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1、Chapter 3,Negotiating a Topic and Narrowing down the Topic,Points to learn in this lecture,How to negotiate a topic How to narrow down the research topic Principles of writing research topic,3.1 Negotiating a Topic,3.1.1 The subject areas for English majors researching are : Language studies Macro l
2、inguistics Language teaching Literary studies Translation Culture and language relation,Language studies: phonetics and phonology; morphology; syntax; semantics; pragmatics; stylistics; etc. Macro linguistics: sociolinguistics; psycholinguistics; applied linguistics; etc.,Language teaching: English
3、teaching and learning, knowledge and skills, theories and practice, competence; models etc. It includes all of the planned learning experiences in educational setting, such as teaching theories, approaches, methods, principles, teaching techniques and evaluation.,Literary studies: British, American,
4、 Canadian, Australian literature, and their comparisons with Chinese literature Not non-English countries literature Not just Chinese literature,Translation: theories and mechanics written and oral interpretation Culture and language relation ideas and language representation thought and writing,3.1
5、.2 Ways to finding the topics 1.The advisor assigns topics to his or her students 2. The students are encouraged to work out their own topics,To negotiate a topic, the student must first locate a good research subject, then resorts to one or a combination of the following : (1) following personal in
6、terests (2) talking with other people (3) brainstorming (4) reading source materials.,Following Personal Interests,Interest is the best teacher Therefore, the student should focus on what he or she interested in and would like to make further study on when deciding on a research topic. If he or she
7、is not interested in a topic, he or she may perform poorly.,Many students do not even know what they are interested in In this case, they should choose something that seems to promise than real value, something that they have always wanted to learn about. The students will write best on a subject th
8、ey are interesting; and their sense of satisfaction and achievement will find the topic interesting, the deeper understanding they will gain, and the better they will write.,Talking with Other People,As the Chinese saying goes, “One evenings conversation with a gentleman is worth more than ten years
9、 study.” A good research topic may come from a talk with fellow students, instructors or friends. Something said might trigger an idea for a promising research topic.,Students often influence each other. They can share their ideas both inside and outside of class. This kind of peer influenced often
10、gives the students facilitative feedback. As they talk with each other, ideas are given and questions are asked, which result in elaboration and collaboration through interaction.,Brainstorming,Brainstorming is a state of mind when one is hit with some inspiration or ideas. It is usually unrestraine
11、d and spontaneous. It is a process of free association, a way of developing ideas by listing everything one can think of about a subject. Students may brainstorm by themselves, or with their advisors, teachers or friends. While brainstorming, they need only to jot down the ideas that pop into their
12、minds even if some may look like junk. at this stage, it unnecessary to consider linguistic aspects such as spelling, diction and grammar.,Reading Source Materials,A good library usually contains excellent sources for finding a topic. Students may turn to the following for ideas: encyclopedias books
13、 periodical indexes internet resources,(1) Encyclopedias,Encyclopedia A book or a set of books giving information about all areas of knowledge or about different areas of one particular subject, usually arranged in alphabetical order.,(1) Encyclopedias,An encyclopedia article is useful in selecting
14、a subject and a topic. It can also suggest possible bibliography sources and examples. It must point out, that encyclopedia articles are only broad introductions. Books and journal articles are more specific and up-to-date. Therefore, encyclopedias serve only to familiarize students with fundamental
15、 facts and basic concepts. e.g.,(2) Books,Books are among the best sources -in which to discover a topic for research. However, faced with a library of literature, students are often at a loss and wonder how they can find anything useful for their research. They should always remember what they need
16、 to do is to find materials for their topics. This means that it is unnecessary to take the time to read the entire book.,What need to do-,- is to skim a books introduction content index and a few chapters In order to see whether this book is appropriate to your own interests. you should use those b
17、ooks which might be enlightening so as to get an overview of the topic.,Skim introduction The introduction is the first part of the paper. The introduction to an academic paper should do two main things: Provide background :general information of the subject and the particular perspective; State the
18、 thesis: the most important ideas that the author will deal with in the paper,Skim table of contents The table of contents of a book outlines the major subject areas and enables the readers to find under what headings a certain topic is discussed. Usually, only a particular chapter is useful for stu
19、dents research.,Branching Branching is a visual way of generating ideas that can show logical relations between and among ideas. One usually starts branching by putting the topic in the middle and writes the related ideas in the circles or in the rectangles that are linked by lines.,Index An index i
20、s usually located at the end of a book. It lists alphabetically the books major subjects, contents, topics, subtopics, ideas, events, places and people mentioned in the book. The page numbers after the index entry tell where exactly to locate the listed item. They provide quick access to locating wh
21、at the reader wants to find.,Some academic publications consist of more than one index. For instance, a subject index, an author index. Thus one can easily locate the useful information. If a student is interested in a certain subject, he or she can locate it from the subject index; If he or she is
22、looking for particular author, he or she can quickly find the pages where that author is referred to.,e.g. The Subject index: It lists the topics referred to in the book . If the students want to find “attitude”, he or she can turn to pages 156,174-5,180,183. The author index It includes the mention
23、ed authors. If he or she wants to know more about Jane Arnolds publications, he or she can refer to pages 1,5,77,175.,（3） Periodical Indexes,Periodicals are usually published monthly, bimonthly or quarterly. They contain more current information, opinions and up-to-date report. The information provi
24、ded by periodicals may also be more specific and detailed, which better facilitates relevant research.,Indexes to periodicals include Readers Guide to Periodical Literature, Humanity Index, Social Sciences Index, MLA Bibliography.美国现代语言学会格式(人文科学方面，尤其是语言学、文学和艺术领 域，一般采用MLA格式) 。 A brief glance at the t
25、itle and the key words will often appeal to the (readers) students interests.,（4）Internet Resources,The most frequently used search engines in China include ,”, ,”and ”, 学校的学术期刊网etc.,3.2 Narrowing Down the Research Topic,When a broad research area is chosen, the student may need to begin narrowing d
26、own his or her investigation into a more specific topic. Techniques to help narrow a broad topic to a workable one. Considering the audience Working out a preliminary thesis Considering the available source materials,Considering the Audience,The awareness of the readers throughout the writing can ne
27、ver be overemphasized. Questions are helpful when considering the readers: Who are my readers? What do my readers know about the subject? How much do they know? Could I add something new to what the readers know? Why is the concept so importance? Are there any new ideas in my paper? What can I discu
28、ss to enlighten the readers further about the topic? What is the practical or theoretical significance? Is it feasible or possible to enlarge the readers knowledge about the current subject?,Working Out a Preliminary Thesis,A thesis statement declares the main point or controlling idea of an essay.
