英语学术论文写作

1、How to Write a Research PaperAssessment (term paper)要求：（1）可用汉语撰写（2）字数在3000汉字或1500英语单词左右（3）作业交电子版（通过email）和纸版两种（4）交作业日期：（5）6个题目任选一个题目(任选一个)：1描述一篇学术论文的结构要素，包括组成部分，各部分的功能、作用、重要性等。在描述结构要素时，希望用实例（如: 别人或自己发表的论文）对各部分进行分析、说明。2对已经发表的论文的提要（摘要，abstract）（一篇或多篇）进行分析、评论。例如，可以首先对提要（摘要）的功能、作用、重要性等加以描述，然后看看你分析的提要（摘要

2、）是否已经包括、涉及了这些部分，最后进行评论。3论文的结构要素的语言体现手段（如: 怎样引用别人的观点，怎样写结论部分，怎样和别人商榷学术问题）。4比较实验性研究和推测性研究的异同，并举例说明。5讨论定量研究和定性研究的异同，并指出各自的优点和缺点。6撰写硕士学位论文开题报告。Identification of(1) A flat / house / room / table / desk(2) A man / woman(3) A book / letter / memo(4) A research paper (title, author, abstract, body, referenc

3、es, etc.)OutlineWhat is the course aboutTypes of writingData and AnalysisResearch paradigmsTypes of researchImportant terms and conceptsConcluding remarks1 What is the course about?Among the varieties of academic discourse, the research paper/article has gained prestige as it best shows the verbal a

4、nd intellectual qualities most sought after in an academic environment. The aim of this course is to help postgraduate students learn the skills necessary for producing an academic research paper, which has a structure more or less the same as a dissertation. The course discusses and explains the ra

5、tionale for different sections of an academic paper. Genuine examples from recent international and local journals are used to exemplify the discourse structure, function, and relevant linguistic features of each sub-section. Each chapter is followed by a number of exercises and tasks to enhance the

6、 learning process. 2 Types of writing3 Data and AnalysisMethod of data collection (whether the data have been collected experimentally or non-experimentally)The type of data yielded by the investigation (qualitative or quantitative)The type of analysis conducted on the data (whether statistical or i

7、nterpretive)4 Research 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

8、paradigms:Two “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 yield

9、s quantitative 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-statisticalExper

10、imental or quasi-experimental designQualitative dataStatistical analysis(5) Exploratory-qualitative-statisticalNon-experimental designQualitative dataStatistical analysis(6) Exploratory-quantitative-statisticalNon-experimental designQuantitative dataStatistical analysis(7) Exploratory-quantitative-i

11、nterpretiveNon-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.Pri

12、mary research 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 synthesizing the research carried out by othersBasic research vs. applied researchBasic

13、 research: theory-oriented, no immediate practical useApplied research: practice-oriented, obvious immediate practical use 6 Important terms and conceptsessayproject paper (research paper, term paper, scientific paper)article (research article)review article, research proposal reportstudydissertatio

14、n (graduate dissertation)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.HomeworkGo to the library and find a paper (

15、published outside China) that you think may help you in your research or that interests you, a paper that youd want to read more than once. Photocopy the paper and keep it with you (and bring it with you every time you come to my class). Notes:(1) Have the “Huang, Ghadessy & Zhang” book with you eve

16、ry time you come to class.(2) Have a journal or a journal paper with you every time you come to class.An exerciseA court case between McDonalds Corporation and Quality Inns International, Inc.Cause: the use of “McSleep” (hotel)Background: McDonalds argued they have created a “McLanguage” and childre

17、n are taught to how to “Mc-ise” the standard vocabulary of generic words to create “McFries”, “McFish”, “McShakes” and “McBest”.Roger 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 wa

18、s not seen to be linked in any way to McDonalds, (2) such examples showed that the prefix, originally patronymic, equivalent in meaning 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 “a

19、ssociated with McDonalds”. Shuy: chose a corpus linguistic approach and searched to find real text instances of “Mcmorphemes”; 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 Moto

20、r Inn, a budget motel with a Scottish motif and McTek a computer discount store which specialized in Apple Mac computer 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

21、standardized”.Rather than use corpus evidence themselves, McDonalds hired market researchers to access the publics perception 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

22、, convenience and cheapness.Faced with conflicting evidence, the judge ruled in favor of McDonalds, thereby giving them massive control over the use of the morpheme.OutlineIntroductionFocusing on a topicAsking questions while planning the researchResearch AssumptionsHow to choose between research ap

23、proachesMethods associated with research approachesChoosing a format for the research paperSummary2 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 number of smaller sub-topics is to look at the sub

24、ject 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 (focusing upon) the topic of our study. For our re

25、search 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. LinguisticsFunctional LinguisticsSystemic Functional LinguisticsLexico-grammarMetafunctionTextual functionCohes

26、ionGrammatical cohesionReferencePersonal reference“he” (3rd person, singular)“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 the subject. This can be done in the Introduction section of our arti

27、cle 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 start with simple and direct thoughts that can easily be read and underst

28、ood. 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 our study. The following are some important questions: Is the topic res

29、earchable, given time, resources, and availability of data?Is there a personal interest in the topic in order to sustain attention?Will the results from the study be of interest to others (e.g., in the state, region, nation)?Is the topic likely to be publishable in a scholarly journal? (or attractiv

30、e to an examination committee?)Does the study (a) fill a void, (b) replicate, (c) extend, or (d) develop new ideas in the scholarly literature?Will the project contribute to career goals?4 Research AssumptionsWhat topic we choose, how we design our research paper, and how we go about doing the resea

