1、研究生学术英语写作教程Unit3ReviewingLiteratureUnit 3 Reviewing LiteratureObjectives:- Learn how to formulate a research problem- learn how to cite other peoples previous work- Try to be critical and related in your reviewing- Avoid plagiarism Contents- Reading and discussion: sample introduction and elements i
2、n literature review.- Language focus: tense in citation and citing verbs- Writing practice: information prominent citation, author prominent citation, and weak author prominent citation- Literature reviews related to your research- No plagiarism- Classroom extension: literature review of the social
3、effects of tourism on developing countries1.Reading Activity 1.1 Pre-reading Task A literature review is not just a summary of what you have read. It focuses on a specific topic of interest to you and includes a critical analysis of relationship among different opinions and then relates this review
4、to the work of your own. It may be written as a stand-alone paper or to provide a theoretical framework and rationale for a research study to become a part of the introduction section, especially in term papers or journal articles.However, in a thesis or dissertation it will be an entire chapter.Rea
5、d the sample introduction below and think about the following questions:What is the purpose of writing a literature view?What elements does an introduction include?How do we relate other peoples previous work to our present research?How do we cite other peoples previous work?1.2 Reading PassageIntro
6、ductionThe poor have traditionally taken the brunt of the blame for causing societys many problems including, more recently, environmental degradation. There is a general consensus that poverty is a major cause of environmental degradation. For example, in one of the conclusions of the Bruntland Com
7、mission Report, which incidentally has been accepted as the blue print for environmental conservation, it was explicitly stated that poverty is a major cause of environmental problems and amelioration of poverty is a necessary and central condition of any effective programs addressing the environmen
8、t. Following similar lines, Jalal (2010), the Asian Development Banks chief of the environment department says, It is generally accepted that environmental degradation, rapid population growth and stagnant production are closely linked with the fast spread of acute poverty in many countries of Asia.
9、 The World Bank joined the consensus when in the 2011 World Development Report, the Bank explicitly stated that, “poor families who have to meet short term needs mine the natural capital by excessive cutting of trees for firewood and failure to replace soil nutrients ” (World Bank 2011).However, the
10、re has been a rising trend in the economic literature which disputes the conventional theory and argues that simple generalizations of this multi-dimensional problem are erroneous and that a more complex set of variables are in play (Leach and Mearns, 2012). These studies point to demographic, cultu
11、ral, and institutional factors as important variables in the poverty-environmental degradation nexus. An intricate web of factors plus the existence of feedback loops from environmental degradation to poverty makes the process of identifying causality links, if any, between environmental degradation
12、 and poverty a difficult exercise. However, these studies have been few and isolated and it is interesting to note that until recently, there has been very little in-depth coordinated empirical research in the economics of environmental degradation-poverty causality relationships.This brings to the
13、purpose of this study. Both poverty and environmental degradation have been increasing in many developing countries; hence there is a pressing need first to evaluate and analyze the poverty-environmental degradation nexus, and second, to prescribe policy options to mitigate or eradicate these two pr
14、oblems.The primary objective of the paper is to analyze critically the existing literature on the poverty-environmental degradation nexus and try to make some order out of the chaos inherent in this complex and difficult subject. For this paper, our analysis is limited to the following four main nat
15、ural resources which are under serious threat of degradation in many developing countries: i) forests; ii) land; iii) water; and iv) air. Biodiversity is excluded at this point because the preliminary literature search found only scattered and inconclusive information. However, it should not be infe
16、rred that biodiversity is less important than the four resources chosen; indeed it is an area which needs particular attention in the future.Once the natural resource sectors have been identified, a cause, impact and feedback analysis is carried out. In this manner, we hope first to identify the mai
17、n agents and the degree of their contribution towards the destruction of the environment and second, the incentives or motivating factors encouraging their unsustainable activities. The impact and feedback analysis should highlight the main impacts arising from the degradation activities and the soc
18、io-economic effect these impacts have across the various income groups in the economy. 1.3 Reading Comprehension1.3.1 List different opinions on poverty and environmental degradationBruntland Commission Report, etc. on the one sideLeach and Mearns on the other side1.3.2 Decide how many elements this
19、 sample includes and how they function.Elements Functions2.Language Focus2.1 Tense in citationPresent tense - Authors mostly use the present tense verbs to show their opinion on another persons research, relate what other authors say or discuss the literature, theoretical concepts, methods, etc. How
20、ever, the simple past and present perfect are also possible verb forms in this case. Look at these examples in the present tense:Nelson (1995) remarks Jones (2005) stresses Morison (2000) advocates Zhang (2007) claims Zhambhi (2008) argues Past tense - When you use the past tense, the reporting verb
21、 often occurs as an integral citation. In other words, citations with past tense verbs and named researchers as subject seem to have the discourse role of providing particulars for recounting events, results found or a preceding generalization or the basis for a claim, etc. In the example below, the
22、 citation reports the results of a single study.Carlson and Benton (2007) found that as they increased the participants stress levels, the results of their performance deteriorated. Common verbs in the past tense are: investigated, studied, compared, analyzed, found, and examined. Present perfect -T
23、he present perfect tense can be used to state that the research results are recent, expressing what has been found over an extended period in the past and up to the present to highlight the direct relevance of previous studies to the writers own research. Look at the following example:Although the r
24、esults of pervious studies showed that further research was warranted in this area, recent studies have demonstrated that educational methodology is now moving in a new direction (Jones, 2007; Karstal, 2008). 2.1.1 Check the sample introduction and complete the following table.Questions How many?For
25、 what purposes?Are some sentences written in present tense? Are some sentences written in past tense?Are some sentences written in present perfect tense?Which tense is used more? Why do you think this is the case?How many sentences contain references?2.2 Citing verbsIt is important that you learn ho
26、w to cite information in a correct way. There are certain conventions to follow when citing someones work. Words like “say”,“tell”, and “ask” are normally used in oral conversations but are not appropriate in formal academic writing. The following table illustrates some appropriate words to use for
27、reporting the work of others.Verbs for sayingJalal (1993)claims believes thinks assumesindicatesnotesremarksstates shows points outthat More Verbs for sayingJalals (1993) studysuggests considers hypothesizes concludes commentsemphasizesillustratesproposes establishes maintainsthatVerbs responding to
28、 others opinionsThe analysis of the Jalals reportaccepts admits agreesdoubtsdeniesargues commentsthat Verbs for saying a second timeJalal (1993) further/additionally assertsexplains confirmsmaintainsadvocatesthat Poor patterns show that the writer has a mere grasp of the literature:Jalal (1993) says
29、 that The Asian Development Bank (1992) states that Leach and Mearns (1995) argue that Better sample shows some critical thinking and sentence variety:Jalal (1993) reports that his study of shows The findings are supported by the Asian Development Bank (1992) replication of Although both these studi
30、es focus on . They have ignored According to Leach and Mearns (1995), 2.2.2 Read three extracts on the issue of poverty and crime. Use the verbs above to cite opinions on poverty and crime. 3.Writing Practice3.1 Using references Use citation to develop your own argument. Below are examples of parts
31、of paragraphs using three different citation methods(The references cited have been invented for demonstration purposes only). These methods can be called information prominent, where the focus of the sentence is only on the information being presented; author prominent, where the name of the author
32、 of the information is given prominence in the sentence; and weak author prominent, where the ideas of author(s) are given prominence, but authors names do not appear in the main part of the sentence. Observe how the different methods contribute to the way in which the writers argument is developed. Information promi
