How to Write a Dissertation
Ⅰ. Two necessary preparations
A. Planning
1
B. The
2
of balanced life
all you have to do: devote time to physical, social,
intellectual,
3
well-being
Ⅱ.The general idea
A. A thesis is a hypothesis or conjecture
B. A dissertation is a lengthy,
4 1. Scientific method The scientific method needs a 5 of evidence —to support a hypothesis —to deny a hypothesis 2. 6 —the essence of a dissertation —a dissertation 7 principles 3. Supporting materials A dissertation must 8 every statement with a reference or original work —It does not repeat details of published materials —It uses the results as fact Ⅲ. Learning from the exercise A. Getting trained to 9 with other scientists B. Learning to think deeply Ⅳ. Definitions and terminology A. Each technical term must be defined —by a reference to a definition 10 —by a precise, unambiguous definition before a) the term is used for a new term b) a standard term used in an unusual way B. Each term should be used in one and only one way throughout the dissertation Ⅴ. Language points A. Good writing is 11 in a dissertation B. Using active constructions C. Writing in the 12 tense D. 13 negation early E. Paying attention to 14 Ⅵ. Key to success: 15 1. ahead//beforehand[原力原文] How to Write a Dissertation Good afternoon, everyone. Welcome to today"s lecture about writing. I have known that you are preparing to write a dissertation at present. Unless you have written many formal documents before, you are going to find that it"s difficult! So, in today"s lecture, I will talk about methods for writing a dissertation. The foremost things you should know are two necessary preparations for successful completion of a dissertation. The first is planning ahead. A plan imposes a structure on the project and prevents you from drifting aimlessly for long periods of time. It will help motivate you to work during tedious or difficult phases and provides the incentive to make sacrifices. The second is the maintenance of healthy balance. The dissertation is such a time-consuming project that it can seem impossible to lead a balanced life. Without a healthy balance of life, you may feel angry, resentful, frustrated, overwhelmed, and depressed on a consistent basis. In order to maintain a healthy balance, it is often helpful to devote time every day and week to your physical, social, intellectual, emotional and spiritual well-being. Next, I will provide you with a few general ideas about a dissertation. As we know, a thesis is a hypothesis or conjecture. A dissertation is a lengthy, formal document that argues in defense of a particular thesis. So many people use the term "thesis" to refer to the document that a current dictionary now includes it as the third meaning. No. 1: Scientific method. The scientific method adopted in a dissertation means starting with a hypothesis and then collecting evidence to support or deny it. Before one can write a dissertation defending a particular thesis, one must collect evidence that supports it. Thus, the most difficult aspect of writing a dissertation consists of organizing the evidence and associated discussions into a coherent form. No. 2: Critical thinking. The essence of a dissertation is critical thinking, not experimental data. Analysis and concepts form the heart of the work. A dissertation also concentrates on principles: it states the lessons learned, and not merely the facts behind them. No. 3: Supporting materials. In general, every statement in a dissertation must be supported either by a reference to published scientific literature or by original work. But, a dissertation does not repeat the details of critical thinking and analysis found in published sources; it uses the results as fact and refers the reader to the source for further details. Each sentence in a dissertation must be complete and correct in a grammatical sense. Moreover, a dissertation must satisfy the strict rules of formal grammar. For example, no undefined technical jargon, no hidden jokes, and no slang, even when such terms or phrases are in common use in the spoken language. Indeed, the writing in a dissertation must be clear. Shades of meaning matter; the terminology and prose must make fine distinctions. The words must convey exactly the meaning intended, nothing more and nothing less. Each statement in a dissertation must be correct and defensible in a logical and