31、rch all depend on our assumptions about a number of factors. They include:What is the nature of reality?What is the relationship of the researcher to that researched?What is the role of values?What is the language of research?What is the process of research?The above assumptions are usually discusse

32、d 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 approach and the involvement of the investigator in a qualitative one. In the former case (quantitative) t

33、here 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 language of the research, more objective in the first (quantitative) and more subjective in the second (qualit

34、ative), 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.Question: What is the nature of reality? Quantitative（定量）: Reality is objective and singular, apart from the researche

35、r. Qualitative （定性） : Reality is subjective and multiple as seen by participants in a study. Question: What is the relationship of the researcher to that researched? Quantitative:Researcher is independent from that being researched. Qualitative: Researcher interacts with that being researched.Questi

36、on: What is the role of values? Quantitative:Value free and unbiased Qualitative: Value-laden and biasedQuestion: What is the language of research? Quantitative:Formal, based on set definitions, impersonal voice, use of accepted quantitative words Qualitative: Informal, evolving decisions, personal

37、voice, accepted qualitative wordsQuestion: 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 predictions, explanation, and understanding, accurate and reliable through val

38、idity and reliabilityQuestion: What is the process of research? Qualitative: Inductive (归纳) process, mutual simultaneous shaping of factors, emerging design, categories identified during research process, context-bound, patterns, theories developed for understanding, accurate and reliable through ve

39、rificationThe 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 approach in order to add to th

40、e 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 the researchers worldview/outlook, the researchers training or experience, the researchers psychological attributes, the nature of the

41、 problem being researched, the audience for the research. Criteria:Researchers view of worldQuantitative approach: A researchers comfort with the assumptions of a quantitative approach Qualitative approach: A researchers comfort with the assumptions of a qualitative approachCriteria:Training and exp

42、erience of researcher Quantitative approach:Technical writing skills, computer statistical skills, library skills Qualitative approach:Literary writing skills, computer text-analysis skills, library skillsCriteria:Researchers psychological attributes Quantitative approach:Comfort with rules and guid

43、elines for conducting research, low tolerance for ambiguity, time for a study of short duration Qualitative approach:Comfort with lack of specific rules and procedure for conducting research, high tolerance for ambiguity, time for lengthy studyCriteria:Nature of the problem Quantitative approach:Pre

44、viously studied by other researches so that body of literature exists, known variables, existing theories Qualitative approach:Exploratory research, variables unknown, context important, may lack theory base for studyCriteria:Audience for the study Quantitative approach:Individuals accustomed to or

45、supportive of quantitative studies Qualitative 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 collection and analysis have

46、 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 PaperDespite many variations intr

47、oduced 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 including (Review of Literature), (4) M

48、ethod, (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 researchers. The first such exercise

49、 may be very demanding but it will pave the way for future research providing intellectual satisfaction for the young scholars in the field. 8 SummaryImportance of the research paper in the academic lifeHow a topic for research should be chosen and narrowed down (focused upon)The research should be

50、meaningful and manageable for our research purposesSeveral questions should be answered before one can embark on a research project Important assumptions in undertaking any research held by the researchers and the factors that could affect the findingsResearchers have to choose between a quantitativ

51、e and a qualitative approach with an appropriate methodology for each A format for the research paper which can be altered minimally to accommodate it for either of the two approaches.The elements of structure include (1) Title, (2) Abstract, (3) Introduction including (Review of Literature), (4) Me

52、thod, (5) Results, (6) Discussion, (7) Conclusion, (8) References, and (9) Appendices. ExerciseThe following sub-sections of a published article are slightly different from what has been suggested earlier. Discuss the similarities and differences between the two formats.Title of the paper:The Partic

53、le meh in Singapore English: In Service of Efficient CommunicationAbstract1. Introduction2. Previous studies3. Relevance theory 3.1 Relevance 3.2 Constraints on relevance4. Analysis of meh 4.1 Data 4.2 Meh and truth-conditionality 4.3 Meh in interrogatives: constraints on relevance5. Implications6.

54、ConclusionQuestionsDo you often read academic articles / research papers?What journals do you read?Why do you read journal papers?Do you think writing academic papers is a complex process? Why?Are you ready to write a quality research paper?What is Plagiarism?Plagiarism is the practice of using or c

55、opying someone elses words or ideas and pretended that they are yours.It is a form of intellectual “theft”, but in a sense it is even worse than theft because you present them to other people as if they were you own words and ideas, and you try to take credit for them.The Temptation to PlagiarizeThe

56、 Need and the temptation:When a student has to submit an assignment, a term paper, a project or thesis, especially just before deadline.The ease of committing the offence.Cutting and pasting is easier than anything“Paper mills” onlinePublished paper in the internetWorking papers“Buying” papers from

57、somewherePassing off another students paper as your ownTwo types of plagiarismThere are two broad types of plagiarism: (1) intentional, (2) unintentional.When the writer purposefully hides the fact that the words or ideas he presents are those of someone else. It is a form of stealing.Unintentional

58、plagiarism typically occurs when the writer does not cite the source correctly.Examples of Plagiarism:In recent years, linguists and language teachers alike have become much more interested in language as it is used in communication and not just in language as the abstract formal system. The organiz

59、ation of language teaching along functional lines reflects the increased interest in language as and for communication. However, to organize language teaching functionally does not necessarily make the teaching communicative or encourage the communicative use of the language. (Liu R.Q. et al 1990. I

60、ntroducing Linguistics. Beijing: Renmin Jiaoyu Chubanshe, p.312) (70 words)Version 1In recent years, both linguists and language teachers are more and more interested in regarding language as a tool in communication and not just as an abstract formal system. The arrangement of language teaching acco