英语学位论文写作教程课件

1、Academic WritingLecture 1 Introduction1. What is the course about?l Among the varieties of academic discourse, the research paper/article has gained prestige as it best shows the verbal and intellectual qualities most sought after in an academic environment. l The aim of this course is to help stude

2、nts learn the skills necessary for producing an academic research paper and/or a BA dissertation. l The course discusses and explains the rationale for different sections of an academic paper. l Genuine examples from recent international and local journals are used to exemplify the discourse structu

3、re, function, and relevant linguistic features of each sub-section. l Each chapter is followed by a number of exercises and tasks to enhance the learning process. 2. Types of writing 3. Data and Analysis1) Method of data collection (whether the data have been collected experimentally or non-experime

4、ntally)2) The type of data yielded by the investigation (qualitative or quantitative)3) The type of analysis conducted on the data (whether statistical or interpretive)Three ways of data collection1) “introspection”(内省), which is based on the linguists own intuitive competence of the language. This

5、way of getting data has a long tradition and is still in operation. Thus, researchers make up examples and use them as data. Sometimes the contrived examples are not accepted by the majority of the speakers of that language, and thus are challenged, but this method is popular because many people bel

6、ieve that linguistic description can be based on the linguists introspection.2) “elicitation”(诱导), which means that members of the speech community are asked to serve as informants to decide, on their intuitions, whether certain descriptions are correct, accurate or acceptable. For example, by using

7、 questionnaires and interviews, you can ask native speakers of English when to use “He is taller than me” and when to use “He is taller than I am”.3) “observation”(观察), which refers to the idea that behaviour (e.g., language use) can be observed “naturalistically”. With the rapid developments of com

8、puter technology and studies in corpus linguistics, more and more people are interested in getting information of naturally occurring examples, both written and spoken, of language use from existing corpora. So, for example, instead of asking native speakers of English when they use “He is taller th

9、an me” and when they use “He is taller than I am”, you can get examples and their frequency in the corpus you search. As Widdowson (2000: 74-75) argues, “intuitive, elicited, and observed data all have their own validity, but this validity depends on what kind of evidence you are looking for, on wha

10、t aspects of language knowledge or behaviour you are seeking to explain. If you are looking for evidence of the internal relationship between language and the mind, you are more likely to favour intuition and elicitation. If you are looking for evidence of how language sets up external links with so

11、ciety, then you are more likely to look to the observed data of actual occurrence. The validity of different kinds of linguistic data is not absolute but relative: one kind is no more real than another. It depends on what you claim the data are evidence of, and what you are trying to explain.”4. Res

12、earch paradigmsGrotjahn 1987. “On the methodological basis of introspective methods”. In C. Faerch & G. Kasper (eds.) Introspection in Second Language Research. Clevedon Avon, England: Multilingual Matters.Mixing and matching the above variables provides us with two “pure” research paradigms:Two

13、 “pure” paradigms(1) the “exploratory-interpretive” paradigm, which utilises a non-experimental method, yields qualitative data, and provides an interpretive analysis of that data.(2) the “analytical-nomological” paradigm, in which the data are collected through an experiment, and yields quantitativ

14、e data which are subjected to statistical analysis.(nomological（法则）science：试图在人类社会中确立类似于自然规律的法则的一类社会科学)Six “mixed” paradigms(3) Experimental-qualitative-interpretiveExperimental or quasi-experimental designQualitative dataInterpretive analysis(4) Experimental-qualitative-statisticalExperimental or q

15、uasi-experimental designQualitative dataStatistical analysis(5) Exploratory-qualitative-statisticalNon-experimental designQualitative dataStatistical analysis(6) Exploratory-quantitative-statisticalNon-experimental designQuantitative dataStatistical analysis(7) Exploratory-quantitative-interpretiveN

16、on-experimental designQuantitative dataInterpretive analysis(8) Experimental-quantitative-interpretiveExperimental or quasi-experimental designQuantitative dataInterpretive analysis5. Types of researchBrown, J.D. 1988. Understanding Research in Second Language Learning. Cambridge: CUP.l Primary rese

17、arch vs secondary researchPrimary research is derived from the primary source of information rather than from secondary sourceSecondary research consists of reviewing the literature in a given area, and synthesising the research carried out by others l Basic research vs. applied researchBasic resear

18、ch: theory-oriented, no immediate practical useApplied research: practice-oriented, obvious immediate practical use 6. Important terms and conceptsl essayl project l paper (research paper, term paper, scientific paper)l article (research article)l review articlel research proposal l reportl studyl d

19、issertation (graduate dissertation)l thesis (graduate thesis)7. Concluding remarks(1) Research as a task/academic requirement(2) Research as an occupation(3) Research as a hobby(4) From “conscious” to “unconscious”(5) Learning to do research is going through a process.An exerciseA court case between

