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How to Write a Dissertation In English 黄国文 M. Ghadessy 高等教育出版社 Introductory remarks 1.1 Thesis, dissertation, paper 1.2 Summary and evaluation of information 1.3 The process of writing a dissertation 1.4 Chapter 1 Defining the Dissertation Summary 1.5 Exercises 1.6 1.1 Introductory remarks How to write a dissertation in English This chapter deals with some basic ideas concerning the writing of a dissertation, which is submitted to your university as a partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Bachelor of Arts (BA) or the degree of Master of Arts (MA). In the course of your studies at the university, you will be required to write different types of papers. For example, at the end of an academic semester or term, you may be asked to write a term paper, a library paper, a review article, or a book review in order to demonstrate that you have learned the necessary skills of a general academic ability in the subject taught during the semester. The purpose of this chapter is to distinguish between a number of terms and to discuss the difference between a summary of information and an academic evaluation of said piece of information. The process of writing a dissertation will also be briefly discussed, with the purpose of identifying the various steps involved. 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6 1.2 Thesis, dissertation, paper How to write a dissertation in English Many students and young researchers are often confused with terms such as thesis, dissertation, paper, article, and essay because they can all be translated into lun wen (论文) in Chinese. In this book, the word dissertation is used to refer to “a long essay that you do as part of a degree or other qualification” (Cobuild English-Chinese Dictionary, p. 540) that you are studying for — that is, a BA or an MA. The term thesis, by contrast, is used to refer to “a long piece of writing, based on your own ideas and research that you do as part of a university degree, especially a PhD” (Cobuild English-C