学术英语写作.doc

Academic Paper writingQuestions for thoughtl Do you often read academic research papers? What kinds of subjects do you usually read?l Have you ever written academic research papers?l Where do you usually find the materials you need for your paper? l What do you want to learn from our course?1. Aims & Objectives The major aim of this course is to help you to write better academic essays. A secondary aim is to develop your confidence and skill in oral and written interactions in English.To achieve this goal our course will help you to:Produce well-organized and written academic essays with appropriate citation and referencing.Improve your vocabulary and grammatical accuracy.Participate fluently and confidently in small group discussions.Work cooperatively with others on oral and written tasks.Take greater responsibility for your own improvement of English language skills both in and beyond the classroom.Your prime objective should be to improve your academic writing knowledge and skills to a level appropriate to university (graduate) level work. By the end of the course you should be able to demonstrate that you are able to write a university (graduate) level essay and that your writing skills have improved during the course.2. My contribution What is my contribution to this course? Well, you know we have only two classes every week. We are pressed for time. It is impossible for me to explain in great detail every writing skill. You have had writing classes in your undergraduate studies. Perhaps your former teacher had already explained in great detail how to write a correct sentence and an effective paragraph, and the ways of developing paragraphs. So in the class I dont want repeat what your former teacher had already explained. I can only help you to achieve our course goal through:Classroom instruction and practice on academic writing skills.Feedback on a draft essay and individual guidance on your writing.Small group discussions on essay-related topics and your writing.Interactive computer activities.Web-based resources on university (graduate) level essay writing.3. Learning strategies Well, you should work towards these aims by engaging in four main kinds of activities: collaborative essay writing, group discussions, on-line activities or WebWork, and self-study.Collaborative essay writing -You should work in a group discussing and collaborating as you write your essay. During the process,I will provide instruction, feedback, class activities, and suggestions for web-based and self-access resources to help you improve.Group discussion - You should participate in regular small group discussions in classes on topics and skills related to the course. On-line activities or WebWork - You should locate resources and do interactive web-based activities that relate to your essay topics and writing skills on your own computer or in our self study language centre.Self-study - You should engage in guided self-study, which will contribute towards your work on essay writing, vocabulary development and grammar improvement.Our course places a strong emphasis on collaborative work and independent learning. Classroom work combines instruction and activities to help you improve your writing. Your success in this course will be determined by your active participation in the courseboth in and out of class.4. Contents of the CourseThere are 9 chapters in our course.I. Course IntroductionII. Negotiating a TopicIII. Narrowing Down the Research TopicIV. Taking NotesV. Preparing to Write the PaperVI. Writing the PaperVII. DocumentationVIII. Works Cited FormatIX. Final Presentation 5. Course MaterialsYou may refer to the following references while studying our course.1. Seyfer. H. 1998. English Academic Paper Writing. Beijing: Higher Education Press.2. Carole Slade. 1997. Form and Style: Research Papers, Reports and Theses. Houghton Mifflin Company. 3. Winkler. A. C. & McCuen. J. R. 1979. Writing the Research Paper. New York: Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, Inc.4. 丁往道、吴冰主编，1994，英语写作手册（修订本），北京：外语教学与研究出版社。5. 刘渐波、李如平编著，1999，大学英语论文写作手册重庆大学出版社The last book will be used as your textbook. So I suggest you buy it in Chongqing University Press Bookstore. You can see my course contents are mainly based on this book. By the way, Ive prepared some materials for you. They are mainly the outline of our course, some questions for thought and some exercises for you to accomplish. After class you may take it to copy. Every student should have one copy, because the exercises we are going to finish in and out of class are all on it.6. Assessment You will be assessed in three areas:Assignments: 25%;Class Participation:25%; Final Academic writing:50%Chapter I Course IntroductionIn this chapter we are going to solve the following problems:1. Some Essential Definitions2. Differences Between Research Papers and Reports3. What a Research Paper Is4. What a Research Paper Is Not5. Why a Research Paper Is Important6. How many parts are there in a research paper? What are they?7. What are the usual steps in writing a research paper? Now, lets come to them one by one.1. Some Essential DefinitionsSubject: an area of interest that can be narrowed down to a suitable topic; subjects are either too broad or too loosely defined to serve as topics for research papers.4) Topic: a reasonably narrow, clearly defined area of interest that could be thoroughly investigated within the limits set for a given research assignment. Thesis: a general statement that announces the major conclusions you reached through a thoughtful analysis of all your sources. This statement appears at the beginning of your paper; the main body will then explain, illustrate, argue for, or in some sense prove the thesis. Hypothesis: your prediction, made sometime before reading the sources, as to what your research will reveal about the topic; that is, what answers you expect to find for the major questions raised by the topic. As you will see, this educated guess helps you to find exactly the information you need, as quickly and efficiently as possible, by keeping your attention focused on a limited number of specific aspects of the topic. 