20、 McDonalds Corporation and Quality Inns International, Inc.Cause: the use of “McSleep” (hotel)Background: McDonalds argued they have created a “McLanguage” and children are taught to how to “Mc-ise” the standard vocabulary of generic words to create “McFries”, “McFish”, “McShakes” and “McBest”.Roger

21、 Shuy, an American forensic linguist, was asked by Quality Inns to help with two linguistic arguments: (1) the morpheme “Mc” was in common use productively, when it was not seen to be linked in any way to McDonalds, (2) such examples showed that the prefix, originally patronymic, equivalent in meani

22、ng to the “son” in “Johnson”, had become generic and thus now has a meaning of its own, which was recognizably distinct from both of the other meanings “son of” and “associated with McDonalds”. Research methodsShuy: chose a corpus linguistic approach and searched to find real text instances of “Mcmo

23、rphemes”; among the 56 examples he found were general terms like McArt, McCinema, McSurgery and McPrisons, as well as some items already being used commercially like the McThrift Motor Inn, a budget motel with a Scottish motif and McTek a computer discount store which specialized in Apple Mac comput

24、er products. On the basis of such examples, Shuy argued that the prefix had become in the language at large a lexical item with its own meaning of “basic, convenient, inexpensive and standardized”.Rather than use corpus evidence themselves, McDonalds hired market researchers to access the publics pe

25、rception of the prefix directly through interview and questionnaire and they reported that consumers did indeed associate the prefix with McDonalds, as well as with reliability, speed, convenience and cheapness.Faced with conflicting evidence, the judge ruled in favor of McDonalds, thereby giving th

26、em massive control over the use of the morpheme.Lecture 2 Preliminaries 1. IntroductionAmong different types of written academic discourse, the research paper is probably the most important as it embodies the many intellectual and linguistic skills that are needed in an academic environment such as

27、in a college or a university. Because of this, educators at the tertiary level all over the world have paid a lot of attention to the design of the research paper and many books and published papers have been devoted to the teaching of the skills that are required for starting, continuing, and compl

28、eting a successful research paper. When we prepare a research paper we study a topic, issue, or problem in the outside world. We may be dealing with humans, objects, or abstract phenomena in their environments. We consider contexts, situations, and factors that may influence the behavior of humans,

29、affect the condition of objects, or change the state of the abstract phenomena under our investigation. Of necessity our study cannot be too general as we may end up with generalizations that are either known to other researchers in the field or have little application in contexts of situation that

30、we would like to intervene. A significant aspect of any research paper, therefore, is the process of focusing on the topic under investigation. 2. Focusing on a topicThere are many aspects/sides to any subject or discipline that we study at a university. One way of breaking down a subject into a num

31、ber of smaller sub-topics is to look at the subject classifications provided by a library. For example, under the subject of Education we may have Education in China, Primary Education in China, Primary Education in Guangdong Province in China, etc. This shows that we can continue narrowing down (fo

32、cusing upon) the topic of our study. For our research it is also possible to have a main title and a sub-title as in Foreign Language Education in China: Teaching English Writing Skills to Primary School Students in Guangdong Province. l Linguisticsl Functional Linguisticsl Systemic Functional Lingu

33、isticsl Lexico-grammarl Metafunctionl Textual functionl Cohesionl Grammatical cohesionl Referencel Personal referencel “he” (3rd person, singularl “he” in gossipOne thing to remember is that we cannot have a very long title for the research paper. It may therefore be necessary to further narrow down

34、 the subject. This can be done in the Introduction section of our article by clauses such as The aim of this paper is to , This paper deals with the teaching of , etc. Both in the title and subsequent focusing in the text we should avoid using complex and technical language. Good research papers sta

35、rt with simple and direct thoughts that can easily be read and understood. 3. Asking questions while planning the researchOne important factor in choosing the topic is to find out whether or not it is researchable. Experts in the field have suggested that we ask some questions while we are planning

36、our study. The following are some important questions: 1) Is the topic researchable, given time, resources, and availability of data?2) Is there a personal interest in the topic in order to sustain attention?3) Will the results from the study be of interest to others (e.g., in the state, region, nat

37、ion)?4) Is the topic likely to be publishable in a scholarly journal? (or attractive to an examination committee?)5) Does the study (a) fill a void, (b) replicate, (c) extend, or (d) develop new ideas in the scholarly literature?6) Will the project contribute to career goals?4. Research AssumptionsW

38、hat topic we choose, how we design our research paper, and how we go about doing the research all depend on our assumptions about a number of factors. They include:1) What is the nature of reality?2) What is the relationship of the researcher to that researched?3) What is the role of values?4) What