scientific sense. Furthermore, the discussions in a dissertation must satisfy the strictest rules of logic applied to mathematics and science. Thirdly, we have to know what one should learn from the exercise. All scientists need to communicate discoveries; the dissertation provides training for communication with other scientists. Writing a dissertation requires a student to think deeply, to organize technical discussion, to muster arguments that will convince other scientists, and to follow rules for rigorous, formal presentation of the arguments and discussion. When writing a dissertation, we should also be clear about definitions and terminology. Each technical term used in a dissertation must be defined either by a reference to a previously published definition for standard terms with their usual meaning or by a precise, unambiguous definition that appears before the term is used for a new term or a standard term used in an unusual way. And each term should be used in one and only one way throughout the dissertation. The easiest way to avoid a long series of definitions is to include a statement. Then, only define exceptions. The introductory chapter can give the intuition of terms provided they are defined more precisely later. Last but not least important is language points. There is a principle we should remember, i.e. good writing is essential in a dissertation. As for voice, remember to use active constructions. For example, say "the operating system starts the device" instead of "the device is started by the operating system." Then write in the present tense. For example, say "The system writes a page to the disk and then uses the frame" instead of "The system will use the frame after it wrote the page to disk". Moreover, you should define negation early. For instance, say "no data block waits on the output queue" instead of "a data block awaiting output is not on the queue." At last, you should be careful that the subject of each sentence really does what the verb says it does. All computer scientists should know the rules of logic. Unfortunately the rules are more difficult to follow when the language of discourse is English instead of mathematical symbols. When written using mathematical symbols, the differences are obvious because "for all" and "there exists" are reversed. As far as the language points are concerned, there is a key to success: practice. No one ever learned to write by reading essays like this. Instead, you need to practice and practice. This is the secret to writing a good dissertation. To conclude, we have discussed some necessary preparations before writing a dissertation. What follows are some guiding principles, including some general ideas of a dissertation and how to reach a good writing. Finally, I provide you with a key to successful writing, i.e. practice. After this lecture, I hope you may find your dissertation-writing smooth.
[解析] 讲座的主题是“methods for writing a dissertation(撰写学位论文的方法)”，接着提出2个必要准备，其中之一就是planning ahead，可知答案为ahead，或其近义表达beforehand。 2. maintenance[解析] 两个必要的准备中的另外一个是和谐生活的维持，由此可知答案为maintenance。 3. emotional and spiritual[解析] 为了维持健康的平衡，需要做的就是把时间投入到身体、交际、脑力、情感以及精神的健康上，前面几项都已列出，可知答案为emotional and spiritual。 4. formal document[解析] 录音材料提到博士学位论文是一种lengthy，formal document，由此可知答案为formal document。定义性或概念性的信息是常考之处，也是理解全文的关键。 5. collection[解析] 原文材料提到“科学的方法为：先提出假设，再收集证据对其进行论证或推翻”，空格处需要一个名词，由此可知答案为collection。序列词之后的信息为常考点。 6. critical thinking[解析] 录音材料提到第二点为“批判地思考”，其后又提及“学位论文的精髓要求批判地思考”，对照考题，由此可知答案为critical thinking。 7. concentrates on[解析] 讲座在讲述批判性思考时，还提到学位论文还侧重于原理，由此可知答案为concentrates on。 8. support[解析] 根据录音原文“一般来说，论文中的每一个论证都应具备相应的支持(support)，无论是已出版的科技文章还是原著”，可知答案为support。 9. communicate[解析] 此题谈到人们应从练习中学习的其中一个方面，即“所有的科学家都需要对所发现的事物进行交流探讨，博士论文就为此提供了训I练的机会”，可知答案为communicate。 10. previously published[解析] 此题谈论文写作中的下定义和术语界定，具体提到“用于学术论文中的每一个术语，都必须收录在之前出版的标准术语参考文献中”，由此可知答案为previously published。 11. essential//important//vital[解析] 此题涉及人们必须知道的最重要原则，即Good writing is essential in a dissertation. 由此可知答案为essential，或其近义表达important或vital。 12. present[解析] 此题涉及论文写作中的时态，录音原文建议write in the present tense，再对照考题，可知答案为present。 13. Defining[解析] 在讲到语言点的时候，讲座还提到了你应该提早明确否定，原文中出现的原词是define，而空格处需要填入动词的现在分词形式，所以答案为Defining，注意首字母要大写。 14. grammar and logic[解析] 原文提到你应该当心每个句子的主语要和动词保持一致，还有所有的电脑科学家应该懂得逻辑规则，总结起来就是要注意语法和逻辑，所以答案为grammar and logic。 15. practice[解析] 此题总结成功的秘诀，即there is a key to success：practice。由此可知答案为practice。