2. Differences Between Research Papers and ReportsTo record the facts you discovered and hand in the result;To consider the why and how of the topic you choose;To compile information without evaluating or interpreting it;To evaluate or interpret or in some other way add to and participate in what you write;To develop a point of view toward your material, take a stand, and express some original thought;To analyze, interpret, evaluate the information you gather, and then to draw conclusions from it.3. What a Research Paper Is1.It synthesizes（综合）your discoveries about a topic and your judgment, interpretation, and evaluation of those discoveries. 2.It is a work that shows your originality. 3.It acknowledges all sources you have used. 4. What a Research Paper Is Not1.A summary of an article or a book (or other source material) is not a research paper.2.The ideas of others, repeated uncritically, do not make a research paper. 3.A series of quotations, no matter how skillfully put together, does not make a research paper.4.Unsubstantiated（无确实根据的）personal opinion does not constitute a research paper. 5.Copying or accepting another persons work without acknowledging it, whether the work is published or unpublished, professional or amateur, is not research-it is plagiarism（剽窃）. 5. Why a Research Paper Is Important6. How many parts are there in a research paper? A research paper usually includes 6 parts.Outline (optional)Abstract (optional)The text of the paperWorks CitedAppendix (optional)7. What are the usual steps in writing a research paper? STEP 1. CHOOSING THE TOPICSTEP 2. COLLECTING INFORMATIONSTEP 3. EVALUATING MATERIALSSTEP 4. ORGANIZING IDEASSTEP 5. WRITING THE PAPERAssignment:1. Explain the difference between a subject and a topic with more than 3 examples. 2. Which of the following items seem likely to work out well as topics for research papers? Explain your reasons.working women in America todaythe way FM radio signals are sent and receivedthe CIAs role in Nicaraguathe invention of gunpowderthe cause of measlesthe cause of cancer the British colonization of Africa in the nineteenth century programs for prevention of child abusethe real author of Shakespeares playsthe cause of teenage alcoholismthe generation gapthe role of computers in business todayautomation in heavy industrythe effectiveness of capital punishment in reducing the crime ratethe arms race as a threat to peacethe effect of illegal immigration on the economy of the Southwestthe effect of high salaries on the quality of baseball being played todaythe ability of some people to see the future in their dreamsChapter II Negotiating a TopicBefore solving the problems lets make clear the following questions:1. As we know at the heart of a successful research paper lies a clearly defined thesis, which states in a sentence or two the major conclusions reached after a thorough investigation of a topic. Then what is the main purpose of a research paper itself? 2. Why should we form a hypothesis before searching for sources?3. What is an effective hypothesis?1. Choosing a SubjectThen in the second step the question becomes, How do I know the subject is any good?1) First of all, you must like the subject well enough to spend a good many days and nights working on it. 2) More important, however, the subject must lead to a good topic-one that raises some questions which have not been answered to the satisfaction of all the authorities in the field. 3) Such uncertainty among the experts gives you the opportunity to examine the different points of view and arrive at those conclusions that will become your papers thesis. 4) We have found that the best subjects are those that suggest a good many interesting topics to choose from, for then, if the first one you pick does not work out well, you have several alternatives ready at hand. 2. Kinds of Topics1) Assigned Topics: Assigned Topics are those selected by an instructor and presented to you, often as a list of actual writing subjects to choose from. 2) Field-of-Study Topics: Field-of-Study Topics are those that you choose, so long as they are related to the course for which the paper is assigned; 3) Free-Choice Topics: Free-Choice Topics are those that give you free choice to investigate any area you like.a) Expand on a familiar area. b) Look to an area new to you. c) Try a textbook. d) Work from your strengths. e) Become a browser in the library. f) Get inside the library catalog system. 3. Finding a topic1) highly controversial issues2) less well-known questions4. Qualities of a Good Topic1) The topic will enable you to fulfill the assignment. 2) The topic interests you enough to work on it. 3) The topic will teach you something.4) The topic is of manageable scope. 5) You can bring something to the topic. 6) Enough information on the topic is available to you. 7) The topic is suitable for your audience. 8) The topic lets you demonstrate all your abilities that a research paper is meant to show. 5. Topics to AvoidDo not reuse a paper you have written for another instructor. 