39、is the language of research?5) What is the process of research?The above assumptions are usually discussed in relation to two major ways of doing research, i.e. the quantitative approach and the qualitative approach. Questions 1, 2, and 3 relate to the objectivity of a researcher in a quantitative a

40、pproach and the involvement of the investigator in a qualitative one. In the former case (quantitative) there is a distance between the researcher and the researched whereas in the latter (qualitative) the researcher is closely involved with that researched. These two attitudes affect both the langu

41、age of the research, more objective in the first (quantitative) and more subjective in the second (qualitative), and also the process of research, deductive (演绎) in the former and inductive (归纳) in the latter. The following shows the relationship of each approach to the above questions.1. What is th

42、e nature of reality? Quantitative（定量）: Reality is objective and singular, apart from the researcher. Qualitative（定性）: Reality is subjective and multiple as seen by participants in a study. 2. What is the relationship of the researcher to that researched? Quantitative: Researcher is independent from

43、that being researched. Qualitative: Researcher interacts with that being researched.3. What is the role of values? Quantitative: Value free and unbiased Qualitative: Value-laden and biased4. What is the language of research? Quantitative: Formal, based on set definitions, impersonal voice, use of ac

44、cepted quantitative words Qualitative: Informal, evolving decisions, personal voice, accepted qualitative words5. What is the process of research? Quantitative: Deductive（演绎、推论）process, cause and effect, static design, categories isolated before study, context-free, generalizations leading to predic

45、tions, explanation, and understanding, accurate and reliable through validity and reliability Qualitative: Inductive (归纳) process, mutual simultaneous shaping of factors, emerging design, categories identified during research process, context-bound, patterns, theories developed for understanding, ac

46、curate and reliable through verificationThe comparison shows that we have different assumptions (we believe in different things) if we use one or the other approach. It is possible to combine the two approaches into a single one but it is advisable for beginning research students to select only one

47、approach in order to add to the focus of their study. 5. How to choose between the approachesChoosing between a qualitative or a quantitative approach also depends on several factors which include (1) the researchers worldview/outlook, (2) the researchers training or experience, (3) the researchers

48、psychological attributes, (4) the nature of the problem being researched, (5) the audience for the research. Criteria:1) Researchers view of worldQuantitative approach: A researchers comfort with the assumptions of a quantitative approachQualitative approach: A researchers comfort with the assumptio

49、ns of a qualitative approach2) Training and experience of researcherQuantitative approach: Technical writing skills, computer statistical skills, library skillsQualitative approach: Literary writing skills, computer text-analysis skills, library skills3) Researchers psychological attributesQuantitat

50、ive approach: Comfort with rules and guidelines for conducting research, low tolerance for ambiguity, time for a study of short durationQualitative approach: Comfort with lack of specific rules and procedure for conducting research, high tolerance for ambiguity, time for lengthy study4) Nature of th

51、e problemQuantitative approach: Previously studied by other research so that body of literature exists, known variables, existing theoriesQualitative approach: Exploratory research, variables unknown, context important, may lack theory base for study5) Audience for the studyQuantitative approach: In

52、dividuals accustomed to or supportive of quantitative studiesQualitative approach: Individuals accustomed to or supportive of qualitative studies6. Methods associated with the two approachesDue to the research assumptions and factors affecting the choice of an approach, a number of methods for data

53、collection and analysis have been developed as a result of many studies in the sciences and humanities in the past. Experiments and surveys are usually associated with a quantitative approach while ethnographies and case studies belong to a qualitative one. 7. Choosing a format for the Research Pape

54、r Despite many variations introduced by researchers in the format of their research papers, the following plan can be used by a beginning student researcher for both a quantitative as well as a qualitative approach.The elements of structure include (1) Title, (2) Abstract, (3) Introduction incl

55、uding (Review of Literature), (4) Method, (5) Results, (6) Discussion, (7) Conclusion, (8) References, and (9) Appendices. Beginning, continuing, and completing a research paper is a complex process that requires many social, psychological, technical, and linguistic skills on the part of beginning r

56、esearchers. The first such exercise may be very demanding but it will pave the way for future research providing intellectual satisfaction for the young scholars in the field. 8. Summary(1) Importance of the research paper in the academic life(2) How a topic for research should be chosen and narrowe

57、d down (focused upon)(3) The research should be meaningful and manageable for our research purposes(4) Several questions should be answered before one can embark on a research project (5) Important assumptions in undertaking any research held by the researchers and the factors that could affect the

58、findings(6) Researchers have to choose between a quantitative and a qualitative approach with an appropriate methodology for each (7) A format for the research paper which can be altered minimally to accommodate it for either of the two approaches.(8) The elements of structure include (1) Title, (2) Abstract, (3) Introduction including (Review of Literature), (4) Method, (5) Results, (6) Discussion, (7) Conclusion, (8) References, and (9) Appendices. ExerciseThe fo