英语学位论文写作CHAPTER2课件

1、How to Write a DissertationIn English How to Write a DissertationIntroduction2.1Basic writing2.2Academic writing2.3Style and mechanics2.4Chapter 2Basic Writing and Academic WritingImportant terms and concepts2.5Summary2.6Exercises2.7Introduction2.1Basic writing2.2.1 IntroductionHow to write a disser

2、tation in English In this chapter we will distinguish between two types of writing that you may encounter in your studies at university or college. The first type is called basic writing or practical writing, and the other type is academic writing. These two types of writing belong to different genr

3、e types and reflect the level of difficulties. Basic writing is everyday writing and all of us do it, while academic writing is only required in an academic environment. 2.12.22.32.42.52.62.72.1 IntroductionHow to write a2.2 Basic writingHow to write a dissertation in English The purpose of basic wr

4、iting is to help students learn to write well for everyday purposes. The focus will be on general writing skills and strategies. In terms of writing skills, students are taught sentence writing skills, paragraph writing skills, the choice of diction and sentence type, and the process of composing an

5、 essay. In sentence writing, correctness and effectiveness of sentences, and cohesion of sentences are emphasized, while in paragraph writing the focus is on the development of the paragraph, paragraph unity, the topic sentence, and paragraph coherence. The choice of diction and sentence type is con

6、cerned with the use of words and expressions, and the use of figurative and metaphorical language. The process of writing an essay involves planning, pre-writing, writing, revising, editing, and the final submission, just as in the case of academic writing. The characteristics of and the differences

7、 between different types of essay, e.g. narration, description, exposition, argumentation, will also be part of the content of basic2.12.22.32.42.52.62.72.2 Basic writingHow to write 2.2 Basic writingHow to write a dissertation in Englishwriting. In addition this covers topics such as prcis writing,

8、 which is concerned with abstracting the main points of an essay, a report or a book. Similar to prcis writing is the writing of summaries, which is also concerned with the condensation of information. In a basic writing book or course, students are also presented with topics such as personal letter

9、s and notes, memos and reports, business letters, certificates, public notices, and curriculum vitae, which are needed in everyday life. As its name suggests, basic writing is concerned with using some basic skills in a language. Using a word correctly and appropriately, choosing an effective expres

10、sion, sentence type or clause structure, and writing a coherent paragraph with the appropriate cohesive ties are all important components of basic writing. The above skills and strategies also benefit academic writing.2.12.22.32.42.52.62.72.2 Basic writingHow to write 2.3 Academic writingHow to writ

11、e a dissertation in English Academic writing is a type of writing that is concerned with academic research in one way or another. In general terms, we can distinguish between fictional writing and non-fictional writing. In fictional writing, we can identify types of writing such as writing poems, wr

12、iting essays and writing novels, and these are different in a number of ways, i.e. their form and the genre they belong to. This usually does not have anything to do with the topic as we can discuss the topic of happiness or death in a poem, in an essay, or in a novel. In non-fictional writing, we c

13、an distinguish between writings in popular magazines and in professional journals. Note that the difference between these two types of non- fictional writing often has nothing to do with the topic of discussion. For example, the same topic, e.g. insomnia (失眠、失眠症) can be written and published in a po

14、pular magazine such as the Family Doctor (家庭医生) or a professional journal such as2.12.22.32.42.52.62.72.3 Academic writingHow to wri2.3 Academic writingHow to write a dissertation in EnglishNational Medical Journal of China (中华医学杂志). As is expected, writing for a popular magazine and writing for a p

15、rofessional journal have similarities and differences. One of the similarities is that both types of writing need basic writing skills and strategies. A major difference is that they have two different groups of target readers, i.e. a popular magazine is for the common people, the laymen, whereas a

16、professional journal is for those in a profession. Thus, theoretically speaking, anyone can read a popular magazine such as the Family Doctor, but only those in a medical profession would read journals such as National Medical Journal of China. Within the professional writing types, we can identify

17、technical writing and academic writing. Technical writing is concerned with practice-based, problem-oriented or application-based research and it is usually written by and for engineers or practitioners for a pragmatic reason. Academic writing, on the other hand, is usually based on original2.12.22.