1) Do not choose a topic on which you do not plan to do all the work yourself. 2) Do not choose a topic that is too broad for a research paper. 3) Do not choose a topic for which a single source will provide all the information you need. 4) Do not choose a topic about which your conclusions will be irrelevant. 5) Do not start work on any topic unless you think it will hold your interest long enough to complete the paper.6) Be wary of choosing a topic so neutral that you cannot express an attitude toward it. 7) Do not pursue a topic that seems to go nowhere for you. 8) Consider avoiding topics that have been particularly popular among students. 9) Consider avoiding a highly controversial topic unless you think you can bring something new and special to the subject. 10) Do not choose a topic unsuited for your audience.Assignment:1. What must be your first concern when looking for a topic?2.Start your own research paper, following the steps. You may use the list of subject areas below, choose one subject area, and then do sufficient background reading to find two or three potential topics for a seven-to-ten-page research paper. a) Choose a subject-one of the following or any other that meets the requirements of this course b) Go to three or more background sources and find two to five potentially workable topics c) Select the topic that seems most interesting and/or most workable.Subject areas: Asian or Italian or Irish immigration to the United States The banking industry and the Great Depression Endangered species European colonization of Africa (or Asia) Environmental controls on large industries Safety and the automobile industry Group therapy for emotional problems The US judicial systems problems The welfare system Causes of urban decay Religious cults of the 1960s and 1970s Organized crime in America Genetic experimentation Governments role in medical care Pre-Columbian American peoples Ethel and Julius Rosenberg, spies executed in the 1950s Theodore Roosevelt, conservationist, imperialist Marcus Garvey, Black Nationalist of the 1920s Martin Luther King, Jr., civil rights leader of the 1960s Malcolm X, militant black leader of the 1960s Huey Long, powerful populist senator of the 1930s James Hoffa, union leader accused of being involved with organized crimeTheodor Herzl, Zionist of early twentieth centuryMother Jones, union organizer of early twentieth centurySusan B. Anthony, womens rights activist of early twentieth centuryElizabeth I, queen of England in a crucial eraCatherine the Great, empress of RussiaEleanor Roosevelt, humanitarianV I. Lenin, leader of Russian Revolution of 1917Mao Tse-Tung, leader of Chinese Revolution of 1949Mohandas Gandhi, leader of Indian independence movementWinston Churchill, leader of England during World War IIJapanese businesspeople: their customs, their ethics, their relations with labor and governmentSouth Africas system of racial segregation, apartheidBrazils economy, growing pains of a Third World nation of enormous potentialOPEC, the troubles that come with instant wealthHarry Truman, controversial president in critical postwar period, 1945-52Pope John XXIII and the New CatholicismChapter III Narrowing the Topic1. Background reading or preliminary research2. Brainstorming 3. Forming a Hypothesis4. Forming a Hypothesis by Brainstorming How well do support therapies, such as Alcoholics Anonymous, work in their efforts to treat alcoholism ? Does the addict have to be religiously inclined for such therapies to work? How successful are aversion therapies that use chemicals to make liquor repellent ? Doesnt the effect wear off ? How effective are cognitive therapies that try to get alcoholics to stop drinking by showing them films of their own drunken behavior? Is psychotherapy able to treat alcoholism by helping the patients understand the unconscious reasons for their drinking? How would knowing why you drink help you stop?Of the four most common alcoholism therapies, none seems to have convinced its critics that it offers a strong likelihood of success.His thesis read: The success of a particular alcoholism therapy depends almost entirely upon the personality of the individual addict.5. Some Limitations1.Length. 2. Materials available. 3. Audience. Review Questions1. What is the value of brainstorming? At what point(s) in the research process is this activity likely to help you?2. What is the purpose of background reading? If you know your topic from the start, should you skip this step?3. Why is it a good idea to look for a controversy of some sort when trying to come up with a topic?4. Why do you need to form a hypothesis if you have an excellent topic? How does a hypothesis help at various stages of research?ExercisesYou have already finished the first three steps of choosing a topic, 1) choose one subject area, 2) do sufficient background reading, 3) find two or three potential topics for a seven-to-ten-page research paper. Now you may go on to the next steps. 4) do some brainstorming to find a proper topic, 5) form a reasonable hypothesis by brainstorming to find a proper thesis or theme. 6. Focusing on a Subject for Research1) SubdividingEXAMPLE:home computersproduction r&d marketing useshazardschangesresulting sales programmethods documentationEXAMPLE:uses of home computersgamesrecordprogramming education art communicationkeepingdesign information gathering or sharing2)Free AssociationEXAMPLE:Crimepolicelawsriots（暴乱）deterrents（威慑）preventionbig citieswhite-collargrowing ratespunishmentpenal system（刑罚制度）repeat offenders（重犯） death penalty（死刑）citizen activitiesEXAMPLE:White-collar Crimeofficesdepartment storesperpetrators（犯罪者） internal secur