Preparing to Write

Preparing to Write

1. Preparing the Topic
Before youpick up your pen to write, you will have decided
what you want to write about.
This may be a topic given by your lecture or supervisor,
or it may be a topic you have chosen yourself.
In any case, you start by spending some time
in one or more of the following activities:
reading relevant books or papers research involving experiments or surveys
note-making
listening to relevant lectures
discussing the topic with friends or teachers thinking
When you have prepared the topic as well as you can,
depending on the circumstances,
you have to plan your piece of writing carefully.
2. Planning

There are different ways to plan a piece of academic writing,
and often students develop ways of their own which are very satisfactory.
Here are some suggestions for planning.
2.1 Purpose
First of all, make sure you know exactly what the main aim of the writing is.
PURPOSE OF THE WORK Write this down.
Examples:
(a) The purpose of this essay is to describe the techniques used in the design and
construction of the great pyramid of Egypt.
(b) The aim of this paper is toward: firstly to survey recent work in language
acquisition and secondly discuss possible applications to the
teaching of the French language.
(c) This essay will analyse the present Californian juvenile reform system,
particularly its procedures for rehabilitating convicted adolescents.

2.2 Position
Statement Some writers, who are experts in their field
or who understand the topic very well, can explain the purpose
in the form of a general statement of position.
Americans sometimes call this statement a thesist;
(the word is also used to mean the whole of a doctoral presentation).
The thesis summarizes the central idea of the whole paper.

Examples:
(a) The rationalist philosophy of Descartes had a significant influence
on Chomsky's theoretical viewpoint.
(b) Key decisions on the economic affairs of municipal councils are made
by a handful of individuals, usually the representatives of
local business and industry.

3. Plan
The plan is a list of topic and points you hope to cover
in the piece of writing presented in the order in which you will write them.
One good way to begin the plan is to jot down all the ideas you can think of in any order.
Unless you are working under exam conditions, refer to your notes, textbooks,
and other readings to make sure that you have not forgotten important areas.
If possible discuss your ideas with a friend to check that you have remembered everything.
When you have collected your ideas, you must order them logically.
Here is an example of the form an outline might take.
Paragraph
1: MAIN IDEASub-idea
1) Classification Sub-idea
2) Example 1
     Example 2
Paragraph 2: MAIN IDEA Example Example
Paragraph 3:
MAIN IDEA Reason Reason Example etc.
Here is an example of a brief topic outline for an essay on social history.
It shows two ways of numbering the outline.
This outline would be suitable for an essay or an examination answer.
It may not be detailed enough for a project or dissertation.
EXAMPLE 1
The Preservation of French Cuisine in the Twentieth Century Theme:
In spite of the rapid social changes in twentieth century France,
the traditions of provincial cooker have been preserved.

   Plan 1. (Statement of theme)
   1.1 Change in 20th century France
     1.1.1 General change - wars, cost of living
     1.1.2 Change in production and distribution of food
     1.1.3 New methods of food production
     1.1.4 Foreign business - fast food chains
   1.2 Nevertheless traditional cuisine has been preserved.

   2. The development of the study of cookery between the wars
       2.1 Salon d'Automne 1924 2.2 Rouzier's regional dinners
       2.3 Rouff and Stillard's contribution
          (a) Early criticism (b) Their series of guides
       2.4 'Les Plats Regionaux' (de Croze)

3. The growth of regional restaurants in France (historical) case Studies: 1,2,3
4. The present situation
    4.1 Tourist industry Encouragement of tourist board and Syndicat d'Intiative
    4.2 Research into ancient manuscripts
    4.3 Development of links between restaurants and farming - use of local produce
5. Conclusion
   5.1 Summary of main points 5.2 Future prospects for traditional cuisine
      5.2.1 Maintain academic studies 5.2.2 Enhance world - wide reputation
      5.2.3 Educate public attitudes and taste

EXAMPLE 2 Safety in the Engineering Workshop
1. Introduction:
General issues and preview of essay
2. Flooring Factors
controlling choice: 2.1 non-slip quality 2.2 resistance to wear and corrosion
                            2.3 weight support 2.4 non-absorbent surface
3. Protective clothing
    3.1 footwear 3.2 gloves 3.3 eye protection 3.4 head protection.
4.New machines
4.1 Factory Act regulations
   4.1.1 guards on machines 4.1.2 offences and penalties   4.1.3 inspections
4.2 Machine Control

5. Industrial accidents (types of accident and protection)
5.1 falls 5.2 lifting 5.3 cuts 5.4 dermatitis 5.5 toxic substances
    5.5.1 acid 5.5.2 chromium 5.5.3 lead 5.5.4 sodium cyanide 5.5.5 solvents

6. Conclusion
     6.1 summary 6.2 general recommendations

回到 [論文寫作]網頁