学术英语写作：Lecture 2 From narrowing down a topic to a research proposal to thesis statement

LectureTwoFromnarrowingdownatopictoaresearchproposaltothesisstatement2ContentsThesisstatementResearchproposal1WritingaresearchpaperChooseatopicwhichinterestsandchallengesyou.Yourattitudetowardsthetopicmaywelldeterminetheamountofeffortandenthusiasmyouputintoyourresearch.Narrowdownthetopic.Focusonalimitedaspect.Obtainteacher’sapprovalforyourtopicbeforeembarkingonafull-scaleresearch.Selectasubjectyoucanmanage.Avoidsubjectsthataretootechnicalorspecialized.Avoidtopicsthathaveonlyaverynarrowrangeofsourcematerials.ResearchProposal(研究方案）AresearchproposalEssentialcomponents（必要成分）:1.thepropercontexttoframetheresearchquestion.2.theresearchquestion（研究问题）.3.thetheoreticalandempiricalcontributions（理论和实证贡献）byotherresearchers.4.theboundaryconditionsforyourresearch5.References（参考文献）

Step1.Nameyourtopic.Iamtryingtolearnabout(workingon,studying)______.Eg:IamstudyingthecausesofthedisappearanceoflargeNorthAmericanmammals.MovefromatopicintoaresearchproposalStep2:Addanindirectquestion.Iamstudying/workingon______BecauseIwanttofindoutwho/what/when/where/whether/why/how______.Eg.IamstudyingthecausesofthedisappearanceoflargeNorthAmericanmammals.BecauseIwanttofindoutwhethertheywerehuntedtoextinction.aresearchproposalStep3:addaphrasetostateitssignificance.Iamstudying____tofindout___inordertohelpmyreadersunderstand_____.Eg.IamstudyingthecausesofthedisappearanceoflargeNorthAmericanmammals.BecauseIwanttofindoutwhethertheywerehuntedtoextinction.Inordertohelpmyreadersunderstandwhethernativepeopleslivedinharmonywithnatureorhelpeddestroyit.aresearchproposalThesisStatementWhatisthethesisstatement?Themajorpointofapaper.Thesisstatementisusuallyasinglesentencesomewhereinyourfirstparagraphthatpresentsyourargumenttothereader.Therestofthepaper,thebodyoftheessay,gathersandorganizesevidencethatwillpersuadethereaderofthelogicofyourinterpretation.Exampleofthesisstatement1.Americaisexperiencingahealthcarecrisisbecauseofanagingpopulationandrisinghealthcarecost.2.Healthisachievedthroughacombinationofexercise,properdiet,relaxation,andstrongsocialrelationships.3.ThenorthwontheAmericanCivilWarbecauseofitslargerpopulationandstrongerindustrialbase,whichallowedittomakemoreweaponsandsuppliesthantheSouth.Howtowriteastrongthesisstatement?

Whatmakesathesiseffective?Generallyexpressedinoneortwosentences,athesisstatementoftenhastwoparts.Onepartpresentsyourpaper‘ssubject;theotherpresentsyourpointofview,orattitude,aboutthatsubject.Inthethesisstatement,thelimitedsubjectcomesbeforetheattitude.ThesisStatementDon'tMakeanAnnouncement

Somewritersusethethesisstatementmerelytoannouncethelimitedsubjectoftheirpaperandforgettoindicatetheirattitudetowardthesubject.

Comparethefollowingannouncementswiththethesisstatementsbelowthem:

ThesisStatementTurnthefollowingannouncementsintothesisstatementsMyessaywilldiscusswhetherastudentpubshouldexistoncampus.Thiscollegeshouldnotallowastudentpuboncampus.Handgunlegislationisthesubjectofthispaper.BanninghandgunsisthefirststeptowardcontrollingcrimeinAmerica.TurnthefollowingfactualstatementsintothesisstatementsShanghai’spopulationisgrowingolder.

TheagingoftheShanghaipopulationwilleventuallycreateaneconomiccrisis.Manybusinessespollutetheenvironment.Taxpenaltiesshouldbeleviedagainstbusinessesthatpollutetheenvironment.

Don‘tMakeaBroadStatement

Avoidstatingyourthesisinvague,general,orsweeping(全面的、彻底的）terms.

Thefollowingexamplescontraststatementsthataretoobroadwiththesisstatementsthatarefocusedeffectively:

ThesisStatementTurnthefollowingbroadstatementsintomorespecificonesNowadays,collegeeducationisoftenmeaningless.Universitydiplomashavebeendevalued（贬值）byrecruitmentpressure.Newspaperscatertothetasteofthegeneralpublic.ThesuccessofXinmineveningindicatesthatpeoplewantnewspapersthatareeasytoreadandentertaining.

SentencesforexerciseafterclassPleasechooseoneofthefollowingsentences,andturnitintoastrongthesisstatement.1.Peopleusealotoflawnchemicals.2.Theessayisaboutthedifficultyofsolvingtheenvironmentalproblems.3.StephenHawking’sphysicaldisabilityhasnotpreventedhimfrombecomingaworldrenownedphysicist,andhisbookisthesubjectofamovie.

Referenceanswerstotheexercise.1.Peoplearepoisoningtheenvironmentwithc