研究生学术英语写作教程Unit-3-Reviewing-Literature

1Unit3ReviewingLiteratureObjectives:-Learnhowtoformulatearesearchproblem-learnhowtociteotherpeople’spreviouswork-Trytobecriticalandrelatedinyourreviewing-AvoidplagiarismContents-Readinganddiscussion:sampleintroductionandelementsinliteraturereview.-Languagefocus:tenseincitationandcitingverbs-Writingpractice:informationprominentcitation,authorprominentcitation,andweakauthorprominentcitation-Literaturereviewsrelatedtoyourresearch-Noplagiarism-Classroomextension:literaturereviewofthesocialeffectsoftourismondevelopingcountries1.ReadingActivity1.1Pre-readingTaskAliteraturereviewisnotjustasummaryofwhatyouhaveread.Itfocusesonaspecifictopicofinteresttoyouandincludesacriticalanalysisofrelationshipamongdifferentopinionsandthenrelatesthisreviewtotheworkofyourown.Itmaybewrittenasastand-alonepaperortoprovideatheoreticalframeworkandrationaleforaresearchstudytobecomeapartoftheintroductionsection,especiallyintermpapersorjournalarticles.However,inathesisordissertationitwillbeanentirechapter.2Readthesampleintroductionbelowandthinkaboutthefollowingquestions:Whatisthepurposeofwritingaliteratureview?Whatelementsdoesanintroductioninclude?Howdowerelateotherpeople’spreviousworktoourpresentresearch?Howdoweciteotherpeople’spreviouswork?1.2ReadingPassageIntroductionThepoorhavetraditionallytakenthebruntoftheblameforcausingsociety’smanyproblemsincluding,morerecently,environmentaldegradation.Thereisageneralconsensusthatpovertyisamajorcauseofenvironmentaldegradation.Forexample,inoneoftheconclusionsoftheBruntlandCommissionReport,whichincidentallyhasbeenacceptedastheblueprintforenvironmentalconservation,itwasexplicitlystatedthatpovertyisamajorcauseofenvironmentalproblemsandameliorationofpovertyisanecessaryandcentralconditionofanyeffectiveprogramsaddressingtheenvironment.Followingsimilarlines,Jalal(2010),theAsianDevelopmentBank'schiefoftheenvironmentdepartmentsays,Itisgenerallyacceptedthatenvironmentaldegradation,rapidpopulationgrowthandstagnantproductionarecloselylinkedwiththefastspreadofacutepovertyinmanycountriesofAsia.TheWorldBankjoinedtheconsensuswheninthe2011WorldDevelopmentReport,theBankexplicitlystatedthat,“poorfamilieswhohavetomeetshorttermneedsminethenaturalcapitalbyexcessivecuttingoftreesforfirewoodandfailuretoreplacesoilnutrients”(WorldBank2011).However,therehasbeenarisingtrendintheeconomicliteraturewhichdisputestheconventionaltheoryandarguesthatsimplegeneralizationsofthismulti-dimensionalproblemareerroneousandthatamorecomplexsetofvariablesareinplay(LeachandMearns,2012).Thesestudiespointtodemographic,cultural,andinstitutionalfactorsasimportantvariablesinthepoverty-environmentaldegradationnexus.Anintricateweboffactorsplustheexistenceoffeedbackloopsfromenvironmentaldegradationtopovertymakestheprocessofidentifyingcausalitylinks,3ifany,betweenenvironmentaldegradationandpovertyadifficultexercise.However,thesestudieshavebeenfewandisolatedanditisinterestingtonotethatuntilrecently,therehasbeenverylittlein-depthcoordinatedempiricalresearchintheeconomicsofenvironmentaldegradation-povertycausalityrelationships.Thisbringstothepurposeofthisstudy.Bothpovertyandenvironmentaldegradationhavebeenincreasinginmanydevelopingcountries;hencethereisapressingneedfirsttoevaluateandanalyzethepoverty-environmentaldegradationnexus,andsecond,toprescribepolicyoptionstomitigateoreradicatethesetwoproblems.Theprimaryobjectiveofthepaperistoanalyzecriticallytheexistingliteratureonthepoverty-environmentaldegradationnexusandtrytomakesomeorderoutofthechaosinherentinthiscomplexanddifficultsubject.Forthispaper,ouranalysisislimitedtothefollowingfourmainnaturalresourceswhichareunderseriousthreatofdegradationinmanydevelopingcountries:i)forests;ii)land;iii)water;andiv)air.Biodiversityisexcludedatthispointbecausethepreliminaryliteraturesearchfoundonlyscatteredandinconclusiveinformation.However,itshouldnotbeinferredthatbiodiversityislessimportantthanthefourresourceschosen;indeeditisanareawhichneedsparticularattentioninthefuture.Oncethenaturalresourcesectorshavebeenidentified,acause,impactandfeedbackanalysisiscarriedout.Inthismanner,wehopefirsttoidentifythemainagentsandthedegreeoftheircontributiontowardsthedestructionoftheenvironmentandsecond,theincentivesormotivatingfactorsencouragingtheirunsustainableactivities.Theimpactandfeedbackanalysisshouldhighlightthemainimpactsarisingfromthedegradationactivitiesandthesocio-economiceffecttheseimpactshaveacrossthevariousincomegroupsintheeconomy.1.3ReadingComprehension1.3.1Listdifferentopinionsonpovertyandenvironmentaldegradation4BruntlandCommissionReport,etc.ontheonesideLeachandMearnsontheotherside1.3.2Decidehowmanyelementsthissampleincludesandhowtheyfunction.ElementsFunctions2.LanguageFocus2.1TenseincitationPresenttense-Authorsmostlyusethepresenttenseverbstoshowtheiropiniononanotherperson'sresearch,relatewhatotherauthorssayordiscusstheliterature,theoreticalconcepts,methods,etc.However,thesimplepastandpresentperfectarealsopossibleverbformsinthiscase.Lookattheseexamplesinthepresenttense:Nelson(1995)remarksJones(2005)stresses5Morison(2