a working and orderly plan that classifies the segments of the research and the ideas of the researcher into very clear and logical categories, and a vitally important step to the discovery of what needs to be expressed in the paper. A Working Outline and a Final Outline A working outline might be only an informal list of topics and subtopic which you are thinking of covering in your paper. A final outline should enhance the organization and coherence of your research paper.2. Types of Outline Symbols 1) The standard outline symbols 2) The decimal outline symbols3. Types of Outlines Topic Outline, Sentence Outline and Paragraph Outline A standard sentence outline sample Hawthornes Conflicting Views on the World in the Scarlet Letter Thesis Statement: Hawthornes The Scarlet Letter reflects his conflicting views on the world and demonstrates that he is both a critic and an heir of Puritanism. Audience: Current college and university students Outline: I. The Scarlet Letter tells a story about sin and pain.A. The Scarlet Letter is not a story of adultery, but of sin and its effects.1. The main characters in the story are all sinners.2. Hawthorne calls the story “a hell-fired story”.B. The three sinners all suffer greatly and fail to escape their doomed fate.1. Hesters miserable life is the penalty for her sin.2. Demmesdales living death is the punishment for his sin.3. Chillingworth changes into a devil. II. Hawthorne holds different attitudes towards the three sinners.A. Hester, presented as a heroine, wins Hawthornes sympathy and admiration.1. Hester is presented as a beautiful, brave and loyal woman2. Hester is presented as a kind, able and sympathetic woman.3. Hester wins a new sense of life and freedom.4. Hester is linked to the human race by her daughter Pearl.B. Dimmesdale is presented as a coward and a hypocrite as well as a victim.1. Dimmesdale is a coward and a hypocrite.2. Dimmesdale is a victim.3. Dimmesdale is greatly different from Hester.C. Chillingworth is presented as a devil and the worst sinner.1. Chillingworth is rich in knowledge but poor in sympathy.2. Chillingworth “violates in cold blood the sanctity of a human heart.” III. Hawthorne is both an heir and a critic of Puritanism.A. The blackness thrown into the story shows Howthornes Puritan belief.1. The seventeenth century Puritan society is the background of the society.2. Hawthorne makes everyone in the story a sinner and leaves them no way of escape.3. The only right way of self-discovery lies in the realization of ones sinfulness and being true.B. Hawthornes views on the three sinners demonstrates that he is a critic of Puritanism.1. The Puritan society is cruel and cold in excommunicating Hester.2. The Puritan society is corrupted and inharmonious.3. Hawthorne challenged the Puritan society through Hesters new sense of life.4. Stylistic Theory of Outlining An outline has a balanced structure based on the following stylistic theories:1) Parallelism Whenever possible, in writing an outline, coordinate heads should be expressed in parallel form.2) Coordination In outlining, those items which are of equal significance have comparable numeral or letter designation: an “A.” is equal to a “B.”, a “1.”to “2.”, a “a.” to a “b.” Coordinate should be seen as having the same value. Coordination is a principle that enables a writer to maintain a coherent document.3) Subordination The uses of major and minor headings4) Division To divide you always need at least two parts; therefore, there can never be an “A.” without a “B.”, a “1.” without “2.”, a “a.” without a “b., etc.Exercise: The following outlines have some faults and defects in them. Try to find out and correct all of them.1 Title: ConfuciusMain Teaching Methods and Their Applicability to Chinas Education TodayThesis: Confucius elicitation method of teaching and that of teaching students in accordance with their attitude are still applicable to Chinas education today.Outline:I. A brief introductionA. Confucius as a great philosopher and statesmanB. A great educatorII. Confucius two teaching methodsA. The elicitation method(1) Fostering the students ability to learn by themselves.(2) In his normal day teaching, he put great emphasis on the teachers role in giving the student guidance.B. The method of “teaching student in accordance with their aptitude”.III. Causes of the discontinuance of Confucious teaching methods in modern ChinaA. The May Fourth eraB. The Cultural Revolution period is another period when confucious teaching principles ceased to work.IV. The applicability of Confucious teaching method to Chinas education todayA. Analyze problems in education1. Feeding students with knowledge2. Teaching students in the same way without discrimination3. The root of problemsB. The applicability of Confucious teaching methods1. Teachers at present should learn to help students cultivate the habit of learning in an active way.2. Giving students opportunities to practice what they have learned3. It is always important to improve the ways of teaching so as to arouse students interest.4. Increasing elective courses to meet students different interests5. More technical and vocational schools need to be set up for students so that the students can have different capacities.V. Conclusion 2Title: The Differences of Taboos between English and Chinese CulturesThesis:Audience:Outline:I. A