29、It is a scholarly statement that needs to be proven or maintained against argument.,Jean Wyrick formulates the following guidelines for preparing a good thesis statement: (1) A good thesis states the writers clearly defined opinion on some subject. (2) A good thesis asserts one main idea. (3) A good
30、 thesis has something worthwhile to say. (4) A good thesis is limited to fit the assignment. (5) A good thesis is clearly stated in specific terms. (6) A good thesis is clearly located, often in the first or second paragraph.,Considering the Available Source Materials,Available sources are important
31、 in narrowing down a topic Some students may have interesting topics and they may begin writing without considering the available sources. They often have to give up because they can hardly find any relevant materials. To avoid such fruitless labor What the students should do is to check the relevan
32、t publications before deciding on their topics.,If there are too many publications on a particular topic, they should give it up because they can hardly add anything new. If there are few resources on the selected topic, it is sensible to consider changing it for they may have insufficient sources t
33、o back up their analysis and conclusions.,Robert Dees formulates the following checklist for selecting and narrowing down a topic: (1) Be sure the topic meets the requirements of your research assignment. (2) Focus on a topic that you want to learn more about. (3) Pick a topic for which you can meet
34、 an audiences needs and expectations. (4) Check to see that sufficient resources are available. (5) Avoid philosophical topics or those based on personal belief. Topics like the value of the family or why you play sports rely upon personal opinion and values rather than objective research and discus
35、sion.,(6) Avoid strictly biographical topics “Abraham Lincoln as a Father” that are already discussed fully in book-length studies. Avoid describing processes such as how cocaine is sold on the street or why getting suntan may be dangerous. Such information will not allow for original insight and ju
36、dgment on your part. Avoid topics too narrow too recent for discussion. A paper on local airport conditions or last weeks international event will not allow for adequate use of research materials.,(9) Avoid standard, popular topics commonly chosen for student research papers. Unless recent developme
37、nts have added new information or conditions, it may be difficult to impress your instructor with another paper on the death penalty or animal intelligence.Besides, all the resources on these topics will be checked out by others when you need them. Pick a topic that shows your individual abilities a
38、nd interests.,3.4 Principles of writing research topic,学士学位论文的题目是在选题基础上拟定而成的。选题的直接结果就 是确定学位论文的主题和研究对象。主题的确定则意味着学位论文 拟题的 开始。标题是对论文中心论点的集中表达，具有概括全文、吸引读者的主 要功效。论文标题是论文的“眼睛”和“眉目”。一个好的标题也如同人 的长相一样，应该是眉清目秀的。 、题目要求： 论文的主题包括主标题、副标题和小标题（各章节的标题）。拟题宜准确 忌谬误；宜醒目、忌模糊；宜新颖、忌陈旧；宜简洁，忌繁杂；宜具体，忌空泛 、字数要求： 论文题目应该在个字以内把写作的
39、研究对象、研究内容和研究视角（方法） 三个核心要素精练地提升出来。,应注意以下几点：,1.标题中应尽量用名词、名词短语、介词短语、动名词短语等，因为这些词或短语更能高度准确地概括中心观点。 2.标题可以用一个不完整的句子（Non-Statement Sentence）表达。一般不用完整的句子来拟定题目；口号式的句子更是论文题目的大忌。 3.标题中实词的第一个字母都要大写。如名、动、形、副和代。ns如果一个实词是复合词， 则两个词的第一个字母都要大写，如 African-Americans。,4.标题中的冠词、连词（and ,or, but, nor, for）、六个字母以下（含六个字母）的介词
40、（at, in, of, from, with ）和引导不定式短语的to的第一个字母不用大写，除非他们是 标题的第一个单词。 5.标题中应慎重使用缩略语，只有那些全称较长，已得到公认的缩写才可使用。标题中尽可 能不使用标点符号，除非必须使用。 6.删除不必要的冠词和多余的说明性词语。如标题中的Studies of Investigation on, A Complete Investigation of 等词只是增加标题的长度，未能提供新的研究信息，不宜使用。避免使用非学术名称的各类人名、地名和公司名。,Summary, How to negotiate a topic: Aspects: L
41、anguage studies, macro linguistics, language teaching, literary studies translation, culture and language relation Ways: 1.The advisor assigns topics to his or her students 2. The students are encouraged to work out their own topics (1) following personal interests (2) talking with other people (3)
42、brainstorming (4) reading source materials. How to narrowing down the research topic Considering the audience Working out a preliminary thesis Considering the available source materials Principles of writing research topic(8),Homework,From now on every student can begin to Collect information and work out your own research topics,Thank You,