18、32.42.52.62.72.3 Academic writingHow to wri2.3 Academic writingHow to write a dissertation in Englishresearch, is concerned with theory-based or theorizing research and is usually written by and for academics. Technical writing comes from research with the application of a theory whereas academic wr

19、iting develops from theorizing. Within academic writing examples, those that are written by people working in the social sciences and humanities are distinguished from those composed by people in natural sciences. In the field of English language and literature, we can distinguish between literary a

20、nd non-literary writings. The differences between these two are clear- cut, one of which being the method of doing research. Literary writing is concerned with the analysis and appreciation of literary works. Non-literary writing is usually regarded as a type of scientific writing because scientific

21、 research methods are often used in this type of writing. Very often literary writing is more subjective while non-literary writing is less subjective (objective). Within non-literary or scientific writing we can identify another two2.12.22.32.42.52.62.72.3 Academic writingHow to wri2.3 Academic wri

22、tingHow to write a dissertation in Englishtypes: speculative and experimental. The writings by those in a universitys department of philosophy are usually speculative, whereas those by people in the department of psychology are usually experimental. In the field of linguistics and applied linguistic

23、s, the research of those working with general linguistics is often speculation-oriented while that undertaken by applied linguistics is often experiment-based. Although we are trying to make clear the differences between different types of writing, in fact the distinctions between different types of

24、 research and writing are not always clear-cut; in some cases it is very difficult, if not impossible, to say which is which. The types of writing can be summarized diagrammatically as follows. The following figure was developed from Seyfer, H. & Wu, G. H. (1998) English Academic Paper Writing. Beij

25、ing: Higher Education Press, p.3:2.12.22.32.42.52.62.72.3 Academic writingHow to wri2.3 Academic writingHow to write a dissertation in English2.12.22.32.42.52.62.72.3 Academic writingHow to wri2.4 Style and mechanicsHow to write a dissertation in English The word style is used to refer to the way yo

26、u present your ideas in your writing. In academic writing, the style is expected to be formal rather than informal. When we need to use the formal style, we should avoid the use of slang, colloquial words and expressions, and biased language. Your tone or your attitude to your topic and what you are

27、 writing should be serious rather than casual, humorous or conversational. Academic writing is not to amuse or entertain, but to inform, to describe, or to argue. Therefore, one should be sure of what tone one adopts and the effects it will cause. Another important point is the use of personal prono

28、uns. In most academic writings, it is the third-person pronoun he, she, they, or it rather than the first-person pronoun I, me, my, or mine that is expected and preferred, because the use of first-person pronoun will suggest subjective opinions and will thus weaken the assertion by implying uncertai

29、nty. However, the use of impersonal labels such as the researcher or the writer may totally2.12.22.32.42.52.62.72.4 Style and mechanicsHow to 2.4 Style and mechanicsHow to write a dissertation in Englishdistance oneself from what one is saying. Compare the following three ways of presentation: (1) I

30、n this paper I suggest that this construction be avoided in formal writing. (2) The researcher of the study suggests that this construction be avoided in formal writing. (3) The present study suggests that this construction be avoided in formal writing. Example (1) uses the first-person pronoun and

31、the impression it gives is that of subjectivity, and the use of the researcher of the study in (2) tends to dissociate you, the writer, entirely from your paper. Comparatively speaking, Example (3) is the best of all the three examples. However, if the writing style adopted by the present author is

32、intended to be personal, then the style in (1) above is appropriate.2.12.22.32.42.52.62.72.4 Style and mechanicsHow to 2.4 Style and mechanicsHow to write a dissertation in English As with basic writing, correctness is a very important mechanistic aspect as we need to pay attention to grammar, punct

33、uation, and other technical matters. When you are not sure of the spelling of a word or of the use of an expression, consult a dictionary before you continue writing. When you use the American spelling, keep the same choice throughout the writing. Do not use the British and American ways of spelling

34、, e.g. colour, color; centre, center interchangeably. If you find a misspelled word in a text that you want to quote directly, copy the word exactly as it appears in the text and indicate that the error is not yours by inserting sic, Latin for thus, immediately after the word. For example, Lynch (19

35、83: 33) argues that “Systematic (sic) Functional Linguistics is basically a general linguistics theory”.2.12.22.32.42.52.62.72.4 Style and mechanicsHow to 2.4 Style and mechanicsHow to write a dissertation in English By adding sic after the word Systematic, we are telling the reader that the word is

36、 not the correct word, which should be Systemic. The use of too many abbreviations in a dissertation may distract the readers attention and make the reading more difficult. If you need to use abbreviations, use them wisely. Use the full term, e.g. Systemic Functional Linguistics when it first occurs

