本书在选材上，讲究趣味性，让学生喜欢学。在内容安排上，力争让学生在较少的课时内学到该学的内容，从而体现当代先进的模块化教学思想。在习题设计上，做到有针对性、形式丰富，并便于教师和学生课内课外操作。充分体现教学过程以学生为中心的教学理念，通过教师与学生互动、学生之间互动的教学活动，把语言、文学、文化、翻译等方面的教学内容转化成为学生能掌握的技能和知识，着力培养学生分析问题和解决问题的能力，传授基本研究方法，增强学生的研究意识和问题意识，同时提高学生的学术素养，提升学生综合素质。

Preface

Chapter 1: Defining the Dissertation

 1.1  Introductory remarks

 1.2  Thesis, dissertation, paper

 1.3  Summary and evaluation of information

 1.4  The process of writing a dissertation

 1.5  Summary

 1.6  Exercises

Chapter 2: Basic Writing and Academic Writing

 2.1  Introduction

 2.2  Basic writing

 2.3  Academic writing

 2.4  Style and mechanics

 2.5  Important terms and concepts

 2.6  Summary

 2.7  Exercises

Chapter 3: Data, Analysis, and Research Paradigms

 3.1  Introduction

 3.2  Data collection

 3.3  Analysis

 3.4  Research paradigms

 3.5  Types of research

 3.6  Summary

 3.7  Exercises

Chapter 4: Prewriting (1): Developing the Subject

 4.1  Introduction

 4.2  Managing your time

 4.3  Locating your interest

 4.4  Selecting a topic

 4.5  Considering manageability and availability

 4.6  Summary

 4.7  Exercises

Chapter 5: Prewriting (2): Reading the Literature

 5.1  Introduction

 5.2  Familiarizing yourself with the background

 5.3  Discovering existing studies

 5.4  Reading the relevant literature

 5.5  Taking notes

 5.6  Discovering questions and problems

 5.7  Focusing on your research

 5.8  Preparing a working bibliography

 5.9  Summary

 5.10 Exercises

Chapter 6: Prewriting (3): Thesis Formulation and Research Questions

 6.1  Introduction

 6.2  The thesis statement

 6.3  The research question

 6.4  The research method

 6.5  Summary

 6.6  Exercises

Chapter 7: Prewriting (4): Conducting Primary Research -- an Example

 7.1  Introduction

 7.2  Research interest and research aim

 7.3  Thesis statement and research questions

 7.4  Literature review

 7.5  Research method and data collection

 7.6  An example of data collection and data editing

 7.7  Theoretical basis

 7.8  Analysis

 7.9  Summary

 7.10 Exercises

Chapter 8: Writing (1): Elements of a Dissertation

 8.1  Introduction

 8.2  The macrostructure

 8.3  The abstract

 8.4  The introduction

 8.5  The literature review

 8.6  The theoretical framework

 8.7  Research method and data

 8.8  Analysis and discussion

 8.9  The conclusion

 8.10 Summary

 8.11 Exercises

Chapter 9: Writing (2): Organizing Ideas

 9.1  Introduction

 9.2  The skeleton and the meat

 9.3  The language of the elements of structure

 9.4  Referring to previous studies

 9.5  Re-organizing ideas

 9.6  Advice on quoting

 9.7  Advice on the choice of reporting verbs

 9.8  Summary

 9.9  Exercises

Chapter 10: Writing (3): Writing and Revising

 10.1 Introduction

 10.2 Creating the overall plan

 10.3 Outlines and section headings

 10.4 The proportional suggestion

 10.5 Developing the first draft and possible problems

 10.6 Researching before writing

 10.7 Revising the first draft

 10.8 Summary

 10.9 Exercises

Chapter 11: Writing (4): Avoiding Plagiarism

 11.1 Introduction

 11.2 Defining plagiarism

 11.3 The temptation to plagiarize

 11.4 The cost of plagiarism

 11.5 Paraphrasing vs plagiarism

 11.6 How to avoid plagiarism

 11.7 Summary

 11.8 Exercises

Chapter 12: Preparing the Final Draft

 12.1 Introduction

 12.2 Formatting the final draft

 12.3 Checking the details

 12.4 Summary

 12.5 Exercises

Chapter 13: References and Appendixes

 13.1 Introduction

 13.2 The function of documenting sources

 13.3 Different styles of referencing

 13.4 References in the running text

 13.5 References at the end of the dissertation

 13.6 Appendixes

 13.7 Summary

 13.8 Exercises

Chapter 14: Submission and Evaluation

 14.1 Introduction

 14.2 Working with your tutor

 14.3 Submission

 14.4 Evaluation criteria

 14.5 The dissertation defence

 14.6 Summary

 14.7 Exercises

Appendix 1: A Sample Paper in Chinese

Appendix 2: A Sample Paper for Further Analysis

Appendix 3: Suggested Answers to the Exercises

About the Authors