Unit-2-Choosing-a-research-topic

Unit2ChoosingaresearchtopicI.StructureofacademicwritingAresearchpaperisusuallymadeupofthefollowingparts:1)Titlepage2)Tableofcontents(thesisstatementandoutlineforliterature)3)Abstract4)Keywords5)Thetextofthepaper(introduction,body,andconclusion)6)Bibliography(workscited)7)Appendix(optional)II.Mainstepsofwritingaresearchpaper1.Choosingatopic2.Collectinginformation3.Analyzingtheinformation,organizingideas,andworkingoutanoutline4.Writingthefirstdraft5.RevisingthedraftandfinalizingthepaperIII.ProblemsintopicselectionNowthinkwhatproblemsyouhaveencounteredwhenyouneedtochooseatopicforyourpaperUnabletochooseapropertopicEithertoogeneralortoospecificLackofcreativity,toomuchrepetitionandoverlapwithotherpeople’stopicsLackofacademicvalue/significanceLackofinterestNotrelatedtothemajortakenNotrelatedtotheidentityasauniversitystudentIV.CriteriainTopicselectionWarmupactivity:Thinkaboutwhatmayconstituteagoodtopic?Whatmaybethefeaturesofgoodtopic?1.InterestIsthetopicisinterestingtoyouandyourreader/instructor.2.RelevanceIsthetopicrelatedtoyourmajor.(orrelevanttoyourfieldofstudy).e.g.ThechangeinthelawsysteminAustralia.OnPsychologicalEfficiencyinAdvertisingTrytobuildalinkbetweenyourmajorandinterest.e.g.Ifyouareinterestedincomputergames,howwouldyourelateittoyourmajor?YoumayconductastudyonlearningEnglishwithcomputergames.Practice:WhichofthefollowingresearchtopicsareconsistentwiththerequirementsofcollegeEnglishmajorsforthesiswriting?1AnalyzingthedifferentthinkingmodesbetweenEastandWestthroughadvertisements2.Aninitiativestudyofthelivingconditionsofthefarmersinthelate14thand15thcentury’sBritain3.AcontrastivestudyoffoodculturesbetweenChinaandAmerica4.Onpragmatichintingstrategyinverbalcommunication5.TheneweconomyinAmerica7.OntheevolutionofUSpolicytowardChinafrom1945-8.AninternationalcomparisonoftheserviceexporttradebetweenChinaanditsforeigncounterpartssincethe1980s19558.Astudyofthefactorsinfluencingchildren’slanguagedevelopment9.Onthethreebasicorientationsoftheconceptofthepsychologicalhealtheducationofcollegestudents10.ThecausesandrevelationsofthelowerinflationrateinAmericaneconomy11.NegativemassageinbusinessEnglishwriting12.Ananalysisofthedog’simageinOliverTwist13.OnthecharmofDengXiaoping’spersonality14.Contextualrestrictionintranslationanditsstrategies(consistent:1.3.4.8.11.12.14)3.Significancenovelandpenetratinge.g.AnAnalysisbetweenBritishandAmericanEnglishADiscussionoftheImportantSkillsofEnglishReadingComprehensionHowtoLearnEnglishWell(hardtocreatenewideas)Twomethodstoensurethesignificanceoftheresearchtopics.1)Findtopicsinliteratureorlinguistics,whicharedirectlyrelatedtoyourmajor.YoumaytrytodiscussimportantissuesinEnglishlinguistics,literatureorculture,orvoiceyouropiniononacontroversialtopicinthesefields.2)Relateyourmajortotheparticularcontextyourarein.Forexample,thefollowingtopicsmayalsoconstitutemeaningfulchoice.StudyingEnglishinChina,StudyingEnglishasthethirdlanguage,StudyingEnglishinInnerMongolia,StudyingEnglishattheuniversityasanadultbeginnerorwithlimitedEnglisheducationalbackgroundYoumaymakesomecomparativestudybetweenChineseandEnglish,orbetweenChineseliteratureandEnglishliterature.OryoucanconductaresearchontheapplicabilityofsomespecificteachingmethodsorapproachesinChina.e.g.TheApplicationofColourwordsbetweenEnglishandChineseTheComparisonofWordOrderbetweenEnglishandChineseandItsTranslationAComparativeStudyofPersonalPronounsbetweenEnglishandChineseOntheDifferencesofSubjectsbetweenEnglishandChinese中西常用亲属词的语义对比研究英汉语主题结构的对比研究TheApplicationofGroupworkinChina’sjuniorhighschoolEnglishclassThepracticeofTBLT,CLT,inChina4.PracticalityThetopicshouldbepracticalandcanbefinishedwithinthetimelimit.Makesurethatyouhaveenoughknowledge,resources,andenergytoresearchthetopic.Youmustknowthesubjectwell,youneedalargeamountofreferencematerials,andyouhavetofinishbyadeadline.e.g.英国批判现实主义小说中的人性观乔姆斯基语言观之我见V.StepsintopicselectionCommonproceduresIndevelopingresearchquestions,youusuallyundertakethefollowingtasks.1.Identifyingaresearchtopic(reviewingtheliteratureanddiscussingwithotherpeople)2.Narrowingdownthetopic3.Finalizingthetopic1.Identifyingaresearchtopic1)Chooseatopicareathatyouareinterestedinandknowsomethingabout.Youmightdevelopnewinterestsbybrowsingthroughcertainlibraryreferencessuchasarticlesorbooksindexesinabookoramagazine.YoucanalsodiscoversomegoodtopicsbyskimmingthroughthetableofcontentsofthecurrentmagazinesThetableofcontentsoutlinesthemajorsubjectareasandusuallyaparticularchapterisusefultothestudent’sresearch.e.g.(showexamples)discusswithothersThesubjectareasinEFLforEnglishmajors2)thesubjectareasinEFLforEnglishmajorsEnglishlanguageEnglishTranslationEnglishliteratureEnglishlanguageandcultureEnglishteachingmethodologyhistoryLinguisticsTheoreticalresearchAmericandailyculturaldifferencesListeningorPronunciationEnglishhistorygrammarTranslationpracticeandSkillsBritishculturalconnotationinvoc.SpeakingHistoryoftranslationPronunciationProverbsandidiomsReadingHistoryofliteratureVocabularyBodylanguageWritingFigureofspeechVoc