brief introduction to taboosA. The origin of taboosB. The different cultural background concerning taboos between Chinese and EnglishII. Two aspects of taboos affecting the cross-cultural communicationA. Custom taboos 1. Taboos on social contact 2. Taboos on food and drink 3. Taboos on privacyB. Verbal taboos 1. Taboos on figures 2. Taboos on diseases and death 3. Taboos on addressing 4. Taboos on profanities and vulgaritiesIII. Ways to avoid the cultural conflicts in taboos respectA. Figuring out the problems of the different taboosB. Using euphemismC. Having a good knowledge of taboo cultureConclusionA. The importance of taboos in our cross-cultural communicationB. The needed attention of the understanding of taboos of different cultures 5. A Topic Outline Sample Jan Eyre: A Woman in Defiance of Brute ForcesThesis statement: Jane Eyre overcomes many obstacles and shows that it is possible for a woman in the nineteenth century to achieve independence and success on her own, no matter what odds are against her.I. The first obstacle: her family backgroundA. A poor individual within a wealthy environment1. At Gateshead2. At Lowood School3. At ThornfieldB. Two means to overcome her family background1. Distance2. Chance II. The most prominent obstacle: male powerA. A subtle way in bridging over the gender gapB. Janes biggest triumph over male powerIII. The constant obstacle: oppressionA. The stereotype upon JaneB. Janes struggle against the oppressionIV. The obstacle that perfects Jane: deathA. A series of death in Janes lifeB. A world of death and love6. A Sentence Outline Sample Thesis Statement1.The first obstacle that Jane comes across is her family background.1.1 Jane is constantly a poor individual within a wealthy environment.1.1.1 At Gateshead she is despised by her aunt Reed and her cousins John, Eliza, and Georgiana1.1.2 At Lowood School she is further made aware of all that she lacks.1.1.3 At Thornfield, her poverty creates numerous problems for her. 1.2 Jane is able to overcome her family background by two means. 1.2.1 She leaves Gateshead for Lowood and returns with victory. 1.2.2 She triumphs over her poverty by chance.2. The most prominent obstacle Jane faces is male power. 2.1 Jane bridges over the gender gap in a subtle way. 2.2 Janes triumph over male power is her biggest one of all.3. A constant obstacle that remains throughout Janes life is oppression. 3.1 The stereotype imposes oppression upon Jane. 3.2 Jane struggles against the oppression.4. Death is an important obstacle that perfects Jane.4.1 A series of death makes Jane become independent and successful.4.2 Jane faces a world of death and love. 7. Typical errors in students outline writing 1. Wrong outline symbols 一. 二. 三. . 2. Unbalanced entries (coordination, subordination) 3. A mixture of outline symbols or forms 4. Entries beginning by verbs 5. Wrong division e.g. I. II. A. 1. B. 6. Capitalized letters 7. The thesis statement: not a single sentence .07级某同学毕业论文4稿contents:CONTENTS1. Introduction.12. Typical errors of business English writing短语结构.1.1 The writing is not complete句子结构 2.2 2.1.1 Writer doesnt answer all questions asked2 2.1.2 Writer doesnt volunteer something extra . 3 2.1.3 Writer doesnt check for the 5W2H and any other essential.3 2.2 The writing is not concise.4 2.2.1 Writer doesnt omit trite expression .4 2.2.2 Writer doesnt avoid wordy statements and unnecessary repetition.4 2.2.3 Writer doesnt remove all the irrelevant facts in your message .5 2.3 The writing is not considerate. . . . . . . .52.3.1 Writer doesnt use “you” attitude instead of “We” attitude.52.3.2 Writer doesnt use some notable exceptions where “you” attitude is not suitable.52.4 The writing is not concrete.62.4.1 Using specific facts and figures.62.4.2 Using verbs of action .6 2.5 The writing is not clear.7 2.5.1 Writer doesnt avoid using words or structures that cause ambiguity7 2.5.2 Writer doesnt be careful of the position of the attributives.7 2.5.3 Writer doesnt be attentive to the position of nouns and pronouns.7 2.5.4 Writer doesnt be careful of paragraph.8 2.6 The writing is not courteous.9 2.7 The writing is not correct.9 2.7.1 Writer doesnt choose the correct level of language.9 2.7.2 Writer doesnt have a good command of English102.7.3 Writer doesnt be careful of punctuation marks and their uses.103. Reasons for the typical errors caused.12 3.1 Cultural differences12 3.1.1 Mother tongue influences.12 3.1.2 Different ways of thinking and writing.12 3.2 Ways of teaching business English writing.12 3.3 Attitude of writer and ways of learning business English writing134. Consequences.135. Solutions.14 5.1 The foundation of good English.14 5.1.1 To create an appropriate tone.14 5.1.2 To select the appropriate writing style.14 5.1.3 To outline and organize the material before Writing.15 5.2 Tact Maxim.15 5.3 To build the scientific study system.166. Conclusion177. Bibliography.17CONTENTS1. Introduction12. Some typical errors22.1.Incompleteness22.1.1 Answering part of questions asked only22.1.2 Volunteering nothing extra32.1.3 Ignoring checking for the 5W2H and any other essential42.2 Wordiness42.2.1 Having trite expression42.2.2Having wordy statements and unnecessary repetition52.2.3 Keeping all the irrelevant facts in your message52.3 Inconsideration 62.3.1 Using “we” attitude instead of “you” attitude62.3.2 Omitting