37、, then use hereafter SFL to indicate that from now on, the abbreviation SFL is used instead of the full term. For example, The theoretical framework of the present study is M.A.K. Hallidays Systemic Functional Linguistics (hereafter SFL) and the objective of the study is to apply the metafunctional

38、ideas in SFL to the analysis of the novel in terms of its ideational function, interpersonal function and textual function.2.12.22.32.42.52.62.72.4 Style and mechanicsHow to 2.4 Style and mechanicsHow to write a dissertation in English If you are writing an academic paper or your dissertation, the s

39、tyle should be formal and scholarly. It should be easily distinguished from a popular writing in terms of the use of words, expressions, and grammatical structures. Before you finalize the paper or dissertation, you should do the editing and proofreading, during which you will eliminate errors such

40、as spelling, grammatical mistakes, and inconsistencies in the format (see Chapter 12 for more discussion on this topic).2.12.22.32.42.52.62.72.4 Style and mechanicsHow to 2.5 Important terms and conceptsHow to write a dissertation in English There are a number of words that can be used to refer to t

41、he same piece of academic work. When we are more interested in the work that is conducted, we can use research, project, study, investigation, etc. When we are talking about the paper, which reports the research, project, study or investigation, we can use the paper, the article, the report. If it i

42、s a particular type of writing, e.g. a dissertation or a thesis, a review article or an essay, then use the word that has the exact meaning. For example, if you are writing a piece of text to be submitted as a partial fulfilment of the requirements of the degree of BA, then use either thesis (Americ

43、an) or dissertation (British). In some cases more than one term can be used interchangeably; but in other cases only one or two of the terms can be used. For example, a review article is not the same as a dissertation.2.12.22.32.42.52.62.72.5 Important terms and concep2.6 SummaryHow to write a disse

44、rtation in English In this chapter we have distinguished between two types of writing: basic writing and academic writing. Within academic writing, we have identified literary writing and scientific writing and within scientific writing we distinguish speculative writing from experimental writing. T

45、his chapter also discusses some issues concerning the style and the mechanics of writing. These two aspects are concerned with the presentation of ideas in terms of tone and correctness in form.2.12.22.32.42.52.62.72.6 SummaryHow to write a dissThe two texts below are taken from two different source

46、s. One is formal and the other is informal. Identify the formal/informal characteristics of thetwo texts.2.7 ExercisesHow to write a dissertation in English(1) Does anyone know, or even care, how it feels to be a widow? With the exception of her children or other widows, I doubt it matters to very m

47、any others. Ive tried to be outgoing, staying attractive and accepting invitations. I really looked forward to the recent wedding of one of my relatives. However, at the reception it didnt take long for the loneliness to set in as I watched the couples dance with each other and12.12.22.32.42.52.62.7

48、The two texts below are taken 2.7 ExercisesHow to write a dissertation in Englishwith guests at other tables. Throughout the entire evening, I hoped someone would ask me to dance. It never happened. Theres a song, Put On a Happy Face. Im very good at it when people hurt me. I wore mine all evening.

49、I have a message for those people having a good time dancing at wedding receptions: Please dance with widowed relatives and friends. Itll save them trips to the ladies room to cry.(2) The word thesis commonly refers to a substantial research project. As the word (which also means a proposition or po

50、int of view defended through argument) implies, a thesis should draw an original conclusion based on information derived from research. Although the term can also designate the paper written for a doctoral degree, American usage2.12.22.32.42.52.62.72.7 ExercisesHow to write a di2.7 ExercisesHow to w

51、rite a dissertation in Englishgenerally reserves the name thesis for the masters paper or the undergraduate honours paper.Some of the following utterances/ sentences are taken from a conversation while others from a research article. Decide which examplesare from a conversation and which are from an

52、 academic paper.2 (1) The purpose of this paper is to suggest that there is a need to take discourse into account in our teaching of language, and to consider how far the attempts made by linguists and others to analyse discourse might help us to do this. (2) Im going to tell you why we must conside

53、r this point and share with you my opinions on this type of activity.2.12.22.32.42.52.62.72.7 ExercisesHow to write a di2.7 ExercisesHow to write a dissertation in English (3) Id like to mention one or two other possible advantages of the approach that is proposed. (4) One or two other possible adva

54、ntages of the approach being proposed might be mentioned at this point. (5) As you know, we can then arrange our original sentences in a variety of ways to have a number of different versions. (6) The original sentences can be arranged in different ways so that we can have a number of different versions.Keys2.12.22.32.42.52.62.72.7 ExercisesHow to write a diSuggested Answers